NEW HAVEN — No one was injured in a Sunday morning fire at a New Haven home, and New Haven Fire Chief Alan Mayer said damage to the residence could have been much worse.
At 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 5 the New Haven and Bristol fire departments responded to a fire at Randy and Patti Fairbrother’s New Haven home at 2245 Main St. Firefighters from New Haven were on the scene within five minutes of the Fairbrothers’ call for help, said Mayer. The Bristol Rescue Squad and fire department showed up several minutes later, and a Vergennes fire squad, which was alerted to the incident, was never needed.
The two departments put out the flames within minutes, Mayer said.
“If that fire would have had another five minutes it would have been a whole different story,” he said.
The fire was traced back to the Fairbrothers’ grill on their back porch.
According to the story Mayer collected from the incident, Randy Fairbrother was grilling chicken. While the chicken was cooking, Fairchild wandered off to do some chores around the house. Grease dripping down from the grill caught fire, and it dripped onto the propane hose. The fiery grease burned through the hose, which then spewed fire across the back of the home, Mayer said.
“It was like a blow torch blowing propane,” he said.
Thanks to firefighters’ quick response, Mayer said, a good portion of the house is salvageable and the building appeared to be structurally sound. The electrical wiring was not compromised, and the smoke damage was minimal, he said.
“The outside is charred and all melted off, but it was a really good knockdown,” Mayer said. “It was quick, and, fortunately, we saved them an awful lot.
“They’re lucky; it could have been a lot worse.”