Swift Fire Destroys Yard Shed

At Jeremiah Road Residence

By Andrew Gorosko

A quick-moving fire of undetermined origin destroyed a wood-frame yard shed behind a Jeremiah Road residence in Sandy Hook early Tuesday morning.

Firefighters received a call for help about 1:37 am from a neighboring resident, informing them that a shed behind the Pendergast house at 14 Jeremiah Road was aflame. Jeremiah Road extends from Pole Bridge Road, in the vicinity of Berkshire Road (Route 34).

Two Sandy Hook firefighters were overcome by exertion at the scene, after which they were treated there by ambulance volunteers and then released, said Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company Chief Bill Halstead.

The shed, which was located about 35 feet behind the house, enclosed about 300 square feet of space, the fire chief said. The structure contained various power equipment and tools, and had electrical service, he said. The shed held items including a lawn tractor, drill press, propane tank, automotive parts, and woodworking tools, he said.

The fire chief estimated the loss at approximately $50,000. The destroyed structure was insured, he said.

“It was a ball of fire when we arrived,” he said.

Firefighters knocked on the house’s front door to wake its two occupants, who had been sleeping, to inform them that the shed was on fire, Chief Halstead said. Flames from the burning shed did not spread to the house.

After receiving the call for help from a neighboring property owner, Sandy Hook and Botsford firefighters went to the scene, with Hook & Ladder, Hawleyville, and Dodgingtown firefighters standing by at their fire stations, Chief Halstead said.

About 30 firefighters went to the Jeremiah Road property. Fire staffers knocked down the blaze in about 15 minutes with the water carried on fire trucks, he said.

Firefighters spent about 80 minutes at the property, after which they returned to their fire stations to prepare their equipment for ensuing calls.

Chief Halstead returned to the fire scene later Tuesday to investigate the cause of the fire, but found the damage to the building and it contents to be so extensive that it may not be possible to determine the cause of what was an apparent accidental fire.