Prospect Volunteer Fire

Fatal Three Alarm Structure Fire 12/16/09

An early morning fire claimed the life of an elderly Prospect woman today. Shortly after 7am the tones and sirens sounded in town to alert fire fighters for a possible house fire at 62 Summit Rd. Callers stated heavy black smoke was visible from the 2 story cape style house and when they went to alert the occupant the door was extremely hot to the touch. The first command car on scene immediately called for a second alarm with the possibility of an occupant trapped in the structure. Mutual aid from Bethany and Cheshire responded for station coverage and manpower. As the fire continued to consume the interior of the house and the large amount of items dangerously cluttering it, a third alarm was sounded and crews were ordered out of the building and off the roof and the monitor on Engine 5 was put into service to flood the house. With the bulk of the fire knocked down interior crews pushed back in to hut the hot spots in the piles of debris in the house and continue the search for the resident of the home. Despite multiple attempts by fire fighters the 80 year old woman’s lifeless body was located soon after crews were able to re-enter the building. Crews would remain on scene for an extended period of time wetting down and clearing out the contents of the house which hampered the rescue and fire suppression efforts. Members of the State Fire Marshall's Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the State Medical Examiner's Office were called to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire and determine and investigate the resident’s untimely death.

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