Taunton Lane House Gutted By Accidental Fire

By Andrew Gorosko

An elderly man and his middle-age daughter escaped injury early on the morning of Friday, January 28, when they fled from their burning Taunton Lane home, which had accidentally caught fire due to an equipment malfunction.

Charles Speidel, 86, his daughter, Corinne Speidel, and their blind pet Yorkshire terrier all escaped the blaze at 7 Taunton Lane without injury. Taunton Lane is a narrow, steep street that links Mt Pleasant Road to Taunton Hill Road.

Mr Speidel explained that he had been sleeping downstairs and his daughter had been sleeping upstairs when a fire alarm sounded, alerting his daughter of a problem. She spotted smoke and flames in the attic and then woke him, after which they quickly left the burning building with the pet dog.

A wood-shingled roof on the building easily ignited after the attic had caught fire, Mr Speidel said. The structure is insured. The cape-style house was built in 1934.

Mr Speidel said that he had hoped to donate a large piano in the house to Booth Library, but the piano was damaged in the fire.

The Speidels are staying elsewhere.

The town has condemned the heavily damaged house, said Fire Marshal Bill Halstead.

Mr Halstead said that an equipment failure caused the fire. The fire may have been caused by a malfunctioning heating/cooling unit that had been positioned in the attic, or by malfunctioning electrical cables that were in use at the house to melt ice and snow along the roofline, he said. The fire definitely started in the attic, he said.

The loss probably amounts to “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said. “It’s probably a total loss,” he added. An automatic alarm notified firefighters of the blaze, he said.

Amid subfreezing temperatures, all five local volunteer fire companies responded to battle the stubborn fire at the 5,600-square-foot house.

Hawleyville Fire Chief Joe Farrell, who was incident commander, said about 75 firefighters from all five local fire companies converged at the fire.

Hawleyville, Dodgingtown, and Newtown Hook & Ladder firefighters were dispatched to the Speidel residence at 1:12 am. At 1:21 am, Sandy Hook and Botsford firefighters also were sent to the scene.

When firefighters arrived, it initially appeared that only the front section of the house was on fire, said Chief Farrell.

Mr Speidel and his daughter were on Taunton Lane when fire crews arrived, the fire chief said.

Firefighters went into the burning building where they fought the blaze until it became too dangerous to stay inside, Chief Farrell said. They then fought the fire from outdoors, he added.

The fire proved to be a difficult one to extinguish, the fire chief said, noting that flames were showing throughout the structure. “[The fire] moved very fast,” he said.

It took more than an hour for firefighters to get the blaze under control, he noted.

A vehicle that was parked within a garage located on the bottom level of the house was damaged in the fire, Chief Farrell said.

 The difficulties of fighting the blaze were compounded by subfreezing temperatures and the extensive snowpack on the ground, he said. The low temperatures caused some fire hoses to freeze up. Also, narrowed roadways caused by the presence of snow banks made for a “tight fit” for fire vehicles, he said.

A fire hydrant positioned at the intersection of Taunton Lane and Mt Pleasant Road provided water for firefighting. About ten fire vehicles went to the incident. Town highway department workers sanded/salted Taunton Lane for ice control. A section of Mt Pleasant Road in the area was closed to traffic for a period.

Fire mutual aid service was provided by Stony Hill, Southbury, Bethel, and Stepney volunteers.

Mr Speidel reportedly is interested in having the distinctively styled house rebuilt.