Killingly, CT — The most dreaded time of day for a volunteer fire department is around 7:00 AM. Heavy sleepers are still sleeping, night shift workers aren’t quite off shift yet, daytime workers are heading into work, and parents are still waiting to get their kids on the bus. Most volunteers just simply aren’t around yet, causing a dreaded series of transmissions this morning: “Stretch to the rear of the building, make a push down the basement stairs,” followed by “roger, I have a staffing of one,” indicating there was a single person on the truck. Luckily, the hard work by available volunteers and mutual aid contained most of the fire to the basement of a residence.
At approximately 6:47 AM, the Danielson and South Killingly Fire Departments were dispatched to 53 Carol Ave for reports of smoke in the building, called in by a third party who wasn’t on scene themselves. This portion of town falls within the Dyer Manor Fire District, which contracts with the Danielson Fire Department as its primary fire coverage. Shortly after the original dispatch, Quinebaug Valley Emergency Communications received additional information prompting the upgrade to a 1st alarm structure fire, bringing in mutual aid from multiple Plainfield departments.
Interim Chief Jason Burgess, Danielson Fire Department, explained to Quiet Corner Alerts that due to the time of day, only one volunteer made the first due engine from Danielson. The first arriving fire officer assumed command and reported heavy smoke showing from the rear basement of a 1.5-story residence and fire showing from a dryer vent. He also reported the residents had made it out of the home safely.
When the engine arrived, the lone operator and a mutual aid firefighter on the scene were able to stretch their crosslay line (a line designed for rapid deployment) to the back of the house, and a single-man push was made to the basement door while the operator manned the pump and one officer began performing command functions. With just three firefighters on scene—the lone operator, an incident commander, and a mutual aid firefighter—they held back a fire from consuming a home until additional units could arrive from mutual aid departments, nearly all of which were faced with similar staffing issues this morning.
Danielson Fire Department is staffed by one firefighter from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, except in scenarios where shifts are unable to be filled (all staff are part-time with normal full-time jobs). This staffing is largely to enable the department to fulfill their medical first response (R1) function responsibility to the borough, and fire calls still rely wholly on volunteer response to safely fill trucks.
Luckily, the aggressive actions by first due companies and the immediate dispatch of mutual aid as part of the first alarm assignment allowed crews, once mutual aid arrived, to rapidly extinguish the fire, containing the majority of the damage to the basement with minimal extension to a first-floor bathroom directly above the location of the fire.
Crews proactively deployed the ladder, which arrived several minutes after the first truck staffed by one, to the roof in case the fire could not be stopped before extending up to an attic, which would have completely changed the dynamic of the fire, causing it to become incredibly difficult to extinguish without devastating destruction to the home. A 5″ supply line was laid approximately 1,300 feet from a hydrant in the parking lot of Storage On 12, ensuring there was adequate water on scene even if the fire extended throughout the building (second alarm companies likely would have established a secondary water supply in this scenario).
No firefighters or residents were injured during the incident.
The cause and origin of the fire is under investigation by the Killingly Fire Marshal’s Office.
Departments dispatched included the Danielson Fire Department, South Killingly Fire Department, Atwood Hose Fire Company, Moosup Fire Company, Central Village Fire Department, and a KB ambulance.
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.