Furnace Malfunction

Smokes Family From Home

By Andrew Gorosko

Firefighters responded late Monday night to an automatic alarm from a home at 9 Brandywine Lane in Sandy Hook and found that a furnace there had malfunctioned, failing to shut itself off, causing the house to fill up with smoke.

There were no injuries in the incident, which was reported at 11:49 pm, according to Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company Chief Bill Halstead.

Robert Hoffman, his wife, and their two small children were home at the time of the incident, Chief Halstead said. The family was on the front porch when firemen arrived and later went into the fire rescue truck for shelter, the chief said.

On reaching the home, firemen spotted gray smoke coming out of windows and a door of the two-story Colonial-style house. Brandywine Lane is a dead end street off Jeremiah Road.

A damage estimate was not available. The house is about two years old, the chief said.

Chief Halstead said the furnace in the house had failed to shut itself off and continued to blow heated air through ductwork, causing the insulation which lines the ductwork to melt and create smoke. The ductwork had grown so hot that it was too hot to handle, Chief Halstead said.

To deal with the problem, firemen turned off the furnace and opened up the ductwork in the basement. After the furnace was switched off, the smoke conditions subsided, Chief Halstead said.

It was not necessary to use water to handle the melting insulation problem, he said.

Firefighters used Sandy Hook’s new thermal imaging camera throughout the house to check for possible fires within walls, he said.

Extensive interior cleaning will be needed to correct the smoke-related problems caused by the malfunctioning furnace, he said. There is no visible damage to the house as seen from the street, he said.

The Hoffman family will be able to remain at home until the smoke damage is repaired, the chief said. Also, the circuitry which regulates the furnace must be repaired, he said.

Besides the 27 Sandy Hook firefighters who brought six fire trucks to the scene, Newtown Hook and Ladder firemen brought two trucks, and Botsford firefighters brought two trucks.

Not initially knowing that the call involved only a smoke condition, firefighters responded to it as if it were a nighttime structure fire.

The Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps went to the scene. Sandy Hook firemen remained at the scene for about two hours.