Fire destroys Wantage barn

By Nathan Mayberg
WANTAGE — A fire totaled a barn on 55 Beemer Road in Wantage last week.

The cause is under investigation but it appears accidental, according to state police.

The fire erupted at about 12:10 p.m. after a worker at the farm had returned to the barn from doing work there and noticed the fire, state police said.

The animals in the barn were all saved and nobody was hurt, according to state police.

Wantage Fire Department Deputy Chief Justin Vander Groef referred all questions to the Sussex County Fire Coordinator's Office. Vander Groef said the fire is still under investigation and declined to provide any information regarding the fire or its circumstances.

Sussex County Fire Marshal Joseph Inga said on Thursday he had no information on the fire and referred questions to Assistant Fire Marshal Daniel Stoll, who he said was not available.

Inga said he had not yet seen Stoll's report and that it could take a week.

There was no answer at Stoll's office as of Friday.

According to property records, the barn is owned by Ernest Cosh.