Power outage due to house fire

#Middlebury #MVFD #Fire #PowerOutage

Fire caused extensive damage to this house at 44 Kelly Road in Middlebury Sunday morning. Melted siding can be seen on the house to the left. (Marjorie Needham photo)

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Some 1,200 Middlebury residents lost power Sunday, March 24, at about 7:15 a.m. Power was intentionally cut so  firefighters could safely battle a house fire at 44 Kelly Road. Middlebury First Selectman Ed St. John said he understood the homeowners escaped safely, but one pet did not. He also said he understood one firefighter was injured.

Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brett Kales said it was just cold enough when they began battling the blaze that the water they used turned to ice, causing a major slipping hazard. The firefighter who was injured slipped and fell. He was transported to Waterbury Hospital for assessment and was found to be all right.

Kales said the pets involved were two dogs; one did not survive.

The property is on the town assessor’s roles as belonging to Jeffrey and Sheila McCue and was purchased in November 1998. Vision Appraisal says the house was built in 1930.

Kales said he arrived on the scene within minutes of the call to dispatch, and flames were already coming out the front windows on both the first and second floors. The fire had caused a live electric wire to the house to separate from the house and fall across a car parked in the driveway. Kales had to contact Eversource to get the power shut off before firefighters could safely fight the fire.

MVFD Capt. Ed Cavallaro said flames were so intense firefighters were unable to enter the residence. Instead, they had to do what they could from outside the house.

At the post-fire review at the fire house, Kales said firefighters tried twice to enter the burning residence, but the roof and second floor began collapsing into the interior, so they were forced to retreat.

Kales told firefighters, “I think we did an outstanding job.” He also thanked the junior firefighters for their help picking up the hoses and packing up equipment for the return trip to the fire house.

The two-story house appears to be a total loss, with the roof burned off and charred wood through both the first and second floors. Fire Marshal Jack Proulx said the house was an older home with balloon construction that allows fires to spread more rapidly. He said newer homes are built so fires cannot spread as easily. Proulx will determine the cause of the fire; he said it likely will be a couple of weeks before he files his report.

Kales and Proulx both said they believe the initial call to dispatch, which came in about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, mentioned a candle tipping over. As already mentioned, firefighters had to wait until the power was cut off about 40 minutes later before they could safely fight the fire.

During the fire, Watertown and Southbury fire departments stood by at the fire house. Kales said they responded to two calls, one for carbon monoxide and one for a fire alarm.

Note: This is an initial report. More information and photos will be forthcoming.

UPDATED to correct Cavallaro’s rank and to include details obtained from Chief Kales at the post-fire review at the fire house.