Near Lake Zoar—

Pootatuck Park Home Destroyed By Christmas Night Fire

By Andrew Gorosko

An estimated 50 volunteer firefighters responded to a raging house fire on Christmas night, which destroyed a two-story, wood-frame house amid the rugged terrain of Pootatuck Park in Sandy Hook.

Firefighters first learned of the fire at 4:55 pm, when nearby residents started calling the town’s emergency dispatch center to alert it of the blaze.

Sandy Hook, Hook & Ladder, Hawleyville, Botsford, and Dodgingtown firefighters mobilized after the calls for help. Southbury firefighters stood by at the Sandy Hook Firehouse.

The fire destroyed the home at 26 Maplewood Terrace owned and solely occupied by Maureen Dacey, said Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead, who also is the town fire marshal.

Ms Dacey was not home at the time of the fire, having left the premises about an hour earlier for a holiday dinner with friends, Mr Halstead said. Firefighters were able to contact her later that night.

There were no injuries in the blaze, Chief Halstead said. Two pet cats were able to escape from the fire, he added. The loss is estimated at more than $300,000, he said.

The fire marshal and two deputy fire marshals spent about two hours picking through the charred wreckage of the home on Wednesday morning, in seeking to learn what caused the blaze.

The intense fire had caused a section of the house’s roof to collapse inward. Sections of the weakened exterior walls remained standing around the structure’s extensively damaged interior spaces.

The structure will need to be demolished, the fire marshal said.

Chief Halstead said the fire started in the first-floor living room, adding that the specific cause of the blaze remains unclear. He said the fire’s cause is “undetermined,” adding that it is “not suspicious.”

The presence of books and papers in the living room likely served as fuel for the fire which started there, he said.

Investigators are looking into whether the fire may have been caused by electrical problems or by careless smoking, he said. The extensive damage caused by the fire makes pinpointing a cause of the blaze difficult, he said.

Chief Halstead said he will again discuss possible causes of the fire with Ms Dacey.

Fire officials will confer with the homeowner’s insurance carrier in investigating the fire, he added.

The house, which was built in 1930, was a kit-style home that was at sold by the Sears Roebuck and Company for on-site assembly, he said.

The structure, which overlooks the long dead-end Maplewood Trail, is located on very steep terrain high above the Lake Zoar section of the Housatonic River. Chief Halstead said he expects that the home initially was used as a summer cottage and was later converted for year-round use.

Chief Halstead said that the first firefighters arrived at the scene just two minutes after the report of a fire was received. At that time, flames were leaping out of the first-story and second-story windows, he said.

The first fire truck arrived on the scene seven minutes after the first fire call came in, he said.

The very steep terrain in the area initially made handling water-charged firehoses there difficult, he said.

Firefighters set up a water holding tank, which was replenished by fire tankers that ferried water to the scene from a water supply that is served by a dry hydrant on Walnut Tree Hill Road, near its intersection with Glen Road, he said. The dry hydrant is located about 3,500 feet from the fire scene.

An estimated 38,000 gallons of water was used for firefighting, he said.

Firefighters were able to control the blaze in about 20 minutes, the fire marshal said. Multiple hose lines were used to battle the fire. Fire crews spent about four hours at the scene.

The middle-aged Ms Dacey was staying with friends immediately after the fire, Chief Halstead said.

According to town assessment records, the 26 Maplewood Trail property, which holds the 1,260-square-foot Cape Cod-style house, has an appraised value of about $303,000.