Fire, blasts destroy home in East Lyme

East Lyme - The cause of the explosive fire that destroyed a Morris Lane home early Monday has been classified as undetermined, Fire Marshal Dick Morris said.

Ashes, gases, cinders or cigarettes could have been the cause of the fire or a contributing factor, Morris said.

The blaze was reported around 3 a.m. and was under control by 8 a.m., Flanders fire Chief Jim Levandoski said. Old Saybrook, Niantic and Waterford's Oswegatchie and Cohanzie fire departments responded.

The home, at 8 Morris Lane, is owned by the Shah family. Sandra Shah said all five residents, including her 82-year-old mother, husband and two sons as well as their dog, evacuated when the smoke detectors went off in the tan, two-story vinyl-sided home. They were safely outside when several explosions awakened residents.

Former Flanders Chief William Rix Sr. suffered a sprained ankle when he became trapped between floors as a team of firefighters attempted to quell the attic flames from the second floor. Part of the floor gave way, causing Rix to get stuck, Morris said.

"His gear caught him," Morris said. "He was trapped up to his waist."

Old Saybrook firefighters, on hand serving as the Rapid Intervention Team (RIT), responded to Rix's mayday call and helped him down.

Morris said the Flanders chief pulled all personnel from the building at that point and fought the fire from a defensive stance.

Possible culprits and contributors

The garage, where the fire started at least 30 minutes before the 3:03 a.m. 911 call, was heaping with possible culprits and contributors, many of them combustible.

"We were told by the homeowner that he had placed a bag of fireplace ash within the garage during the week," Morris said. "We counted eight oxygen bottles. We don't know if they self-vented or blew up. They're as dangerous empty as they are full. They became flaming projectiles."

Morris said a 20-pound propane canister shared space along the western wall of the attached garage with the oxygen canisters. A witness said someone had been smoking there, he said. The garage also held a snow blower, a riding lawn mower and a car.

"Any of them, or any combination of them, could have been the ignition factor," Morris said.

Monday afternoon, there remained more evidence of the car, described as a new Honda, than of the garage. A single, charred two-by-four on the southwest corner of what was once the garage frame was all that remained.

The house will likely have to be razed, Morris said.

Sandra Shah said she was in no condition to talk about the fire Monday afternoon as she stood in the driveway among neighbors, some bearing care packages.

"Everyone got out. That's the good thing," she said. "Even the dog will be around to bark another day."

The garage was attached as a small wing on the left side of the home. Morris credited quality construction for keeping the fire contained there for a substantial amount of time. What Morris described as a fire wall of Sheetrock and plywood was visible, relatively intact, along the back wall of the garage, where it connected with the family room behind it.

c.potter@theday.com