Fast-Moving Fire Guts Office Space Above Detached Garage

By Andrew Gorosko

Four volunteer fire companies from Newtown and three companies from Monroe were dispatched on Monday, November 21, to extinguish a rapidly burning fire at a residential property at 105 High Rock Road in the Botsford fire district.

There were no injuries in the apparently accidental blaze that gutted a home office that was located above a detached two-bay garage at the Blackwell property, fire officials said. A damage estimate was not available.

Fire Marshal Bill Halstead said that the apparently accidental fire started near the floor of the office on the western side of the building.

The 3:33 pm fire call drew volunteers from the Botsford, Sandy Hook, Hook & Ladder, Dodgingtown, Monroe, Stepney, and Stevenson volunteer fire companies. A southern section of High Rock Road was closed to traffic while firefighting was underway.

Mr Halstead said he plans to continue investigating the fire to pinpoint its origin, though he added it appears to be accidental. Fire investigators probed the scene on Tuesday for clues in their investigation.

Mr Halstead said that Calvin Blackwell had been working in the second-story office on Monday and then went to his nearby house. When Mr Blackwell, who is a building contractor, later returned to the office, he opened the door and found the room full of smoke, after which firefighters were called, Mr Halstead said.

The fire gutted the office space, destroying the room’s contents, which included various construction documents, filing cabinets, desks, and office equipment, Mr Halstead said.

The garage level of the structure only has water damage, he added. A motorcycle that had been parked in the garage was removed after the fire started, he said. A pickup truck that was parked near the garage was not damaged, he added. The garage/office structure will need a new roof, he said.

Mr Blackwell’s house, which lies about 75 feet from the garage, was not damaged, Mr Halstead said.

Botsford Fire Chief Wayne Ciaccia served as incident commander at the fire.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, the office above the garage space was engulfed in flames, Chief Ciaccia said. Flames were extending about 20 feet outward from the gable ends of the office, he said, adding that the fire was fueled by the many combustible contents of the office.

Firefighters first attacked the blaze from the side of the building nearest to High Rock Road, he said. They then were able to enter the office with fire hoses to extinguish the blaze, he added.

Fire tankers were lined up High Rock Road to provide water for the firefighting.

“We were able to establish a water supply fairly quickly,” Chief Ciaccia said.

He estimated that about 25 firefighters responded to the scene.

The fire chief explained that he called for mutual aid from the nearby Monroe volunteers fire companies to get the fire under control as quickly as possible. “We got it knocked down pretty quick,” he added.

“It worked out about as well as it could have,” he said of firefighters efforts to limit the spread of the blaze after their arrival.

Southbury firefighters responded to Sandy Hook’s main fire station to provide local backup fire coverage.