Reconstruction Starts In Ashes Of A Taunton Lane Home

By Andrew Gorosko

Standing at the site of the distinctive Taunton Lane house where he had lived for decades, but was destroyed by an accidental fire last winter, Charles Speidel, 87, watches intently as a worker deftly manipulates the controls of a hulking demolition machine to delicately hoist the remains of a charred Steinway Model A baby grand piano out of the building’s wreckage.

With precision, the worker swings the bulky, charred piano over what had been Mr Speidel’s driveway and gently lowers it to the ground where it is positioned for inspection.

Mr Speidel plans to salvage the remains of the massive musical instrument by having the metallic framework of the piano cleaned and refurbished for use as a table. The damaged piano had been covered by a pile of chest-high fire rubble inside the house.

And to make good on his promise of donating a piano to the Booth Library as part of his legacy, Mr Speidel explains that he has located a Steinway Model B music room grand piano that will be kept in his new house to be built at 7 Taunton Lane, and then later donated to the local library.

During recent days, a demolition crew was at work wrecking the charred remains of Mr Speidel’s handsome masonry and gray clapboard, multigabled home.

Mr Speidel, his daughter Corinne, and their pet Yorkshire terrier, known as Oliver, who is blind, fled the house early on the morning of January 28, after discovering the fire.

They are temporarily living at a nearby condominium complex until the Taunton Lane house is rebuilt, largely in the shape and form of what had been destroyed by the fire, except for some modern modifications.

The original building dates to 1934. The house originally was constructed for Mrs B.G. Demarest, a sculptor. The Speidel family moved into the house in 1966. They remodeled and expanded it in 1990.

Watching intently as a worker swiftly swung the broad arm of the wrecking machine across the terrain that had formerly held his home, Mr Speidel observed, “It’s amazing, the amount of debris they get out of there.”

Since the fire destroyed his house last winter, Mr Speidel made about 25 trips to the damaged house to salvage various items from the premises, placing them in storage.

Planning for the future, Mr Speidel spreads out some architectural drawings for his future home across the hood of station wagon parked at the demolition site.

Unfortunately, the tall boulder-style masonry walls of the former house were not salvageable, but new walls will be built of suitable stones to replace them, he said.

Matthew Lecher of Matthew Lecher Contracting, LLC, of Ridgefield explains that the plans for the new house call for building a three-bay garage on the north side of the structure.

“It’s an exciting project. It’s a unique house,” Mr Lecher said, adding that he expects the new house, which will enclose about 6,800 square feet of space, will be completed by late June 2012. The new structure will benefit from the addition of modern technology, he said.

As the whirring demolition machine continued its destructive work, Geoffrey Lounsbury of 5 Taunton Lane said that the Speidels have been through much, with the fire having destroyed their home.

“Charlie’s been a great friend,” Mr Lounsbury said. The Speidels have always been very thoughtful, he added.

To mark Mr Speidel’s recent 87th birthday, a party attended by more than 40 people was held at the Lounsbury residence.

Of the complexities involved in rebuilding a house that was destroyed by fire, Mr Speidel observed, “I’m certainly not depressed. It’s a new beginning.”

The new house will contain a media room, an office, and a large family room, he said.

The project’s goal is to re-create the house in which the Speidels had lived for 45 years, along with the benefit of modern features such as a three-bay garage, Mr Lecher said. Also, two garage bays will be constructed at the rear of the building for storage space.

Mr Speidel said his neighbors are glad that he is rebuilding a house on the 15-acre site.

As she watched the relentless action of the demolition machine, Corrine Speidel said, “It’s hard to see it go down, because it was such a beautiful house.”

But a structure equally good will rise in its place, she added.

“Now, we’re moving forward,” Mr Speidel said.

It has been difficult to have the house burn down and then watch the remains get demolished, but there will be a good outcome, he added.

The house fire was discovered by Corinne Speidel just after 1 am on January 28. Some electrically powered equipment that was located in the attic had malfunctioned, catching fire, causing the attic and the roof to ignite, after which the fire quickly spread through the home, destroying it.

All five local volunteer fire companies responded to battle the stubborn blaze amid subfreezing temperatures and a heavy snowpack. The massive blaze proved difficult to extinguish.

Mr Speidel has a large family, with five children, 11 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. They live across the United States.

Mr Speidel was one of the four founding partners of Qualitron Corporation. The firm, which produced industrial products for the electronics industry, started business in Newtown about 50 years ago. The company later moved to Danbury. It was sold to Perkin Elmer, Inc, in 1984.