STATE OF VERMONT
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
VERMONT STATE POLICE
CASE#: 25B3000010
TROOPERS: Detective Sgt. James Wright and Detective Sgt. Steven Gelder
STATION: Shaftsbury Barracks / Vermont Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit
CONTACT#: 802-442-5421
DATE/TIME: About 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025
LOCATION: Chunks Brook Road, Sandgate, VT
INCIDENT: Fatal fire investigation
SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:
Following completion of autopsies at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington, the two deceased victims in this incident are identified as Nicole Grogan, 22, and her 12-day-old son, Oliver Stratton. A determination of the cause and manner of their deaths remains pending.
The two surviving victims of the fire remain hospitalized in New York.
The investigation is continuing into the origin and cause of the fire by the Vermont State Police, the Vermont Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit, and the Vermont Division of Fire Safety.
VSP will continue to provide updates on this case as new information becomes available.
***Initial news release, 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025***
The Vermont State Police is investigating a fire that occurred Wednesday morning, Jan. 1, 2025, at a home in the Bennington County town of Sandgate. Two people were killed in the blaze, and another two were injured.
The fire was reported at about 11:30 a.m. on Chunks Brook Road. Numerous fire departments from Vermont and New York responded to the scene and eventually were able to bring the fire under control. The two injured victims were transported to hospitals in New York for treatment; the extent of their injuries is unknown at this time.
The two deceased victims were located at the scene. Their bodies will be transported to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for autopsies that are expected to occur Thursday, Jan. 2, to determine the cause and manner of their deaths.
Names of the deceased people in this incident will be released following further investigation and notification of relatives.
Members of the Vermont Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit are investigating the origin and cause of the fire. Detectives with the Vermont State Police Criminal Division and troopers with the Field Force Division are assisting in the investigation.
Anyone who might have information that could be relevant to this case is asked to call Detective Sgt. James Wright at VSP’s Shaftsbury Barracks at 802-442-5421, leave an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit, or contact the Vermont Arson Tip Award Program (VATAP) hotline at 1-800-32-ARSON (1-800-322-7766).
No additional information is currently available. The Vermont State Police will provide updates as the investigation continues.
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