Fire damages unoccupied home in East Lyme
East Lyme — No one was injured Friday in a fire that severely damaged a three-story home at 148 Old Black Point Road.
The 93-year-old owner and sole resident of the home had left in the late afternoon and returned an hour later to find the structure on fire, East Lyme Fire Marshal Richard Morris said. According to town records, the home is owned by Harry Danos of Niantic, who purchased it in 2004.
Firefighters from the Niantic and Flanders departments arrived on the scene at 5:19 p.m. and found the fire had engulfed the structure, with flames rising from the first floor.
The windswept blaze spread quickly to the second and third floors, Morris said.
The intensity of the fire kept firefighters from entering the building, and they instead battled it with hoses from their ladder truck, he said.
By 8 p.m. most of the building, save the front porch, was heavily charred. The owner was staying with friends, Morris said.
Old Saybrook’s Firefighter Assistance and Search team also responded. Waterford and the Old Lyme fire departments were covering the town's fire stations.
Old Black Point road at the intersection of Woodland Drive was closed indefinitely.
— Nate Lynch
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