Date: Fri 21-Jun-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

fire-Berkshire-Road

Full Text:

with cut: Freak Electrical Fire Damages Berkshire Road Home

Sandy Hook firefighters responded to two fire calls at the same time Tuesday

morning at adjacent addresses on Berkshire Road.

A report of an electrical transformer fire at 219 Berkshire Road came in at

5:03 am, said Fire Chief William Halstead. Shortly thereafter, firemen

received a call concerning an air conditioner fire at the Lukeris residence at

217 Berkshire Road.

The firefighters were hampered in their efforts to extinguish the blaze by a

long delay in getting Connecticut Light & Power to cut the power to the home.

Firemen arrived at the scene to find that a high-voltage electrical line had

snapped and fallen onto the ground. It was burning brightly with flames

shooting six feet into the air, Chief Halstead said. The electrical line

apparently had fallen because it had been in contact with some tree limbs and

snapped, he said.

Firemen encountered both fire and smoke in the Lukeris's laundry room, the

chief said. When they touched certain parts of the house, they received

electrical shocks, according to the chief.

Also, a fire truck which had been driven into the driveway had become

electrified, said Chief Halstead. Other trucks, which were parked off the

property, were then used at the scene, he said.

Firefighters placed a 5:15 am call to the Connecticut Light and Power Company

(CL&P) to come to the scene to turn off the electricity so that firefighters

could put water on the small, smoldering fire without a shock hazard, Chief

Halstead said. But it took until 6:38 am before CL&P turned off the power.

The 27 firefighters who responded to the scene were endangered by the

electrical shock hazard posed by CL&P's lateness in turning off the power,

Chief Halstead said. There were no injuries at the fire.

Chief Halstead questioned why it took the power company so long to come to the

fire scene and shut off the electricity. "I think some questions have to be

answered here," he said.

Fire Marshal George Lockwood said he will meet with the state Department of

Public Utility Control to complain about the power company's slow response to

the fire scene which posed shock hazards to firemen.

A few firemen received relatively mild electrical shocks at the house, the

fire marshal said, noting that firefighters are very upset with the power

company's slow response.

Cheryl Duey, a spokeswoman for Northeast Utilities, the parent company of

CL&P, said that at the time of day CL&P received the call to cut the power to

the house, no one was in the office ready to go to the scene, so workers had

to be summoned from their homes.

Power was turned off at 6:36 am, she said. When the power was cut, 395 homes

in the area lost their electrical service until 10:20 am, she said.

The downed wire may have been the result of a lightning strike, Ms Duey said.

CL&P officials will be meeting with the homeowner to discuss the incident, she

said. CL&P has contacted the first selectman's office and the fire chief about

the incident and is seeking to contact the fire marshal, she said.

A damage estimate for the fire wasn't available.