Fire Damages Dodgingtown House
Fire Damages Dodgingtown House
By Andrew Gorosko
Firefighters from four local fire companies responded on the cold night of Saturday, December 9, to a house fire at the Lustig residence at 11 Aunt Park Lane, near Hundred Acres Road.
The fire, which was called in at 5:28 pm, caused an estimated $3,000 in damage to the roof of the two-story frame house, said Fire Marshal George Lockwood. There were no injuries.
Mr Lockwood said it appears that the accidental fire started after some newspapers, which had been used to build a fire in a fireplace, ignited and were lofted up through the chimney on an updraft, landed atop the houseâs sharply-pitched, wood-shingled roof, and set the dry shingles afire.
Five people were in the house when the fire on the roof started, he said.
About 30 to 45 minutes later, when some of the people were leaving the house to go out for the evening, they noticed that the roof was on fire, Mr Lockwood said.
On seeing the roof ablaze, Andrew Lustig used a garden hose to fight the fire, the fire marshal said. Mr Lustig did a good job in attacking the blaze, having it mostly extinguished by the time firefighters arrived, Mr Lockwood said.
Dodgingtown, Botsford, Newtown Hook and Ladder, and Sandy Hook firefighters went to the fire, which was in the Dodgingtown fire district. About 30 firefighters responded. The Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps went to the scene on standby duty.
The fire created smoky conditions outside the house and light smoke within the building, Mr Lockwood said. Firemen used a spray mist to extinguish the burning wood shingles to minimize water damage on the cold, wintry night.
Firefighters extended about 1,200 feet of water lines from a tanker truck to the burning house, he said. The house is set well back from Aunt Park Lane.
The fire directly damaged an area measuring about 6 feet by 6 feet on the roof, Mr Lockwood said. The family will be able to continue living in the house until the damage is repaired, he said.
Dodgingtown_firefighters stayed at the scene until almost 8 pm.