The scorched remnants of a Ford Econoline van that erupted into flames on Sharon Station Road near the intersection with Route 343 in Amenia just after 11 a.m. on Friday, April 10. Amenia Fire Chief Chris Howard said high winds spread the flames to brush along the road soon after the van fire broke out.
Fire Chief Chris Howard said crews from Amenia and Wassaic had contained and extinguished the fire by 11:50 a.m. The exact cause of the van fire was unknown and Howard said it was unlikely that investigators would be able to determine the cause due to heavy damage to the vehicle.
Howard said no one was injured in the fire, but one person was taken to the hospital as a precaution in case they experienced smoke inhalation.
The still-smoldering interior of the Ford Econoline van that erupted into flame just after on Sharon Station Road near the intersection with Route 343 in Amenia on Friday, April 10 just after 11 a.m.Photo by Nathan Miller
After the van erupted into flame, wind spread the fire to brush along the north side of the road, Howard said.
James Morse, who lives on Sharon Station Road near where the fire erupted, said he called 911 after he witnessed the van turn the corner from Route 343 onto the road just after 11 a.m. The vehicle was making a loud hissing noise, he said, and then erupted into flame just after the driver exited the vehicle.
"All the flames were up and billowing black smoke was pouring out," Morse said.
Fire crews were wrapping up and packing up their hoses by noon.
"They did a good job today," Howard said of the volunteer firefighters.
Firefighters douse burnt brush along Sharon Station Road near the intersection with Route 343 in Amenia that caught fire after wind spread flames from a burning Ford Econoline van.Photo by Nathan Miller
The annual Millerton Fire Company Easter egg hunt returned to Eddie Collins Memorial Park on Saturday, April 4.
Tyler Dehoff discovers a piece of chocolate in a plastic egg at the zero to two-year-old egg hunt area.Nathan Miller
Families crowd into hay wagons for a parade down Main Street to the park before the egg hunt.Nathan Miller
Bob Stevens, right, enjoys the swinging sounds of country and western music during a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, with his son, Robert Stevens Jr., not pictured.
Stevens’s only son, 39-year-old Robert Stevens Jr., along with employees at the town garage and others in the community, remembered Stevens as a dedicated man with a singular passion for highway maintenance.
“It was an absolutely huge part of his life,” Robert said.
Robert Jr. said Stevens was as supportive as a father as he was dedicated to his work for the town. He recalled a week-long BMX biking trip to Camp Woodward in Pennsylvania that his father drove him to and from, making the round trip twice without a complaint.
“It didn’t matter how little or how far we were going,” Robert said. “If it was to support me, he was on. Always.”
Road crew foreman Shawn Morrison said that supportive nature extended to Stevens’s role as Highway Superintendent, where he prioritized the safety of workers and drivers above all else.
“He always said to me, ‘If you don’t feel safe doing it, then we’re not going to do it,’” Morrison said.
Morrison praised Stevens’s dedication to his post, saying he often worked long hours and weekends out of a love for the job. Winter was a favorite season, as Morrison said he was obsessive about clearing the town’s roads during snowstorms.
“A lot of people had nicknames out there for him — calling him ‘Bare-road Bob,’” Morrison said. “He was anal about his roads in the winter.”
Stevens rarely missed a day of work, for sickness or for pleasure, road crew employees and Town Supervisor Chris Kennan said. Joshua Schultz, a road crew member and Stevens’s godson, said he could remember one notable absence. “He took his son to Nashville,” Schultz said.
Photo providedBob Stevens, right, and his son, Robert Stevens Jr., pose for a photograph together. Robert remembered his father as a caring and supportive man following his death on Monday, March 30.Photo provided
Robert Jr. said he and his father traveled twice to Nashville, Tennessee — among the few trips they took together — but a third visit was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other travel opportunities often depended on Stevens’s work at the town garage. “If it was wintertime, he’s here,” Robert said. “He’s taking care of the town.”
Sickness didn’t keep Stevens at home either. Morrison said he would work from his well-known orange pickup truck to keep from spreading colds to people.
The orange pick-up truck was a fixture around town, Supervisor Chris Kennan said. Stevens was often spotted inspecting roads across town in the recognizable truck, when it wasn’t parked at the town garage while he worked in his office.
Kennan said the town will begin a search for a new Highway Superintendent, with a committee expected to form at the Thursday, April 9, Town board meeting. He also expects the board to install a plaque at the town garage on Route 22 honoring Stevens’s service.
Kennan proposed the plaque at a special meeting of the Town Board on April 1, saying a modest display would respect Stevens’s private nature.
“I’m excited that we’re going to put a plaque on that building,” Kennan said. “It’s appropriate that there be some reflection of what he put into it.”
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