Unusual Fire Hits Little Brook Lane Home

By Andrew Gorosko

Firefighters encountered an unusual house fire on Little Brook Lane early on the windy, snowy morning of December 8, after they responded to a report that primary electrical lines had fallen from a utility pole and were arcing on the ground.

Botsford Fire Chief Wayne Ciaccia said this week that firefighters were called at 2 am on December 8, alerting them that a length of electric line had fallen to the ground during stormy conditions and was emitting sparks, so they responded to Little Brook Lane to secure the area.

An about 100-foot-length of electrical line was down alongside the street, emitting sparks and smoke. Botsford, Sandy Hook, and Hook & Ladder firefighters responded to the scene.

After he had called for the Connecticut Light & Power Company (CL&P) to come and shut off the electricity in the area, Chief Ciaccia noticed a unusual orange-colored glow at 23 Little Brook Lane, which is the Cape-style Gruber residence.

Initially, he considered it to be a reflection of the nearby arcing power line, but on closer inspection, he realized that it was small fire burning at the base of one of the two garage doors at the Gruber’s attached garage.

Chief Ciaccia said he called the town’s emergency dispatch center to have a dispatcher place a telephone call to the Grubers to alert them of the fire, but the call that the dispatcher placed to the Grubers was not answered.

The fire chief then banged on the front door to alert the three sleeping family members, two dogs, and two cats of the situation.

Eventually, firefighters were able to get into the house through a basement door, Chief Ciaccia said.

The basement was filled with smoke.

A rubber mat on the basement floor had also ignited and was generating much smoke in the building, he  said.

The small fire at the garage and the small fire in the basement were well separated, he said.

The Gruber family and their pets were then awakened from their sleep upstairs and were able to safely leave the house, the fire chief said. One of the dogs apparently experienced a physical reaction to the situation, Chief Ciaccia said.

After CL&P shut off power in the area, the two electrical fires stopped burning.

The fire caused an estimated several thousand dollars worth of damage.

The incident could have turned into a much worse situation if a neighborhood resident had not noticed the arcing electrical line on the ground and called for firefighters, Chief Ciaccia said.

Attempts to reach the Grubers for comment were unsuccessful.

Fire Marshal Bill Halstead noted that before the fires had occurred, it had rained heavily, saturating the ground with moisture.

Apparently the wet conditions resulted in the voltage from the downed electrical line finding its way through the ground to the house and igniting the fires in two locations there where conditions were suitable for such fires to occur, he said.

Both fires involved rubber objects that were burning, he said. A rubber seal at the base of the garage door ignited as did a rubber mat in the basement, he said.

The voltage may have been conveyed to the basement via steel reinforcing bars within the concrete of the basement structure.

Chief Ciaccia termed the incident “one of the more unusual fire calls I’ve been on.”