Crime & Safety

Family Flees as Fire Engulfs Home in Southport [Update]

House on Warner Hill Road in Fairfield's Southport Neighborhood Fully Involved When Firefighters Arrive, Neighbor Says

A fast-moving fire, with flames shooting about 150 feet into the air, engulfed a house on Warner Hill Road in Fairfield's Southport neighborhood early Sunday as the homeowner and his family fled.

Emergency responders reported no injuries, and a neighbor who lives about two houses away said the fire quickly engulfed the house at 323 Warner Hill Road, overcoming the homeowner's attempts to extinguish it after he ensured his wife and daughter were safe outside. The home is owned by Francis and Philippa Poli, according to tax records.

"It was 150 feet in the air," Alan Rissolo, who lives about two houses away on Warner Hill Road, said of the flames as he watched firefighters extinguish the blaze around 4 a.m. "It went straight up...It went up like a tinderbox."

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Rissolo said the blaze, which started about 3:15 a.m. and which is believed to be accidental, was "basically a fireball down to the basement" by the time firefighters got water onto it.

Arriving firefighters found "flames venting from the windows and roof on all four sides," according to the Fire Department's report. "Initial water supply issues were hampered due to the extreme cold and pressure issues," the report states.

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The main part of the fire was extinguished in about 90 minutes, according to the report.

Rissolo said he was alerted to the fire by the first arriving fire engine and that when he looked out his window, the flames were 150 feet in the air. He said the homeowner got his wife and daughter out of the house and returned to try to fight the fire, but the flames and thick smoke forced him to run. "They were out quick - grabbed nothing, no time to grab anything," Rissolo said. "That's all he got out with - his coat and his family."

Firefighters were battling the blaze about an hour after it was reported, and an emergency responder on the scene said the house was a total loss. A front portion of the roof collapsed into the fire about 15 minutes after firefighters arrived. Damage from the blaze was estimated at more than $1.5 million, according to a Fire Department report.

Firefighters said the area of origin was under investigation.

Five engine companies and two ladder companies responded, according to the report. Easton, Westport and Stratford firefighters provided coverage in Fairfield in case more calls came in, according to the report.

The house on 1.44 acres at 323 Warner Hill Road was built in 1956 and was purchased by the Poli's for $1.165 million in February 2000, according to tax records.

The fire on Warner Hill Road was the second significant fire in the overnight hours. A fire late Saturday on May Street caused about $65,000 in damage, and a grandmother, son and granddaughter escaped. Firefighters rescued two cats in that fire. The May Street fire, which rendered the home unhabitable, started in the basement and is considered accidental, according to Assistant Fire Chief Stephen B. Curry.

Stephen Krauchick of DoingItLocal.com contributed to this report.


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