Date: Fri 09-Apr-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

fire-York-Pepperidge-Road

Full Text:

Fire Destroys Pepperidge Road Home

(with photos)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Firefighters from five fire companies responded to an accidental house fire

which destroyed a contemporary home at 17-19 Pepperidge Road in Dodgingtown on

the afternoon of April 3.

Dodgingtown Fire Chief Greg White said Monday resident Jim York had been

melting some wax on the stove in his kitchen and then went outdoors.

Possibly as long as 90 minutes later, Mr York noticed smoke coming out of the

house and went back into it to check out the problem. He found a smoke-filled

house due to the fire, and then left quickly, said Deputy Fire Marshal Bill

Halstead, who investigated the fire. By the time Mr York discovered the blaze,

it was well underway, Mr Halstead said.

The wax, which had been melting on the stove, ignited and then spread to a

wall and the ceiling of the kitchen, Mr Halstead said. Mr York apparently had

forgotten that he had been melting wax on the stove, according to the deputy

fire marshal.

"The main floor was fully involved" in flames when firefighters arrived on the

scene, Chief White said.

There were no injuries in the blaze which caused about $330,000 in damage to

the house and its contents, Mr Halstead said. "The house is virtually

destroyed," he said, "a total loss."

Chief White said there hasn't been a fire in Dodgingtown that caused that much

damage in more than five years. Pepperidge Road is a side street off Birch

Hill Road.

"When we got there, all the doors were open," Chief White said.

Halstead theorizes the open doors allowed drafts to enter the building and fan

the flames, accelerating the fire's spread through the wood-frame house.

"It was stubborn. We had it under control in about 20 minutes," the chief

said, adding that it took about 90 minutes to extinguish the blaze.

The burning house didn't pose a fire threat to other houses in the

neighborhood, according to Mr Halstead.

Firefighters used water carried by tanker trucks to put out the fire.

There were no vehicles in the garage which is in the lower level of the York

house, Chief White said. The residence, which is built into a hillside, is

surrounded by a colorful garden filled with ornamental plants and sculpture.

The American Red Cross and Newtown Social Services were making living

arrangements for Mr York after the fire, Chief White said.

"Dodgingtown was there real quick," Mr Halstead said of the local fire

company's response to the blaze, which was reported at 1:36 pm. Dodgingtown

firefighters reportedly were in their Route 302 firehouse when the fire report

was received.

Besides Dodgingtown firefighters, firemen from Newtown Hook and Ladder,

Hawleyville, Sandy Hook, and Bethel went to the fire, as well as the Newtown

Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Southbury firefighters went to the Sandy Hook

firehouse to provide backup fire coverage.

"Everybody worked well. We worked with the other departments. Everybody teamed

up and did fine," Chief White said of the group effort to put out the house

fire. Firefighters spent more than three hours at the scene.

Mr Halstead said the house has been condemned and will be demolished. Mr York,

who is elderly, intends to live in a trailer on the site until a new house is

built there, Halstead said.