Early Morning Fire Damages Shady Rest House

By Andrew Gorosko

An accidental early morning fire on Thursday, October 30, at a home at 8 MacKenzie Circle in the Shady Rest section of Sandy Hook caused an estimated $10,000 to $15,000 of property damage. There were no injuries.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company Chief Bill Halstead said firefighters received a call from a resident of the home at about 5:17 am, alerting them of a fire in the living room of the compact one-story home near Lake Zoar.

Sandy Hook firefighters went to the scene. Firefighters from Hook & Ladder and Hawleyville stood by at Sandy Hook’s Riverside Road firehouse.

Chief Halstead said that an air compressor that was in the house’s living room apparently had been left plugged into an electrical outlet, after which the device malfunctioned, resulting in the fire.

At the time of the fire, owner/occupant Eric Hyatt was at home with two other adults and two children. The five people were asleep before Mr Hyatt heard a crackling sound coming from the adjacent living room and then heard smoke detectors sounding, Chief Halstead said.

The middle-aged Mr Hyatt used water from a garden hose to knock down the blaze before firefighters arrived, Chief Halstead said. When firefighters got to the scene, they encountered smoky conditions.

The fire caused char damage to flooring in the house and to some adjacent objects, including tools, he said. The fire also caused some smoke damage.

The house, which is insured for damage, remains habitable, according to the fire chief.

The fire apparently was not burning for very long before it was discovered, Chief Halstead said.