Town Center Fire Destroys Barn And Truck, Damages House

By Andrew Gorosko

and Shannon Hicks

Volunteer firefighters from all five local fire companies, plus out-of-town mutual aid volunteers, responded about 7:35 pm Tuesday, November 15, to extinguish a fire at Main Street and East Street in the town center, which destroyed an antique barn and a pickup truck, and also damaged a nearby antique house, fire officials said.

There were no injuries. A damage estimate was not available.

The accidental fire apparently started due to an equipment malfunction in a 1997 Dodge Ram diesel pickup truck, which was parked immediately next to the barn at the rear of the residential property at 46 Main Street, said Fire Marshal Bill Halstead.

After the truck caught fire, the flames spread to the barn, which was built in 1863, he said. The real estate is owned by Dolores Miller.

After the barn became engulfed in flames, the fire spread to an adjacent two-apartment, two-story house which has the street address of 2-4 East Street, he said.

The house, which was built in 1840, is owned by Bryan and Bernadette McSweeney. The McSweeneys live in one of the apartments in the building. The residents of the other apartment are Eileen Preston and her sons Simon, 11, and Andre, 8, Mr Halstead said.

The several people who were in the 2-4 East Street building were able to leave the structure without injury after the fire was discovered, he said.

The initial call reporting the blaze came from the nearby White residence at 7 Wendover Road, according to fire officials.

Chief Building Official John Poeltl said that while the barn was a total loss in the fire, the house at 2-4 East Street could be rebuilt.

The 960-square-foot barn had contained various equipment, including generators, tool boxes, power equipment, and motorcycles, Mr Halstead said.

The Preston residence, which is nearer to the barn, received heavier damage in the fire, with the McSweeney residence receiving relatively light damage, Mr Halstead said. The McSweeney apartment could be reoccupied soon, he said.

“The fire departments did an excellent job to [limit] the amount of damage,” Mr Halstead said of efforts to contain the blaze.

The 1863 Miller residence at 46 Main Street, which lies far west of the destroyed barn, was not damaged by the fire, he added.

The damaged structures/contents are insured for loss, Mr Halstead said.

Responding to the blaze were fire companies from Newtown Hook & Ladder, Sandy Hook, Hawleyville, Dodgingtown, and Botsford, said Hook & Ladder Chief Jason Rivera, who served as incident commander.

Under the firefighting mutual aid system, Newtown firefighters received help from fire volunteers from Southbury, Brookfield, Stony Hill, Bethel, and Monroe, he said.

Overall, about 70 firefighters responded to the scene, said Chief Rivera. Firefighters used water from three nearby fire hydrants that are connected to the public water supply system, he said.

The barn was fully involved in flames when firefighters arrived, with the fire quickly spreading to the adjacent house.

The firefighters from the various units worked well together in battling the blaze, Chief Rivera said.

Although there have been many structure fires in town during the past year, it has been “quite some time” since there was a fire of this magnitude in the Hook & Ladder fire district, Chief Rivera said.

The firefighters had the blaze under control within one hour, he said.

A Hard Fire To Fight

“It was a very difficult fire to extinguish,” he said, noting the complexities of putting out a blaze in a house with old-style construction which allows fires to spread rapidly.

Although they sit on separate buildings lots, the barn and the house were located only about four feet apart, Chief Rivera said. Also, the truck and the barn were only a few feet apart when the fire started, he said.

After controlling the blaze, firefighters searched the scene to extinguish any ongoing fire that was not readily apparent, he said. Fire crews remained there until about 1:30 am on Wednesday. The Hook & Ladder firehouse lies across the road at 45 Main Street.

The section of Main Street near the fire scene was closed to traffic for several hours while fire trucks were stationed there. Motorists in the area took detours while firefighting was underway.

Hook & Ladder’s Engine 111, an attack pumper, was stationed on East Street, to the north of the house and barn.

Hawleyville firefighters pulled one of their fire engines into the driveway of 46 Main Street and used their deck gun to spray water over the barn and toward the house.

A fire tanker shuttle was set up on Main Street.

Shane Miller, who lives in the historic Budd House at 50 Main Street, was on her porch Tuesday night when the fire broke out. Mrs Miller is unrelated to Dolores Miller of 46 Main Street.

Noises In The Night

“I was outside reading, doing some paperwork, because it was such a nice night,” Mrs Miller said.

“I heard a really loud noise, it sounded like an explosion or something, and then a few popping sounds. I thought it was kids, playing with firecrackers or something. I didn’t think too much about it initially,” Mrs Miller said.

A few moments later Mrs Miller looked around the back of her house, however, and knew that the sounds were serious.

“I saw the flames. They were already high,” she said. “I thought it was Bernadette [McSweeney’s] house. I didn’t realize it was the barn on fire. It was still very scary,” Mrs Miller said.

Mrs Miller, like many residents of Main Street, as well as those who were at Edmond Town Hall for the evening movie screenings, stayed outdoors to watch as firefighters battled the blaze. Dozens of people were seen along the sidewalk in the area of the fire scene during the course of the incident.

“I was really surprised [that] even with all the leaves on the ground, that it wasn’t worse,” Mrs Miller said Wednesday. She added she was very relieved by the quick response of firefighters.

“Yes, [Hook & Ladder’s firehouse is] right across the street from us, but it was amazing how fast everything got here,” she said. “I was relieved in part because a lot of embers were floating overhead and we worried about our house and barn for a few minutes.”

“I’m very glad it wasn’t a windy night. We were concerned about the embers,” Mrs Miller said.

Mrs Miller said that her husband George “saw Bernadette today [Wednesday], and she and her family are doing remarkably well. The neighbors will be here to help them.”

One father who was with his two young sons following the 7 pm Tuesday screening of Cowboys & Aliens at Edmond Town Hall was, like anyone else trying to exit from the town hall’s parking lot, redirected around that building and told to use the vehicular entrance to reach upper Main Street. One of his sons, sitting in the back seat of the vehicle, was very concerned about the evening’s events.

“Are the horses ok?” he called out from his car seat to a passing firefighter.

The boy was afraid that horses and other animals had been inside the barn when the fire broke out.

Once he was told that there were no animals inside the barn, he smiled and allowed his father to continue the drive home.