MIDDLESEX — Quick response by concerned neighbors and the Middlesex and Rushville Fire Departments saved a house and nesting chickens from a blaze. 

Yates County Deputies and Fire Departments responded to the fire at the home of Robert Hight, 46, at 916 Hadsell Road in Middlesex shortly after noon on Jan. 30.  They found a shed fully involved in flames. The fire was quickly extinguished but its contents was a total loss. 

The front of the shed was being used for tool storage. The back of the shed served as a chicken coop and was being warmed with a heat lamp prior to the fire. Members of the Yates County Fire Investigation Team later determined the heat lamp was the cause of the fire.