Fire at rural Old Lyme home causes 'significant' damage
Old Lyme — Firefighters on Thursday went through 14,000 gallons of water from tanker trucks as they battled a blaze that significantly damaged a Bayberry Ridge Road home, Deputy Chief Steve Super said.
Super said the call for the fire at 9 Bayberry Ridge Road came in at 11:47 a.m. Within minutes, people reported seeing smoke from as far away as the Baldwin Bridge, he said.
“It was advancing quick and had a bit of a jump on us,” Super said.
He commended firefighters for containing the flames to the basement and first floor of the 1½-story structure, which is nestled at the far side of a windy road that ends in a cul-de-sac. However, he also said damage to the home is “significant.”
“The crews made an outstanding stop,” he said. “They really worked hard.”
Super said two occupants and three dogs escaped from the home. Crews later took the occupants, a man and a woman, to the Shoreline Medical Center largely for precautionary reasons.
On scene, the man, at first carrying a dog before later putting it on a leash, described himself as the woman’s husband and said she was pregnant. He spent some time in the back of the ambulance with her before she was taken away. He left at a later time.
There are no hydrants in the immediate vicinity of the home, which prompted officials to call for a level one tanker task force. That brought five tanker trucks to the scene.
"We are in a relatively rural area," Super said. "We have to work for our water."
Super said it appears the fire began in the basement, though that was under investigation. Crews attacked the blaze through the basement and the front door and were met with high heat, he said.
Initially, members of the Old Lyme, Flanders, Old Saybrook, Essex and Clinton departments were on scene. Officials later called on Waterford to provide additional manpower.
According to Super, that’s because the initial crews “exhausted themselves rather fast,” given the high heat.
Waterford firefighters helped with overhauling the scene and packing up equipment.
Super said most of the flames were knocked down by 1 p.m. Crews began packing up at 2:15 p.m.
Records show the property belongs to Robert Regan. According to a neighbor, Regan is in Florida and had asked those inside the home to watch over it in his absence.
Super said the American Red Cross is assisting the pair of displaced occupants, at least one of whom also has family in the area.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
