| 12/02/2004 |
| Discarded ashes linked to house fire |
| By Dorrance Johnson , Staff Correspondent |
| BRANFORD - Local fire officials say that improperly discarded ashes from a fireplace that were placed on an exterior rear deck caused a fire that did considerable damage to a house at 206 Alps Road, shortly before 1 p.m. on Oct. 27. According to Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Mahoney, an investigation that was conducted by fire marshals concluded that the ashes were apparently fanned by a light breeze and later erupted into flames that raced upwards along the outside wall of the two-story Cape Cod-style house to the eaves on the second floor, where they penetrated the attic of the single-family home. Mahoney said that valuable time was lost when the resident, 82 year-old Anthony Dombrowski, chose to attempt to battle the flames himself with a garden hose instead of immediately reporting the fire when it was discovered. "I saw smoke pouring out of both sides of the house," said Richard Jackson, who was passing by at the time of the fire and who turned in the alarm. "I knocked on the front door and entered the house," he said. Jackson explained that after finding no one inside the smoke-filled house, he proceeded to the rear yard where he found Dombrowski making a futile attempt to fight the rapidly progressing fire with a garden hose while standing on a stepladder. "I was worried that he would get hurt, so I told him to get off the ladder and move away from the fire, but he told met to get away from him and to leave him alone," said Jackson. He added that by that time the rear of the residence was in flames. Un-relenting in his desperate attempt to save his home and apparently unwilling to admit that his hose was no match for the intense fire, Dombrowski was eventually coaxed down from the ladder police who arrived at the fire scene shortly thereafter. Deputy Chief Mahoney later commented, "Had Mister Dombrowski not wasted time trying to put the fire out, damage would have been minimal." He also emphasized that any fire should be reported upon discovery and that an effort by a homeowner to fight a fire of this magnitude would not likely be successful. Mahoney also explained that firefighters were able to mount a swift attack and bring the fire under control in less than twenty minutes because the firefighting manpower level was bolstered by four additional career firefighters, who normally staff two ambulances, happened to be available at Fire Headquarters when the alarm sounded. "We rolled out the door with a full crew of four firefighters on the engine, two firefighters on the ladder truck and one firefighter following in an ambulance," he said, pointing out that the ambulance personnel is not always available for fire duty. The Guilford Fire Department's Rapid Intervention Team also responded to assist approximately 25 local firefighters in the effort that snarled afternoon traffic on Alps Road for more than an hour. |