(Photo by Zachary Meseck)

PRESTON – Investigators are still trying to figure out the cause and origin of a fire that claimed a home in Preston last week.

According to Chenango County Fire Bureau Coordinator Matthew Beckwith, at approximately 2:44 p.m. on March 16, a passerby noticed a home on County Route 10 was on fire and called 911.

Beckwith said the family that lived in the home was out for lunch at the time of the fire, and they returned to the home in flames.

“We were there for about seven and a half hours,” said Beckwith. “It was one of those stubborn fires, it got up into the attic and it was difficult to pin it down.”

“We chased it from one side of the house to the other, but unfortunately the home was still a total loss.”