Taking Steps Against

Agile Aerialists

By Steve Bigham

Newtown Tree Service workers removed part of the ladder leading to the top of the 150-foot smokestack at Fairfield Hills last Friday. That should make it almost impossible for kids to climb to the top.

The giant smokestack has been a popular challenge for local youths, who often leave behind evidence of their climb. Two years ago, a giant banner was hung from the tower with an unflattering message to the Newtown Police Department. Police Lieutenant James Mooney braved the old ladder and removed the sign soon after it was first spotted.

Jim Hornyak of Tunxis Management hired Newtown Tree Service to put a stop to the nocturnal pranks on the smokestack.

“To get up there now, you’re going to need a fire truck or cherry picker,” he said.

A 15-foot ladder at the bottom of ascent was cut open by trespassers two years ago with what was probably a battery-operated saw.

Few people are known to have scaled the ladder to the catwalk at the top of the smokestack. The views from there are said to be spectacular.

The smokestack is located at the campus’s power plant off Trade’s Lane. The plant has become an area of concern recently, especially with the expected opening of the 5/6 school in January. The state plans to build an eight-foot fence around the abandoned building later this year.

The power plant and original smokestack were built during the 1940s. The smokestack was rebuilt in the 1940s. Neither the power plant nor smokestack is part of the 189 acres that the town is in the process of buying from the state.