BLAZE TAKES OUT VET GROUP’S EQUIPMENT
Popular hayride event’s gear destroyed in suspicious fire
A suspicious Sunday night fire destroyed nearly $2,000 worth of equipment used for Operation Adopt A Soldier’s annual Haunted Hayride, the organization’s largest fundraiser.
The Wilton-based non-profit group uses money from the event to send care packages to U.S. military troops stationed in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea and Germany.
The Haunted Hayride is held in October on wooded property owned by the Vincek family adjacent to Gavin Park, the Town of Wilton’s recreation complex.
“The fire burned down one of our structures,” said Cliff Seguin, Operation Adopt A Soldier founder. “We store a lot of our monsters, a projector, CD player, three fog machines and other items there. What a loss.
It’s a shame because this is the time of year we’re concentrating on shipping stuff overseas. Now we’ve got to deal with this.”
In addition to the direct financial setback, it took countless man-hours for volunteers to make many of the props, costumes and scary displays in storage.
Maple Avenue Fire Department responded to the blaze, which occurred at about 6:40 p.m. and kept firefighters on the scene for approximately 90 minutes. A neighbor spotted the fire and called 911.
An investigation by Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office is ongoing.
“There doesn’t appear to be any reason it could burn down unless somebody set it,” Investigator Jeff Brown said. “There was no power in the structure. It was either an accident or kids playing.”
The fire, which spread to surrounding brush and scorched nearby tall trees, was quickly extinguished, Brown said.
Seguin said the incident won’t deter Operation Adopt A Soldier from holding next year’s Haunted Hayride. This fall’s event was renamed the John Vincek Memorial Hayride to honor the late John Vincek, who passed away earlier this year.
In addition to providing land, Vincek, a farmer, also donated the use of tractors that pulled wagon loads of people through the Halloween-themed attraction.
“We’ll be here next year,” Seguin said.
Work on the Haunted Hayride begins in May as volunteers start clearing limbs and small trees, which come down in winter, from the wooded area. It also takes several weeks to set up props and the event’s many features.
This year’s Haunted Hayride raised about $16,000. In addition, Queensbury-based Nemer Auto Group, through its Santa For a Soldier program, has pledged to match cash donations Adopt A Soldier raises from mid-November to Dec. 13, up to $10,000, Seguin said.
Seguin said 401 boxes filled with personal care items, non-perishable food, hats and gloves, plus Christmas stockings and artificial Christmas trees were mailed out last week. Another 288 boxes were scheduled to be mailed Tuesday, at an average cost of $8.55 per box.
“That’s big money,” Seguin said.
People may donate personal care and food items at Operation Adopt a Soldier drop-boxes. A listing of locations is on the organization’s website at www. operationadoptasoldier.org.
Financial donations may be made by sending checks to Glens Falls or Saratoga National Bank & Trust Company, made payable to Operation Adopt a Soldier.