Sterling, CT — Three adults and two children were displaced after a fire tore through a Church Street duplex Friday evening.
At approximately 6:08 PM on Friday, May 3rd, 2025, the Sterling Fire Department’s 1st alarm was struck for a reported building fire at 65 Church St. Upon arrival, Chief Glaude reported half of a two-story duplex well involved. The fire building was located approximately 30′ from a neighboring build and a similar distance from the woodline.
Upon arrival, crews quickly positioned Ladder 194 and Tanker 168 in front of the building, hooked into the hydrant approximately 100′ from the structure, and deployed attack lines to the D (left from front) side of the building. Crews were initially unable to enter the building from the A (front) side due to live power lines down in the yard. As additional crews arrived on the scene, a push was made into the fire, and neighboring apartments in an attempt to contain the spread of fire. Crews were quickly hindered by an abundance of household items in the apartment; this, along with deteriorating fire conditions led the Command Staff to evacuate the building, signaled by the sounding of air horns by all apparatus on the fire scene, and move to defensive operations. This defensive operation allowed the fire to burn through the roof, self-ventilating the building and drastically improving smoke conditions. Crews then began a series of exterior attacks followed by brief interior pushes, slowly chipping away at the heavy fire conditions until crews could fully transition back to a full interior attack.
Due to the heavy fire conditions and labor-intensive firefighting tactics, a 2nd Alarm was transmitted with a modification of no Tankers and an additional Firefighter Assisted Search Team (FAST).
During the incident, crews utilized a hydrant a short distance from the fire building on Church Street. While it is standard practice to establish a backup water supply location, in the event a failure should occur at the primary, it is even more critical in Sterling due to the configuration of their hydrant network. The hydrants are fed from a water tower in town, which can be supplemented by up to three well pumps operated by a contract company, only one turned on during normal operations. With the contract company not currently located in town, the Incident Commander knew the criticality of establishing an alternative water supply to the hydrant system in case the single pump failed. Hose Tender 196 established a draft site at Sterling (Wacky) Pond, and approximately 1200′ of 5″ Large Diameter Hose (LDH) was laid to the scene to provide a more secure water source.
The fire was placed under control at approximately 7:47 PM. One firefighter was transported to an area hospital for difficulty breathing after they exited the building and were in the rehab area. Nine cats are also believed to have perished in the fire. The American Red Cross is assisting three adults and two children who were displaced by the fire.
When asked about the response, Chief Glaude told Quiet Corner Alerts, “It was a great assist from all of our mutual aid departments, it’s obviously a hard time of day, it’s right around that time when people are coming home from work and things like that. The quick response really kept this from spreading. I can’t speak highly enough of all of these guys that come out and give us a hand, everyone works well together, and everyone just goes to work and gets the job done.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Sterling Fire Marshal’s Office.
Agencies that responded included the Sterling Fire Department, Oneco Fire Department, Moosup Fire Department, Atwood Hose Fire Company, South Killingly Fire Department, Danielson Fire Department, Plainfield Fire Department, Jewett City Fire Department, American Legion (Moosup) Ambulance, Moosup Valley Fire Department, Western Coventry Fire Department, and the Special Signal Association Providence Canteen.
Quiet Corner Alerts maintains a policy of not revealing the names of victims or suspects unless they are actively being sought by law enforcement or pose a perceived threat to the public.
Nice job by all!