Indian Well Rd. Fire (Shelton, CT) 2/18/15
SHELTON, CT – At approximately 8:00pm on January 18, 2015, the Shelton Fire Department was dispatched to 143 Indian Well Road for a reported house fire. First arriving units found a heavily involved 1-story home in what is known as the Maples community along the Housatonic River. Most of the fire was showing from the rear of the structure but was quickly consuming the home. After a quick exterior attack to knock down the heavy fire, members entered the structure with an attack line to complete fire suppression as well as perform a primary search. All occupants were out of the house at the time of the blaze except for the family dog, Harley, who was later located in a rear room of the home in his crate. Unfortunately, he did not make it due to the crate being locked. The fire caused minor damage to both the B and D exposures and was reported to have been caused accidently by discarded ashes from a wood stove. A GoFundMe page has been opened as a Fire Relief Fund for the homeowner and can be found here if you would like to donate: http://www.gofundme.com/maplesfirefund
A note from FIREGROUNDIMAGES and its owner, a career firefighter as well as pet owner.
Please do not confine your pets to a crate when leaving them alone in the home. Their only chance for rescue and survival in case of a fire is to be free to instinctually make it to an area that is safer from smoke or fire. It can also make it much more possible to be rescued from an open door or window as would have been the case at this fire due to a neighbor opening a door looking for the dog very early in the fire. Unfortunately I have witnessed this same outcome far too many times in my career, and feel that by getting this information out, maybe we can decrease its occurrence.
Read MoreA note from FIREGROUNDIMAGES and its owner, a career firefighter as well as pet owner.
Please do not confine your pets to a crate when leaving them alone in the home. Their only chance for rescue and survival in case of a fire is to be free to instinctually make it to an area that is safer from smoke or fire. It can also make it much more possible to be rescued from an open door or window as would have been the case at this fire due to a neighbor opening a door looking for the dog very early in the fire. Unfortunately I have witnessed this same outcome far too many times in my career, and feel that by getting this information out, maybe we can decrease its occurrence.
