The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
House fire was an accident
CROMWELL — The cause of a fire that swept a Leghorn Drive home late Monday and left the homeowner with burns to his face and hands will be ruled accidental, officials said.
The fire broke out in a singlefamily home owned by John H. Hagel Jr., who reported it at 11:16 p.m., according to Fire Chief Michael R. Terenzio. When fire units arrived on scene, he was outside the house, he said.
Hagel was suffering from burns on his face and hands and was taken to Hartford Hospital. He was later transferred to the burn unit at Bridgeport Hospital, where he is recovering.
The house “was well-involved when we arrived,” Terenzio said.
“(The blaze) had gotten up into the attic.”
Cromwell firefighters were assisted by crews from the Middletown, Rocky Hill and Westfield fire departments. There was a 5 to 10 mph wind, but it was not a factor in fanning the flames, the chief said.
The wind and belowfreezing temperatures were crucial, however, in creating dangerous conditions for firefighters, who had to deal with water freezing as they doused the flames. “We had it under control in an hour and 20 minutes,” Terenzio said Wednesday afternoon.
Units remained on scene until 2:30 a.m. to extinguish “hot spots” and prevent the fire from restarting, he said. Crews from Wethersfield and Portland provided station coverage in Cromwell.
There were a number of ambulance calls, but, fortunately, no major calls during that period, said Terenzio, who said he’s appreciative to members of several neighboring departments that rushed to aid his firefighters.
“Mutual aid is really a lifeblood for us in this area,” he said, thanking the two Middletown fire companies and crews from Glastonbury, Portland and Rocky Hill. “It’s a regional approach. Everyone shares in the costs.”
In all, there were 25 Cromwell firefighters on scene and another 10 who remained at the town’s three fire stations to assist Glastonbury and Portland.
“Operationally, I measure a fire by ‘Did it burn more after we arrived?’ and ‘Was anyone injured once we got there?’” Terenzio said.
The fire was held in check, and, despite treacherous conditions, no firefighters were injured. Success like that is the result of good leadership, good training and the contributions of neighboring departments under the mutual-aid agreement, Terenzio said.
“There was no criminal intent found,” according to the chief, who said there are still “loose ends” to tie up in the investigation, including some unanswered questions. “It was just an unfortunate accident.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by Fire Marshal Todd Gagnon, aided by members of the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit and Cromwell police detective division.