Early Morning Fire Destroys Attached Garage In Sandy Hook

By Andrew Gorosko

Firefighters from all five local volunteer fire companies, plus Southbury, responded early Thursday morning to a garage fire at 39 Riverside Road in Sandy Hook, which destroyed the garage and caused smoke damage to a house there.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company Chief Bill Halstead, who served as incident commander, said the fire call for the blaze at the Piccirillo residence was received at 4:45 am.

There were no injuries. William Piccirillo and his wife, Kim, plus their infant Gabrielle, were home when the fire occurred, Chief Halstead said.

The wood-frame two-story, two-bay garage was destroyed in the blaze. The garage has vehicle access from Goodyear Road. The house and garage are connected by a breezeway. The garage was located at the rear of the house.

Several dozen firefighters worked to put out the fire, which was under control in about 15 minutes, the fire chief said. Water was supplied from a fire hydrant located at the nearby Sandy Hook firehouse.

On arrival, firefighters encountered heavy fire in the garage area, the fire chief said. The destroyed garage contained a motorcycle, an all-terrain vehicle, some tools, and building materials. The contents of the garage were destroyed. Damaged were a pickup truck and a SUV, which were parked outdoors near the garage.

Information of the origin of the fire and the dollar value of the damage was not available. Chief Halstead said late Thursday morning that he would return to the site to continue his investigation into the blaze as the town fire marshal.

The 2,000-square-foot raised-ranch house that was built in 1972 appears to remain habitable, the fire chief said.