Firefighters Battle Heavy Smoke in Westport House Fire

Firefighters on Saugatuck Island with water.

The responded at about 3:15 p.m. with four engines, a ladder truck and a shift commanders' vehicle. Heavy smoke was visible from the roof in the rear of the house when firefighters arrived, according toWestport Fire Department Assistant Chief William Dingee.

“Firefighters encountered a heavy smoke condition on the third floor but the fire was not visible,” Dingee said.

Firefighters used hand tools to open up walls and thermal imaging cameras to find the fire, Dingee said. The fire originated in a ceiling on the second floor and traveled inside the walls up into the third floor attic area and then out through the roof, according to Dingee.

“Three hose lines were deployed to extinguish the fire and several ladders were used to access the areas were the fire traveled in the contemporary style structure with multiple roof peaks,” Dingee said.

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Additional assistance was requested from Norwalk Fire Department and Fairfield Fire Department to respond to the scene and Wilton Fire Department to cover fire headquarters for any additional calls. 

“Fire damage was contained to the second floor bedroom, the attic above and a section of the roof. Smoke and water damage was suffered through much of the remainder of the house,” Dingee said.

At total of 35 firefighters responded to the fire, which took 30 minutes to extinguish. No firefighter or civilian injuries occurred, he said. The cause is under investigation by the Westport Fire Marshal’s Office. The last fire department unit left the scene at 7:00 p.m.