Firefighters Battle a House Blaze on Downs Rd

The back of a one-story ranch house at 74 Downs Road was engulfed in flames just after midnight Wednesday morning, and Stevenson Assistant Fire Chief John Howe, the first firefighter on the scene, said he could see flames over the roof-line from the street when he arrived.

Two men and a woman renting the house, all in their late 20's, had gotten outside to safety and called 9-1-1 at 12:05 a.m., according to Fire Marshal Bill Davin.

Davin said the woman was asleep in her bedroom and the men were watching TV when the woman awoke to the smell of smoke and the men heard a noise.

"It doesn't appear suspicious at this time," Davin said. "Most of the damage is to the rear of the structure."

Stevenson, Stepney and Monroe firefighters battled the blaze and, because there are no fire hydrants in the neighborhood, tankers were called in from Oxford and Sandy Hook to provide mutual aid.

Though the fire was extinguished within a half-an-hour, Davin said the house is a total loss.

A Stevenson tanker was used to set up filling stations at a hydrant by Marian Heights, in the 1400 block of Route 111, and another by the Lake Zoar Boat ramp, according to Davin. At the scene, a portable tank was filled with water in front of the detached garage.

Davin said a Stevenson Tanker filled the portable tank, then drove to the filling stations to get more water on a loop — keeping lines for Stevenson Engine 302 fully supplied.

Engine 302 was the "attack engine" used to keep a barrage of water shooting at the smoke and fire.

When Howe had first arrived on the scene, he said he "did a 360", checking all sides of the structure.

"The rear deck/porch of the house was fully involved," Howe said. "I'm sorry they lost their home."

But Howe added the most important thing is that nobody was hurt.

As town firefighters fought the house fire in Stevenson, Davin said the Shelton Fire Department covered the Monroe firehouse and the Long Hill fire company in Trumbull covered the Stevenson firehouse.