Car Fire Causes Heat Damage To Nearby Home

By Andrew Gorosko

Early on the morning of June 8, an accidental car fire caused radiant heat damage to an adjacent home at 14 Pilgrim Lane, where three people were sleeping, said Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company Chief Bill Halstead.

There were no injuries in the 2:36 am incident, which caused an estimated $10,000 of property damage to the home and nearby vehicle, according to Chief Halstead. The property is insured.

About 40 Sandy Hook and Botsford firefighters responded to the scene. Newtown Hook and Ladder firefighters were dispatched to a nearby staging area in the event that they were needed at the scene, but they did not go to the fire, the fire chief said.

Firefighters received the call for help after a neighbor spotted a 1989 Ford Taurus sedan ablaze about 25 feet away from a home at 14 Pilgrim Lane, Chief Halstead said. Pilgrim Lane is a dead-end side street off Toddy Hill Road, near Still Hill Road. The fire scene is near the end of the Pilgrim Lane.

The damaged home is owned by Esther and Clifford Nichols, Chief Halstead said. Ms Nichols and two other people were asleep in the building when the fire occurred, the fire chief said.

The Ford, which had not been in use for some period of time, apparently accidentally caught fire and generated radiant heat, which caused the vinyl siding on the rear of the nearby home to melt. The building remains habitable, the fire chief said.

The auto was totally destroyed in the fire, which firefighters rapidly extinguished, Chief Halstead said. The side of the house nearest the auto was damaged by the heat from the blaze. Firefighters removed some siding from the structure to check for possible fire lurking beneath the surface.

Had the car fire not been discovered as soon as it was, the blaze could have caused more damage, Chief Halstead said. The neighbor who spotted the blaze was getting ready to go to work at the time that he noticed the fire, the fire chief said.