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The incident took place in the town of Fairfield around 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 2 at Station 1 on Reef Road.
The crew received the news from Fairfield Fire Marshal, Asst. Fire Chief Phil Higgins as they were returning from a call that he had been alerted to a fire in the kitchen when the heat detectors activated the the building fire alarm.
After discovering the source of the fire, a frying pan burning on the stove, Higgins immediately called 911 and requested assistance. Then, with the help of Firefighter Brendan Murray, who had stopped by the firehouse to pick up supplies for the Career Night presentation he was doing for the Key Club at Wakeman Boys and Girls Club, the two used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire.
When firefighters arrived on the scene a few minutes later, they reported heavy smoke coming from the rear of the building, Higgins said.
After ensuring that the fire was out, firefighters used large fans to clear the smoke and then checked for any extensions.
Higgins said the fire damage was contained to the pan with some minor extension to the wooden cabinet above the stove.
The heat damage melted the plastic blinds covering the windows, and the heavy smoke damaged the walls and contents of the kitchen.
The entire area was blanketed with the dry powder extinguishing agent contained in the 20-pound fire extinguisher used to put out the fire.
After an investigation by Higgins, the cause of the fire was determined to be “accidental.”
The firefighters at Station 1 had been preparing dinner, chicken parmigiana, frying breaded filets in a pan of oil. They started cooking at 4:30 p.m. but had to stop their meal prep four times to respond to different fire or emergency medical calls.
Each time they stopped cooking, they took the chicken out of the pan, put it on the rack, turned off the burner, turned off the oven, put on their fire gear, and responded to the call, Higgins said.
The last time they left the fire station and responded to an automatic fire alarm at Heritage Square on Post Road, they accidentally left the burner on.
According to Higgins: “Tonight’s cause was determined rather quickly. It was accidental and accidents happen. Just because we’re firefighters, that does not mean we are immune from them happening to us. Just like any other fire in town, after the fire is out, we pick up and go back to service."
No injuries were reported.
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