Fairfield Firefighters Battle Two Wednesday Evening Fires

Fairfield fire officials responded to two fires Wednesday evening—each about 30 minutes apart, according to a statement released by the Fairfield Fire Department.

At 6:32 pm., officials were dispatched to the Greenfield Hil Service Station on Bronson Road, where there was heavy smoke coming from the building. Fire personnel forced entry into the service station and located a large garbage can that was approxmiately 45 gallons on fire. The fire did not extend out of the garbage can, which was removed from the building and extinguished.

"The building was not occupied at the time of the fire, but had been secured not more than an hour prior to our alarm,” Assistant Chief Schuyler Sherwood said in the statement, but “it is my determination that the cause of the fire was accidental.". Fire Engines 1, 4, and 5, Ladder 1, and Car 3 responded to the scene.

Then at 7:52 p.m., the the department was dispatched to a 911 report from an occupant of 91 Fallow Field Road of a fire in the basement. Upon arrival, officials reported a heavy smoke condition in the basement of the structure in the area of the electric panel.

Fire personnel shut off electric service in the house utilizing the main breaker. It was then determined that the smoke was caused by a fire on the outside of the house which had extended into an outside wall. The wall was opened by fire crews and the fire was extinguished, after which the structure was ventilated. Engines 1, 4 and 5, Ladders 1 and 2, and Car 3 responded to the scene.

Upon the investigation, it was determined that the fire was caused by discarded fireplace ashes. “It is my determination that the cause of the fire was accidental,” Sherwood reported. “The cause was discarding of ashes. The primary damage to the structure was the exterior wall and the sill plate.”

Sherwood, who also serves as a Deputy Fire Marshal for the town, observed that “the early reporting by fire alarm systems and rapid action of our first in fire crews kept these two fires from causing significant property loss and possible injury to occupants."

He also reminded residents that "embers from a fireplace can continue to smolder long afterwards and if not disposed of carefully can result in tragedies such as the Christmas fire in Stamford just over a year ago.”