Woman ‘heard crackling,’ then raced to alert sleeping resident of house fire
NEW CANAAN — Kerry-Lynne Abtahi was on the phone with her mother as she walked on Main Street Sunday afternoon when she noticed something.
“I heard crackling, like a fire, but it seemed like more than a normal fire pit,” the New Canaan woman said. “I smelled it, and I looked up the driveway and noticed it.”
Abtahi said she called 911, ran to the doorway of the home in the 200 block of Main Street, and alerted the residents to a fire climbing the side of their detached garage around 2 p.m. Sunday.
Jenny Esposito, who was napping inside, said Sunday she hoped to thank the woman who let her and homeowner Sperry DeCew know about the fire.
The daughter of a New York City firefighter with more than 30 years on the job, Abthai said she is tuned in to fire safety.
“They were pretty significant flames,” Abthai said. “You noticed it.”
The first firefighters to arrive called for a second alarm after learning propane was stored in the garage.
Abthai said there was also a car parked inside the garage, which DeCew was able to remove.
The fire was quickly knocked down, and fire fighters were still on the scene about an hour later checking for hot spots in the roof and walls of the garage. DeCew said Sunday that ashes disposed of in a trash can caused the fire. New Canaan Fire Chief Jack Henment nessey have said responded members of to his three depart- in
cidents this year caused by improper disposal of ashes.
Fire Marshal Paul Payne has said embers can remain hot, and ashes should be allowed to cool and placed in a metal can.