Fire Extensively Damages Antique House In Dodgingtown

By Andrew Gorosko

Firefighters from all five local volunteer fire companies, plus Bethel, converged on the afternoon of Friday, November 9, at an accidental house fire on Shut Road, near its northern intersection with Webster Place, which extensively damaged the 1899 wood-frame structure.

There were no injuries in the blaze, which was reported from 9 Shut Road at about 1:44 pm, according to Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company Chief Steve Murphy, who was the incident commander.

Chief Murphy arrived at the fire quickly, noting that he lives only several doors away from the scene.

The blaze started in a second-story bedroom, with the fire then extending upward into the attic and to the roof of the antique house.

The fire destroyed that bedroom and heavily damaged the attic. It also resulted in heat, smoke, and water damage to other parts of the building.

Approximately 35 firefighters responded to the emergency, Chief Murphy said. Initially, firefighters brought a charged fire hose into the second-story bedroom where they rapidly put out the blaze, he said.

When considering the age of the house and its balloon-style construction, which allows fires to spread rapidly, firefighters then spent much time investigating whether the blaze had spread into concealed sections of the structure, he said.

The fire chief noted that it has been years since a fire caused so much damage to a house in the Dodgingtown fire district.

In fighting the blaze, firefighters used water drawn from an underground fire-water storage tank near Dodgingtown Garage on Dodgingtown Road (Route 302) in Dodgingtown Center, he said.

Considering the age and architectural design of the house, firefighters did well in extinguishing the blaze and limiting the damage to the structure, Chief Murphy said.

Mark Briganti and Sherry Sawyer are listed as the owners of the building. They live there with their two children, according to fire officials.

Fire Marshal Bill Halstead said investigators are seeking to pinpoint the cause of the blaze and are probing whether some electrical malfunction caused the structure to ignite while its four residents were away from home. The investigation is continuing, he said.

The house had been unoccupied since about 10:30 am the morning of the fire, he said. The fire was discovered by a relative of the occupants who arrived at the property about 1:44 pm, Mr Halstead said.

The insured structure is currently uninhabitable. Repair costs might exceed $100,000.