Quick Acting Neighbors, Passerby Held House Fire At Bay
If not for the quick actions of a neighbor who grabbed a garden hose and a passerby who ran to help, a March 15 house fire on Botsford Hill Road may have destroyed the structure.
Newtown Fire Marshal Rich Frampton told The Newtown Bee the following day that the fire likely started outside in one or two plastic trash cans that were left on the north side of the single story ranch home.
“We’re waiting to speak to the residents to try and determine what was in those trash cans,” Frampton said. “They were melted down when we got there, nothing was left except the bottoms.”
While one neighbor across the street called 911 at approximately 4:07 pm, Frampton said another unidentified neighbor grabbed a garden hose from the home next door and started pouring water on the growing fire.
At some point before the first firefighters arrived, Frampton said a delivery driver passing by stopped and ran to help with another length of hose, but had nowhere to attach it for water.
A spent household fire extinguisher was also seen on the ground near the fire site, but the fire marshal had no information on where it came from.
The first dispatch at 4:07 sent Botsford and Sandy Hook volunteers to the scene, and two minutes later the call was upgraded, adding Hook & Ladder and Hawleyville fire companies. Apparatus clustered near the home’s driveway just south of Buttonshop Road forced rush hour traffic to divert around and eventually Newtown Police responded to assist, as well.
Botsford Chief Andrew White was on command and first at the scene. He notified dispatch and approaching companies that it appeared the home’s siding was burning.
The fire appeared to infiltrate the wall of the structure’s northwest corner, forcing firefighters to break open and peel back part of the exterior. As the fire was extinguished, other volunteers helped ventilate the building with large fans, and a ladder was extended to the roof.
Frampton said the home was unoccupied at the time of the fire, and there were no injuries. JP McGuire responded to board up the open wall, and the last Botsford volunteers left the scene around 5:21 pm.
Check back for further details as the investigation is completed.