New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Historic Scranton house badly damaged in fire
MADISON — A historic house that shares a lot with a downtown public library sustained heavy damage in a fire Monday evening.
The fire broke out in the Ichabod L. Scranton house, a twostory building owned and bordered by the E.C. Scranton Memorial Library at 801 Boston Post Road. Built more than a century ago, the house served as Madison’s original post office and is listed in Connecticut’s historic registry, according to Chip Walz, a member of the library’s Board of Trustees.
Walz was on-site Monday evening as roughly 40 firefighters from Madison, North Madison, Clinton and Guilford battled a fire concentrated on the second floor. Hoses were coiled in the road and ladders were propped up against the walls as they worked.
“Whole building has significant damage,” said Bobby Kyttle, fire chief of Madison Hose Co. No. 1, one of the town’s two fire departments.
Walz said a patron walking out of the library around 6 p.m. saw flames springing from the second floor of the house and alerted staff. Director Sunnie Scarpa pulled the fire alarm, and a librarian called 911, he said.
The fire came as renovations on the house were nearly complete, according to Walz. Describing himself as “disappointed, horribly disappointed,” Walz lamented the loss of years of hard work.
“We just put in brand-new windows, new heat, new insulation, painted the outside, made it handicapped-accessible,” said.
“The interior painting was just about to start,” said Bill Stableford, chair of the library’s building and grounds committee. “It was due for library programming in March, and now we’re going to have a little delay.”
“Between insurance money and whatever else, we’re going to have to basically start from scratch when it comes to fixing it up again,” Walz said.
While firefighters weren’t able to extinguish the blaze swiftly enough to prevent significant damage to the house, their efforts ensured it did not affect any of the nearby structures, including the library itself.
Scarpa said she was grateful for the rapid response.
“They put this fire out before any more damage could be done he to any surrounding buildings,” she said, standing in the parking lot as the fire was brought under control.
Scarpa said she couldn’t think about all the work that went into the renovation of the building.
“Right now, I’m just focusing on being grateful that people are safe, because people always come first,” she said. “I’ll think about the rest tomorrow morning.”
Firefighters remained on scene as of around 7:30 p.m. Monday to check for fire extension — further areas “where fire could possibly be located,” Kyttle said.
No injuries have been reported, he said.