A stubborn, intense fire, which was fueled by the compressed gas within two large propane tanks, destroyed a Cape-style house at 4 Aunt Park Lane in Hattertown early on the morning of Monday, May 4, leaving only a foundation and chimney standing amid the smoldering ruins.

Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company Assistant Chief Joe Masso, who served as incident commander, said there were no injuries in the blaze, which was reported to the town’s emergency dispatch center at about 4 am.

The cause of the fire was initially unclear.

Asst Chief Masso said fighting the fire was complicated by intense jets of flame that shot upward about 60 feet from the propane tanks, as well as a wildly sparking electric service line, which had detached from the burning house.

Town real estate records list Barbara and Kenneth Donahue of Memphis, Tenn., as the owners of the 2.4-acre property, which is on the northern end of Aunt Park Lane, near its intersection with Hundred Acres Road. The single-family house was built in 1939.

Asst Chief Masso said that three unidentified young adult males who apparently lived at the house were at home at the time of the incident. They escaped without injury. Firefighters called in the American Red Cross to provide aid to the victims.

Approximately 50 volunteer firefighters responded to the scene, as well as 15 other fire volunteers, who reported to local firehouses to provide backup fire coverage, Asst Chief Masso said.

Dodgingtown, Botsford, Hook & Ladder, Sandy Hook, Hawleyville, Bethel, Stony Hill, Monroe, Stevenson, and Stepney firefighters went to the scene. Brookfield, Bethel, Southbury, and Trumbull firefighters provided backup coverage at local firehouses.

On arriving at the burning house, firefighters saw flames shooting out from its windows, Asst Chief Masso said. The firefighting effort was complicated by the structure’s metallic roof, causing the heat of the fire to be concentrated within the building, he said.

Dodgingtown and Botsford firefighters quickly poured water on the blazing house, focusing on the burning propane tanks to keep the tanks cool and prevent them from exploding, he said.

While burning, the pressurized gas shot directly upward from the tanks, making a noise similar to that produced by jet engines, he said.

Firefighters shuttled water to the scene from a farm pond on Hundred Acres Road about 3,500 feet away. Asst Chief Masso said that firefighters used “tens of thousands of gallons” of water during the incident.

“Within the first ten minutes [after arriving at the fire], about 5,500 gallons of water [carried on fire vehicles] did not even put a dent in it,” he said of the intensely burning fire.

The heat of the fire eventually caused the house’s roof to collapse.

Using an external attack, it took approximately one hour to get the flames under control, Asst Chief Masso said. After about two hours, the propane stored in the two tanks had burned itself out.

Firefighters shuttled water to the scene for about three hours, he said. More than a dozen fire vehicles responded to the scene.

Asst Chief Masso characterized the incident as “a pretty intense experience,” noting that it occurred during the nighttime and burned intensely for a long period due to the presence of propane.

The fire on May 4 was the worst fire in the Dodgingtown fire district that has occurred since a 2000 structure fire at Foxview Farm on Hundred Acres Road, Asst Chief Masso said.

Asst Chief Masso said the multiple volunteer fire companies worked well together at the incident, displayed good cooperation and effectiveness in dealing with the emergency.

This story has been updated to correctly identify the number of people who were living in the house at the time of the fire.