Accidental Fire Damages Yogananda Street Deck

By Andrew Gorosko

It was unfortunate that a fire occurred at the Stein residence on Yogananda Street in Sandy Hook early on the morning of Thursday, September 9. But it was fortunate that the fire was spotted quickly by a neighbor, resulting in rapid action to warn the sleeping Steins and some swift steps to extinguish the blaze.

Sandy Hook firefighters responded to a report of a structure fire at 5:09 am at the Stein home at 14 Yogananda Street.

The accidental fire, which was limited to a section of a wooden deck at the rear of the Colonial-style house, caused several thousand dollars worth of property damage, said Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Chief Bill Halstead. There were no injuries.

Some smoking materials that had been inadvertently discarded into a wooden planter started the fire, which occurred during dry conditions, said Chief Halstead, who also is the town fire marshal.

Rich Stein explained that he and his wife, Anne, were sleeping at the time that the fire was discovered.

Nicole Germak, 10, the daughter of Nick and Barbara Germak of the adjacent 12 Yogananda Street, was with her friend Maddy Manfredonia, 11, in the Germak residence at the time.

Nicole incidentally noticed the bright light generated by the fire on the deck at the nearby Stein house and alerted her parents and her brother Justin of the situation.

The sleeping Steins were summarily awakened and warned of the fire, and firefighters were summoned to the scene.

Before firefighters arrived, two garden hoses were being used to fight the blaze.

Mr Stein expressed thanks to Nicole for discovering and the fire and gratitude to his neighbors for their quick action in alerting he and his wife, and also informing firefighters of the potentially dire situation.

More than 20 Sandy Hook firefighters responded to the call.

All five local fire companies were informed of the blaze because it was a structure fire, authorities said.