Photos/Story by Jeff True

On Jan. 31, 2002, the Old Saybrook Fire Dept. was dispatched to a working structure fire on #14 Tucker Rd. at 20:11 hours. While responding, dispatch relayed that a police officer on scene reported a single story house fully involved with electrical wires arching in the road. A second alarm assignment from the Town of Westbrook was requested along with the RIT team from the Town of Clinton prior to the arrival of the first fire officer.

The first arriving fire officer confirmed the earlier reports and also advised incoming units of the electrical hazards and the involvement of exposure building "A" which was 14' away from the main building fire.

With strong offshore winds of 15 to 20 mph., and arching power lines on the "D" corner of the main fire building, protection of the exposure building "A" became a challenge.

An aggressive defensive attack was made on the main fire building while additional teams worked hard to protect the exposure building "A" and the adjacent exposure building "B" which was the next house down the line.

The fire was declared under control at 20:35 hours. The Old Saybrook Fire Marshal's Office and the Office of the State Fire Marshal are still investigating the cause of the fire.