FORESTPORT, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Two people are dead following a fire that broke out at a small hunting cabin at a campsite in the Town of Forestport off of Nichols Mills Road.
Oneida County Sheriff’s deputies and the Forestport Fire Department were called to the scene around 1:23 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14.
The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office says two males, identified as 64-year-old Bruce Siergiey of Queensbury and 63-year-old Michael Hastings of Fort Edwards, made their way from the cabin, which was fully engulfed in flames, to a neighboring residence in a four-wheeler, where they had the owner call 911.
With the remote location of the cabin, Siergiey and Hastings had to drive eight miles in the four-wheeler before getting to the residence.
Siergiey was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital for his injuries, and Hastings was flown to Upstate Hospital with burn injuries.
Authorities later found 64-year-old Joseph Funk from Gansevoort and 78-year-old Thomas Dingmon from Middle Grove dead at the site.
Investigators are looking into the official cause of the fire, but the Sheriff’s Office says it likely started due to a wood stove being used for heat.
