Published: Jan. 24, 2025 at 5:11 AM PST|
BOLTON, CT (WFSB) - Eleven fire departments responded to a fire at a cabinetry business in Bolton on Friday morning.
The scene was at Dean Cabinetry on West Street, according to fire officials.
The state Department of Transportation reported that Route 85 was closed between Clark Road and Camp Meeting as of 8:12 a.m.
The call for the fire came in around 7:15 a.m.
“We have a little exercise room for our employees, and my sone and I were up early exercising when we smelt a smell,” said John Dean, owner of Dean Cabinetry.
Fire chief Bruce Dixon from the Bolton Volunteer Fire Department told Channel 3 that there were people working inside the business when the fire started.
They were able to safely get out.
Dixon described the business as a small family-owned business that has been around for many years.
Town administrator James Rupert spoke to the family and said the town would give them support.
“Bolton comes out to support his community and I truly believe that will happen here,” Rupert said. “The town will do it can, but also the community will come out as a force to support one of their own.”
Dean Cabinetry has had several locations over the last several years.
As the business grew, so did the need for a larger space.
“They’ve stayed true to their Bolton roots, and we really appreciate that,” Rupert said.
Dean told Channel 3 that he was blindsided by the fire.
“We are already organized at our house, solving and reorganizing, some of our current production projects,” Dean said. “[We] might fall behind schedule, but I think we’re going to stay on schedule.”
Dean said they install about five or six kitchens each week, so about five weeks of projects may have been impacted.
Now, the rebuilding process will begin.
Bolton’s fire marshal said on Friday that they were working to determine the cause of the fire.
Some cabinetry materials inside were a loss. On the outside, there was structural damage.
“The fire’s in a building approximately 150 by 100 foot, single-story,” Dixon explained. “It started off in the middle of the building.”
Fire crews responded with six tankers.
There were no fire hydrants nearby. Fortunately, crews were able to reach a source of water.
“On a real positive note, about 5 months ago behind New England Country Homes, they invested in and put in a new pond,” Dixon said. “Now, we have two trucks pump the pond lines into the fire.”
Fire officials said the cold weather posed somewhat of a challenge for firefighters. Crews took chainsaws to get below the ice and access the water.
There was also some runoff from the hoses onto the road, so firefighters had to be aware of icy conditions.
Firefighters said they planned to stay on the scene for several hours to make sure the fire was completely out.
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