Lakeview Terrace House Fire Considered Suspicious

By Andrew Gorosko

Police and fire officials are investigating a suspicious fire that heavily damaged a vacant house at 125 Lakeview Terrace, near Lake Zoar, early Tuesday morning.

Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead said Wednesday, “We’re investigating it as a possible arson…The fire appeared to be an arson…It appears that the fire was set.”

The house was in the process of being auctioned off by its current owner, which is a lending firm.

The two-level deteriorating house sits on a steep slope on the north side of Lakeview Terrace.

A nearby resident reported the fire at 3:56 am, resulting in all five local fire companies, plus Southbury, being alerted of the blaze, Chief Halstead said.

About three dozen firefighters went to the scene, including firefighters from Sandy Hook, Botsford, and Hook & Ladder. Dodgingtown and Southbury firefighters stood by at the main Sandy Hook firehouse. Hawleyville firefighters stood by in their firehouse.

When he arrived at the fire, the house’s large porch and a section of the interior was ablaze, or about one-half of the structure, Chief Halstead said.

Using water carried on their fire trucks, firefighters doused the blaze and declared the fire under control at 4:32 am, the fire chief said. Depleted water tanks on fire trucks were refilled at a fire hydrant several miles away at the intersection of Philo Curtis Road and Pearl Street.

Firefighters used an estimated 7,000 gallons of water to put out the blaze. There were no injuries, Chief Halstead said.

The fire caused an estimated $50,000 in damage to the insured structure, resulting in serious structural damage to the building, Chief Halstead said.

The 495-square-foot, five-room ranch-style house, which was built in 1930, probably is a total loss requiring demolition, said Chief Halstead.

The steep terrain and poor physical condition of the property posed challenges for firefighters who fought the blaze, he said. The burning house did not pose a fire threat to adjacent houses, he said.

Firefighters left the scene at about 6:30 am. Investigators picked through the ruins on Tuesday in probing the cause of the fire.

Town real estate records indicate that the previous owners of the house were subject to a mortgage foreclosure on the one-half-acre property in 2006.

The property’s current owner, which is a lending company, held an auction of the property at the site on April 25, but has not yet approved any of the bids submitted for the real estate, Chief Halstead said.

Police Officer Steve Ketchum, who is the police department’s fire investigator, is participating in the fire investigation.

Chief Halstead declined to discuss specific aspects of the investigation, or to say whether there are any suspects in the case.

Investigators will be interviewing people in the neighborhood in probing the cause of the blaze, he said.

Chief Halstead asked anyone with information about the fire that may be helpful to investigators to contact the fire marshal’s office at 270-4370, or Officer Ketchum at 426-5841.