WOODSTOCK, N.Y. - The cause of a fire that destroyed a two-story barn and burned the roof of a nearby workshop on the same property is still undetermined, the fire chief said.

Woodstock Fire Chief Mike Densen said the Ulster County Arson Task Force was still investigating the cause of the fire on Wednesday evening at 166 Wittenberg Road. He said the fire destroyed the barn, which was largely empty, and burned the roof of a smaller workshop about 25 feet away that was being rented for woodworking and storage use. There are also a home and another smaller barn on the property owned by Mitchell and Roseann Vinicor, the chief said. He said the owners were home at the time of the fire.

“The barn is a total loss,” Densen said Thursday morning. He said the structure was nearly in a heap on the ground when firefighters arrived.

Firefighters were called to the blaze at 5:54 p.m. Wednesday and arrived three minutes later, Densen said. He said there about 40 firefighters from his and three other fire departments responded. Firefighters remained at the property until about 10:30 p.m.

Densen said a woman who lives next door, Janet Shultis, was severely burned on her right arm when she attempted to run past the building to get to her home. Densen said Shultis was taken to Kingston Hospital and transferred to Westchester Medical Center.

Densen added that he lives several miles away from the Wittenberg property but still had large ashes from the fire falling in his yard. He said some of the ashes were the size of notebook paper.

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