To the Editor:

On Sunday, Jan. 11, our family experienced a devastating loss when our barn caught fire in the early evening.

For several hours into the night, the fire departments of Knox, Albany, Altamont, Berne, Guilderland, and North Bethlehem collectively and bravely fought the fire. While our loss was great, no people or animals were harmed.

As we were witness to our barn coming down, what we observed in the actions of the crews of the above-mentioned communities had a greater impact. These dedicated departments rushed to our assistance, and for this, we are forever grateful.

In situations like these, “Thank you” seems to weigh inadequate, but that is all we could keep repeating throughout.

The fire departments from communities throughout the Capital District worked seamlessly together; they were efficient, organized, and focused. They were all well trained for the task they faced and approached it valiantly.

These individuals are our neighbors. They are our locally elected officials and small-business owners. They are college students. They are also volunteers and they deserve all the support and recognition that we can provide.

So, once again we want to thank the chiefs, officers, firefighters and paramedic teams who helped our family. We want to thank the deputy officers from the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

We want to thank the team from National Grid that restored power to our home. We want to thank our friends and neighbors who have called and visited and offered assistance in rebuilding. We are thankful for all the support

The Roether Family

Knox