Thompson, CT – It was Déjà vu for firefighters Monday afternoon as they battled a fire in a tiny home with nearly the same circumstances as the year before.
At approximately 12:45 on Monday, August 5th, 2024, Thompson Fire Engine Company’s (Thompson Hill) 1st alarm assignment was struck for a reported fire in two sheds at 192 Sunset Hill Rd.
Crews arrived to find a “Tiny home”, made of two adjoining sheds, all but destroyed with only a single wall standing and the contents of the building engulfed in fire. Crews spent approximately 2 hours dousing the flames and combing through the rubble to ensure the fire was completely extinguished.
With no hydrants in the region, a 5″ Large Diameter Hose (LDH) was laid in the driveway allowing for tankers to shuttle water from the dry hydrant (a pipe with no pressure that enables rapid drafting) at Oleary Pond at the end of Sunset Hill Rd.
Firefighters encountered extreme heat conditions during the fire but no injuries were reported. The building was not occupied at the time of the fire.
192 Sunset Hill Rd, formerly 0 Sunset Hill Rd, was the scene of a similar fire on July 5th, 2023. Crews responded to a working fire in the tiny home. This fire was able to be stopped before it consumed both sheds. According to Thompson Fire Marshal James Seney Jr, the 2023 fire was determined to have “started with a failure within a lead acid battery connected to the solar system.”
(Updated) At the time of the 2023 fire, the building was unpermitted and not approved for residential use. According to public records, at the time of the 2024 fire, an electrical permit was approved for an “electrical service for a new home” and a plumbing permit was submitted for a “new drain from kitchen sink and shower.” It is unclear if the structure itself had been properly permitted. Read our article on the original fire here.
The fire is currently under investigation by the Thompson Fire Marshals Office and the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit (FEIU).
Agencies that responded, or were dispatched, included the Thompson Fire Engine Company, East Thompson Volunteer Fire Department, Community Fire Company, West Thompson Fire Department, Quinebaug Fire Department, East Putnam Fire Department, Attawaugan Fire Department, Killingly Rehab Unit, Putnam EMS, Connecticut State Police Troop D, and the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit (FEIU).
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