90 Firefighters Respond—

Blaze Extensively Damages Deerfield Drive Home

By Andrew Gorosko

Amid a yard coated with fresh-fallen snow, Akos “Tony” Rathonyi, 78, stood near his fire-damaged home on Deerfield Drive on Wednesday morning, as town fire investigators picked through the wood-frame structure in seeking the cause of a blaze that extensively damaged the ranch-style house on Tuesday afternoon.

At 2:48 pm on Tuesday, firefighters received a call alerting them that the house was afire with heavy smoke coming out of its windows and chimney. The home, whose street address is 10 Deerfield Drive, sits near the turning circle at the end of the dead-end street, which extends westward from Toddy Hill Road in Sandy Hook.

Mr Rathonyi said he had left his house on Tuesday morning for a trip to Vermont and when he returned about 5 pm, he encountered the normally quiet Deerfield Drive lined with many fire vehicles that were parked there as firefighters fought the blaze. He soon learned what had happened.

A stark red sign stating that the house has been “condemned” was hanging on an exterior wall near the front door on Wednesday.

Chief Building Official John Poeltl explained that the building condemnation means that the house is not habitable due to its extensive damage. The options for the structure are either to repair it or to raze it, depending upon which is deemed the more financially practical choice, he said.

“It’s clearly not habitable,” Mr Poeltl said, noting the extensive char damage, smoke damage, and water damage to the structure, plus plumbing and electrical issues.

Mr Rathonyi has made arrangements to stay elsewhere.

Mr Rathonyi, who lives alone, has a pet cat that travels in and out of the house. The cat was missing, he said, adding that it is unclear whether the animal was inside or outside the building when the fire occurred. He said the frightened feline may have run away, considering the intensity of the blaze.

Deputy Fire Marshal Rich Frampton, who probed the cause of the blaze with other town fire investigators, said he expects that the fire damage exceeds $250,000.

Mr Frampton said the cause of the fire is undetermined, but does not appear to be suspicious. The incident remains under investigation, he said. An insurance company fire investigator is probing the blaze, he said.

The fire’s point of origin is in the general area of a woodstove inside a finished basement, which is adjacent to a two-bay garage in the lower level of the ranch house, he said. Before he left for the day, Mr Rathonyi had loaded some wood into the woodstove to heat the house, Mr Frampton said.

 The fire initially was confined to the basement area, but then flashed up into the house’s upper level, he said. The structure’s interior was quite cluttered with various items as firefighters attacked the blaze, he said.

After receiving word of the blaze, firefighters from Sandy Hook, Newtown Hook & Ladder, Botsford, Dodgingtown, Hawleyville, and Southbury responded to the scene to put out the fire, explained Anthony Capozziello, Sandy Hook’s assistant fire chief, who served as incident commander.

“Everybody did an excellent job, very professional,” he said of firefighters’ efforts. “Everybody knew what they had to do,” he said. About 90 firefighters responded to the scene, he said.

Asst Chief Capozziello said that when firefighters arrived, they saw dark smoke pouring out the building’s eaves and the chimney.

 To fight the blaze, firefighters set up a shuttle that transported water to the fire in tanker trucks from a pond off Old Mill Road, he said. The tankers traveled to that pond via Still Hill Road. The pond is about 6,000 feet from the fire scene.

Asst Chief Capozziello estimated that firefighters used about 30,000 gallons of water to extinguish the blaze.

Firefighters set up five hose lines at the scene. To halt the flames, they entered the house through the two-bay garage and through the front door, he said. There were no vehicles in the garage at the time.

Firefighters spent more than five hours at the site, overhauling the property after having extinguished the fire. One firefighter sustained a hand injury in battling the blaze.

Volunteer fire companies from adjacent towns sent fire vehicles to local firehouses to help provide fire protection in town while firefighters were at the Deerfield Drive incident, Asst Chief Capozziello said. 

Looking at his boarded-up, fire-damaged home on Wednesday morning, Mr Rathonyi asked, “What choice do I have? I have to rebuild it.”

“It’s a big loss,” he added. He said he would be looking through the property where he has lived since 1977 to learn what items he might save.

Mr Rathonyi said he emigrated to the US from Rumania in 1956. After retiring from Carpenter Steel in Bridgeport more than 20 years ago, he worked at St Rose Church for four years doing various jobs, and then worked in maintenance at Sand Hill Plaza for nine years, he said.