A Sandy Hook family has been displaced by a fire.

Culver Bolmer’s antique Colonial at 38 Berkshire Road was destroyed by fire that was discovered during the early morning hours of June 29. Bolmer was not home at the time of the fire but his daughter was. She was able to exit his home without injury as firefighters began arriving.

All five of Newtown’s fire companies responded to the fire. The house is on Berkshire Road (State Route 34), just east of that road’s intersection with Toddy Hill Road. The home had 2,104 square feet of living space and was constructed in 1796, according to the online assessor’s database.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Chief Anthony Capozziello was the first firefighter to arrive on the scene, at 3:41 am.

The west side of the structure, Capozziello said, “was fully engulfed.”

Bolmer’s daughter was outside when the fire chief arrived, “and she confirmed she was the only one there at the time,” Capozziello added.

It took about 20 minutes for the fire to be knocked down. Firefighters were on scene for another hour, however, fully dousing the fire and doing overhaul work.

“The fire heavily damaged the kitchen area, and there is extensive smoke damage throughout the house,” Capozziello said. “The fire started to work its way toward the roof before we could knock it down.”

Capozziello estimates 35-40 firefighters were at the scene. The fire was attacked from the interior and exterior of the house.

“Everybody did very well,” the fire chief said.

Among the challenges for the first responders was the driveway. The L-shaped drive goes in from Berkshire and then takes a sharp turn toward the house. Capozziello said the current construction on Berkshire, which is part of the Exit 11 realignment project, made it difficult for drivers to get trucks in there.

“Because of the grade it was challenging, but we made it happen,” he said.

The call was the first structure fire for Sandy Hook’s new Quint, a brand-new multi-purpose truck the company purchased and put into service in early May, he also noted.

“We used it for ventilation on the roof,” Capozziello said. The first water on the fire was also provided by the new truck.

“I’m very happy with the truck that we purchased for multiple uses,” he said. “It did exactly what we needed it to do this morning.”

Additional water for the fire was carried by tankers filling at a hydrant on nearby Turnberry Lane.

As per structure fire protocol, Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps had a crew on-site during the call. One firefighter had breathing difficulty during the incident, but the NVAC crew checked them and did not need to take them to the hospital.

There were no other injuries reported.

One cat did perish in the fire, Capozziello noted.

Southbury and Stepney firefighters also responded to Sandy Hook, and companies in neighboring districts including Stevenson were asked to stand by at their stations in the event additional manpower was needed. Eversource was also called in.

Fire Marshal Richard Frampton responded to the scene. A Newtown Police detective and a state fire marshal with a K9 were both requested by Frampton.

The Red Cross was also notified, and sent to assist the Bolmer family. According to a statement from the American Red Cross, three ARC responders were in Sandy Hook Thursday morning to provide assistance to meet the family's immediate needs.

"Those affected will connect with Red Cross caseworkers in the coming days to work on a longer-term recovery plan," the statement also noted.

Firefighters fully cleared from the property just before 6 am Thursday.

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Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.