Randolph Center Fire Chief Dana Williams, left, checks for heat at the door of the Middle Branch Grange before Bethel Lt. Josh Tracy enters the buiding on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. The Grange, of which Williams is a member, had planned a potluck and meeting in the afternoon and one of two wood furnaces that were running to heat up the building likely failed and started the fire, said Bethel Fire Chief David Aldrighetti. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Bethel Firefighter Sonny Snelling lays out hose at the Middle Branch Grange Hall in East Bethel, Vt., during a fire that Bethel Chief David Aldrighetti said likely started when a wood furnace failed on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. Fire departments from South Royalton, Randolph Center, East Randolph and Barnard joined the effort to save the building. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. alley News - James M. Patterson

South Royalton Firefighter Jaimond Tuller, top, and Barnard Firefighter Ora Astbury, bottom, remove metal roofing to get to the fire underneath at the Middle Branch Grange in East Bethel, Vt., on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. Crews saved the building, but there was structural damage to its north side from a fire that spread after a component of the wood furnace failed. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

Fire departments from Bethel, South Royalton, Randolph Center, East Randolph and Barnard work to save the Middle Branch Grange building from a fire that started in the wood heating system in East Bethel, Vt., on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. Bethel Fire Chief David Aldrighetti said that a portion of the building is not structurally safe after being damaged by fire and water. "I'm happy that this much of it is still standing," he said. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.