Printer Friendly Version - Chalker Beach Fire Destroys Two Homes, Damages Two

Fire destroyed two homes on Beach Road West on Dec. 6; despite wind and close proximity, firefighters were able to prevent the surrounding homes from complete destruction. Photo courtesy of the Old Saybrook Fire Department

Two Chalker Beach homes were completely destroyed and two were damaged by a fire that broke out late on Dec. 6. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Old Saybrook Fire Marshal Peter Terenzi. There were no injuries.

The fire started at around 3:30 p.m. at 29 Beach Road West, according to J.T. Dunn, past chief of the Old Saybrook Fire Department (OSFD).

“Somebody was home at the fire and called it in, which was fortunate. It gave us a chance to respond before it had gotten large,” Dunn said.

The time of day a fire starts is an important factor in how readily responders can put it out, Dunn explained. When a fire starts in the middle of the night, it “has a long time to get going and so, by the time someone notices it from a great distance away, we get sent and it’s already very large.”

Wind is another important element that is responsible for carrying a fire to multiple homes, Dunn explained. The houses, which face Long Island Sound, have little space between them, allowing a fire to spread quickly to adjacent structures.

“The wind was 30 m.p.h. off the water,” Dunn said. “It was a sustained wind. It blows the fire through the home and is very hazardous.”

The wind quickly spread the fire to 27 Beach Road West, immediately to the east. That house was also destroyed. The houses on either side of those two, 31 Beach Road West to the west and 25 Beach Road West to the east, suffered damage that Dunn believes can be repaired.

OSFD Lieutenant Thomas Heinssen commanded the fire boat with two employees of Oak Leaf Marina, using the deck gun to pump water from Long Island Sound directly into the fire.

In addition to Old Saybrook Ambulance and paramedics from Middlesex Health, fire departments from neighboring towns turned up to lend a hand. Essex and Old Lyme departments used their hose tender trucks to tap into a larger main for water. Clinton’s Rapid Intervention Team responded, along with assistance from Westbrook, Deep River, Flanders, Niantic, Killingworth, Madison, and Haddam.