A malfunctioning electric space heater caught fire and partially melted, causing a smoke condition within a single-family house on Toddy Hill Road on the night of Sunday, March 4, fire officials said.

Several people were at home at the Mansukhani residence, a two-story Colonial-style house at 27 Toddy Hill Road, at the time of the incident, but none of them were injured, according to fire officials. The building is on the east side of Toddy Hill Road, just north of its intersection with Quarry Ridge Road.

Sandy Hook and Botsford volunteer firefighters responded to the 7:50 pm fire call, which was placed by a resident of the home.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company Chief Bill Halstead said that smoke detector alarms were sounding at the property as firefighters arrived. The incident created a light smoke condition in the building, with somewhat heavier smoke upstairs where the space heater had malfunctioned, he said. The fire was out when firefighters arrived, Chief Halstead said.

The incident caused no fire damage to the building or its contents, but some limited smoke damage occurred, involving soot that was created by the burning and melting plastic parts on the space heater, he said.

On discovering that the device had caught fire, the homeowner unplugged the heater, the fire chief said.

Approximately 18 firefighters went to the scene, with others remaining on stand-by status.

Deputy Fire Marshal Steve Murphy said the cause of the accidental fire was the malfunctioning Vornado-brand electric space heater. Mr Murphy noted that there is a consumer product safety recall on such devices due to fires having occurred when they are in use.

The homeowner had just purchased the new heater, he added.

Most of the residual soot created by the fire was limited to one room in the house, he said. The building remains habitable, he added.