Date: Fri 06-Dec-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

fire-Sandy-Hook

Full Text:

with cuts: Fire Guts 18th Century Sandy Hook Home

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

A major structure fire extensively damaged a circa-1760, wood-frame house in

Sandy Hook Center early on the cold morning of November 30, according to Sandy

Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company Chief William Halstead.

Some Sandy Hook firefighters who had just returned from an automatic fire

alarm call on Route 34 were assembled at the Sandy Hook Firehouse on Riverside

Road about 3 am, Chief Halstead explained.

Fire Marshal George Lockwood had just left the firehouse and was headed

westbound on Church Hill Road to go on vacation when the fire marshal spotted

the house afire at 95 Church Hill Road and reported the blaze, the chief said.

The red house, which is on the north side of Church Hill Road, is three houses

west of Dayton Street.

Residents Janet and Robert Graves were able to get out of the house without

injury, according to fire officials. The tenant of a separate apartment at the

house wasn't home at the time of the blaze.

Damage is estimated by fire officials at $250,000 to $300,000.

The call from the fire marshal came in at 3:02 am, Chief Halstead said.

Firefighters were at the scene of the blaze within 90 seconds and saw flames

shooting out of a side window of the house, according to the chief.

At that time, Mr Graves was driving vehicles away from the fire, the chief

said.

Firefighters were putting water on the fire within five minutes of receiving

the call, he said. The use of a "standpipe" helped in extinguishing the blaze.

The standpipe, or vertical pipe, is installed near the site of the former

Sandy Hook Post Office. Through the standpipe, firefighters were able to draw

water upward from the Pootatuck River, get it into hoses and send it uphill to

pour on the burning building.

Fire officials continue to probe the cause of the blaze which isn't considered

suspicious, Chief Halstead said. It's unclear if smoke detectors in the house

sounded, the chief said.

The fire heavily damaged the den and a kitchen. The blaze then raced up a

stairwell to the second story.

The old house has "balloon-style" construction and thus lacks firestops,

allowing flames to spread rapidly, Chief Halstead said. The apartment received

fire and smoke damage.

"We had to literally tear the side of the house off to put out the fire," he

said. Firefighters also had to open up the house's roof to ventilate the

burning structure.

It took approximately 30 to 40 minutes to get the blaze under control, Chief

Halstead said.

Besides the difficulty in extinguishing the fast-moving blaze, water used to

fight the fire froze, causing icing problems that required road crews to sand

Church Hill Road at the scene.

All told, about 50 firefighters participated in the emergency, according to

the chief. Of the 50, about 27 Sandy Hook firefighters took part.

Due to the smokiness, wetness and the cold at the fire scene, firefighters

took turns in fighting the blaze, he said.

"It was very cold... and that affected the people," he said.

"Everybody worked very hard," he added.

One firefighter was checked out at Danbury Hospital for foreign matter in an

eye.

Sandy Hook firefighters left the scene at about 8 am. They stored their fire

equipment and went home late that morning.

The fire chief said the Sandy Hook Ladies Auxiliary did a good job in

supplying food and beverages at the fire scene.

Chief Halstead and Robert A. Brinley, Jr, are investigating the cause of the

fire. Both are deputy fire marshals.

Besides Sandy Hook firemen, firefighters from Newtown Hook and Ladder,

Hawleyville and Botsford participated. Firefighters from Southbury and also

from the Candlewood Volunteer Fire Company of Brookfield assisted.