Firefighters spent seven hours trying to put out the fire on Sunset Lake Road on Easter Sunday.
WARREN, Conn. — Firefighters responded to a fire that burned a home and surrounding terrain in Warren Sunday afternoon.
Washington Volunteer Fire Department said they were dispatched around 2:12 p.m. for a house fire on 36 Sunset Lake Road.
The fire destroyed the house, leaving nothing but memories buried under the rubble.
Flames sparked a brush fire. WVFD said it burned 1.7 acres.
Neighbors said the homeowner wasn’t there at the time of the fire.
Stacie Hagley, his next door neighbor, said when he arrived to the scene, she and other neighbors walked up to him.
"I just went up and told him how sorry I was,” Hagley said. “He just was so overwhelmed, you could tell. Heartbroken, overwhelmed, everything.”
Sign up for the FOX61 newsletters: Morning Forecast, Morning Headlines, Evening Headlines
Hagley was the one who called for help. She said she was home when she decided to go outside to smoke a cigarette but didn’t expect to see a house in flames.
“At first it smelled like plastic and then that's when I said that I was going back in to check to make sure I didn't have something plastic on my stove that was burning, then when I went out the back door because it seemed like the smoke was coming from that direction, then you could see the smoke and big ashes,” Hagley said.
She first thought it was only a brush fire.
“We figured we would just take a ride and then we noticed the house on fire. The brush was burning at that time too, but you know I was more focused on trying to get help for his house,” Hagley said.
She said there were flames coming out of all the windows.
“So it had to have been going for a bit before we realized,” Hagley said.
Several fire departments responded, including Warren, Kent, Bantam and Litchfield.
Crews were there until about 9 p.m. to put out hot spots and make sure the fire didn’t rekindle.
“We feel really bad for him that he lost everything because they ended up having to take the house down last night,” Hagley said.
Hagley said the community will be there to support the homeowner as he gets through this tragic loss.
“He's really well liked in this town, so I'm sure people are gonna definitely, you know, reach out to him and help him with whatever he needs,” Hagley said.
There were no injuries reported and the cause of fire is currently under investigation.
Cayla Cade is a Multi-Skilled Journalist at FOX61 News. She can be reached at [email protected] Follow her onX and Instagram.
Related Articles
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.
FOLLOW US ON X, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM