Click the headline for more pictures!!

A train and car collided at the Branchville Station, trapping an elderly driver for about a half hour.The victim, who was talking with rescuers as he was being extricated from the crushed car, was taken to Danbury Hospital in the Georgetown ambulance with a Ridgefield medic on board. He was said to be in stable condition.Officials identified the driver as Seymour Seidman of Ridgefield, said to be in his 80s.The car was reportedly crossing the track at Portland Avenue, on the south side of the station, just before noon when it collided with the northbound train.The car was dragged 75 feet before the train stopped.It took firefighters nearly a half hour to remove Mr. Seidman from the car.Portland Avenue and West Branchville Road were closed, and the Danbury-Norwalk train line was shut down for a few hours.Ambulances from Ridgefield and Georgetown responded as well as police and other emergency personnel.

Photos: Kevin M. Doyle

Article: Ridgefield Press

RIDGEFIELD -- A three-car collision on Route 7 Tuesday left at least two of the vehicles battered and sent four people to the hospital.

Ridgefield police said the accident occurred near Pamby Motors on Route 7 at about 3 p.m. Tuesday. By Tuesday evening, police did not have a completed report on how the accident took place

The head-on collision forced emergency crews to rush to the scene. They had to use extraction equipment -- the "Jaws of Life'' -- on two of the vehicles to open them up and rescue the people trapped inside.

Police said four people were taken to Danbury Hospital after the accident. By late Tuesday evening, police did not have the names of the people injured in the accident, or their medical status at the hospital.

Photos: Kevin M. Doyle

Story: Danbury News-Times

The RVFD responded to the Town of Weston on a mutual aid assignment involving multiple structures and a brush fire.  What follows is excerpts from the incident report;

A single family dwelling of approximately 7500 sq ft under construction on a hill was accidentally set on fire by a worker burning rubbish at approx 1120 hrs. The first arriving engine from Weston was on scene at approximately 1122 hrs was hampered by a driveway under construction and a deep ditch at the foot of the driveway.  They made their way with a second engine right behind laying a 500 ft 5" line. A water supply engine from Weston laid approx 4000 ft to water while a Weston tanker fed the driveway lay from the street--relay was done in approx 8 min with water flowing.  A Mutual Aid Engine and Tanker from Wilton was diverted from the scene to a street south of this fire--These companies attempt to stop the fire which was being fanned by 40 MPH wind. They found a deck and back of a house well involved approx 800 feet from the fire building.  Mutual aid was then requested from Georgetown, Redding, West Redding Westport, Easton and Ridgefield (Tanker 12, Rescue 7, and Car 3, assigned to Task Force 1).  A Mutual aid call for brush trucks was done with 5 responding from as far away as Shelton.  Additional equipment was requested and staged at Weston Fire Headquarters where 3 Task forces were established
Task force 1---2 Engine Tanks, 1-3000 gallon tanker, 1 heavy rescue and 2 brush units - This was dispatched to the head of the fire within 5 mins.
Task Force 2--1 Engine tank- 2 brush trucks--engine was dispatched as a single unit to a car roll over and operated for 1 hour
Task Force 3 --2 Brush units one with a 600 gallon tank---this was held in reserve
State police provided Air 5 (fixed wing aircraft ) to provide observation.  Fire was brought under control at about 1420 hrs, 3 minor injuries
Approximately 12,000 ft of hose was laid with 6000 ft still at the fire ground and in the woods
Resources used        2 LDH Hose Wagons, 5 Engine Tanks, 3 Type 1 Engines, 1 Type 2 Engine, 6 Type 4 Brush trucks, 4 Tankers(2500-3000 galls), 1 Light Rescue, 1 Heavy Rescue
Burn area approx 16 acres  in and extremely rough heavily wooded area--Note this fire made a 600 ft run in less than 3 mins.
The worker was arrested at the scene for reckless burning.
 

RIDGEFIELD - A fire that badly damaged a house on Pumping Station Road early Monday morning is under investigation by local and state Fire Marshal's offices, in conjunction with the Ridgefield Police Department.  A neighbor called 911 at 12:26 a.m., when he saw that the house at 38 Pumping Station Road was on fire.  The Colonial style house built in 1984 sustained heavy fire damage to about 40 percent and smoke damage to the entire structure. The fire is considered suspicious. When firefighters arrived, about one quarter of the house was engulfed and the room above the three-car garage was fully involved, to the extent that the roof had sustained so much damage that it was already collapsing, No one was inside the burning structure. The four bedroom house with two fireplaces and a pool was for sale. The house and three acres of property were last assessed at $841,910 - down from the July 14, 2000 purchase price of $872,500, according to the town assessor's office. Eight engines, tankers and rescue trucks responded to the scene from Ridgefield, as well as mutual aid from Wilton, Georgetown South Salem and Vista. It was reported Monday that there were actually multiple fires in the home. It took 35 firefighters about 45 minutes to put out the majority of the fire and about two hours for it to be completely under control. This is the seventh large dollar loss or fatal fire in Ridgefield within the last six months.

The state's office of the fire marshal investigates fires that are either fatal, large dollar losses or suspicious. This fire falls under the last two categories.

Story courtesy of the Danbury News-Times, photos by Kevin M. Doyle

Loren Caddell of Fredericksburg, Va., a former chief of the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department, died  Saturday, Feb. 21,  at his home. He was 82 years old.

Mr. Caddell was born in Brooklyn, New York to Mabel and Captain Loren Caddell, USMM on July 23, 1926. He graduated high school in 1943 and enlisted in the Navy where he served on the USS Somers during the invasion of Normandy and throughout the war.

He later continued his service during the Korean War and Vietnam before retiring in 1962 as a chief bosun’s mate after 20 years.

After his military career he had a long career as a security consultant for the Perkin-Elmer Corporation of Danbury. He was the long time chief of the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department.  He was very active in the Rappahannock Historical Train Association.

In 1975, a 43-pound house cat named Spice, belonging to Mr. Caddell and his wife, Elsa, made the Guinness Book of Records.  

Mr. Caddell is survived by his nephew, John Frasca of Falls Church, Va.  Elsa Caddell died in 2004.

The Rev. Deborah McNeill will lead a memorial service   Wednesday, March 4,  at 10 a.m. at Eastland Methodist Church in Fredericksburg.

Online condolences may be expressed to Loren’s family at www.foundandsons.com

Updated: 01/13/2009 06:46:46 AM EST

RIDGEFIELD -- All that stood of the 6,700-square-foot home of John and Lorraine Brice at 3 Turtle Ridge Court on Monday afternoon were two brick chimneys. "I don't know what happened," he said, choking back tears.

Ridgefield Fire Department received a 911 call from a neighbor of the Brices at 10:46 a.m. Monday, on the heels of an automatic fire alarm call.

The Brices and their three teenage children were at work or school when the blaze broke out. It is assumed the family's two pet dogs died in the fire.

Ridgefield fire personnel and volunteer firefighters responded, assisted by the Georgetown fire department and Mill Plain and Miry Brook in Danbury, as well as the New York towns of Brewster, Croton Falls, South Salem and Goldens Bridge. In all 55 firefighters responded, and it took about 90 minutes to knock the fire down.

On arriving, Chief tim Pambianchi found three-fourths of the house engulfed in flames.  Attempts were made to do a quick preliminary check for people in the structure, but there was too much fire and it proved impossible.

With no fire hydrants in the development, which is off of Canterbury Road, nine tankers were called in, and 8,000 feet of fire hose was laid down the 1.4 miles from the intersection of Canterbury and Ridgebury roads to Turtle Ridge Court.

At 1 p.m., the state fire marshal and the Ridgefield fire marshal were on the scene. They were about to begin their investigation while firefighters atop an aerial-truck ladder sprayed water onto the smoldering remains of the house. Smoke billowed in high, dark, thick plumes raised by the wind.

The home, built in 1998, was equipped with working smoke detectors and a monitored fire alarm system.

Links to Photos: http://newstimescommunity.com/soundslides/0112ridgefieldfire/

http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=770

Story courtesy of the Danbury News-Times

At the annual meeting of the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department officers for the 2008 year were elected. They are as follows;

Chief - Tim Pambianchi

Assistant Chief - Mike Gabbianelli

Captains - Ed Scala and Andy Pambianchi

Lieutenant - Bill von Zehle

President - Joe Barrett

Vice President - Phil Baumann

Treasurer - Ron Gutstein

Financial Secretary - Jerry Benziger

Recording Secretary - Bill von Zehle

Steward - Tim Sullivan

Fire Police Captain - Walt Wieland

Fire Police Lieutenants - Ben Myers and Jim Belote

RIDGEFIELD -- An elderly man died when fire gutted his home Sunday afternoon.

Officials weren't releasing the name of the victim Sunday night, but public records indicate the house at 13 Hawthorne Hill Road is owned by longtime Ridgefield resident Edward Plaut.

Scores of firefighters from several departments battled the blaze until early evening, and twice, Ridgefield firefighters tried to force their way into the burning structure to search for the homeowner, the sole occupant.

Their efforts were hampered by gusting winds and a "tremendous amount of clutter" that made it difficult for the would-be rescuers to move through the smoke-filled interior.

The homeowner called 911 shortly before 2 p.m. to report a fire in the kitchen.

The dispatcher told him to get out of the house, heard coughing, and then the line went dead.

Five firefighters, three from the Ridgefield career department, a volunteer from Ridgefield and a volunteer from Georgetown, were taken to Danbury Hospital for treatment. The volunteers and one career firefighter were treated and released, the other two were expected to be held overnight.

The fire spread upward from the first-floor kitchen, then moved into the attic above the second floor of the home, which is located at the end of a long, private driveway off Hawthorne Hill Road, a short distance from Ridgebury Road.

There are no hydrants in the district and a tanker shuttle was initiated using tankers and engines from numerous area departments, including Croton Falls and South Salem from New York, as well as Georgetown, Mill Plain (Danbury), Miry Brook (Danbury), Danbury Engine 26 from Connecticut.  Ambulances were used from the City of Danbury, Georgetown EMS, and Stony Hill EMS. 

Cause of the fire is under investigation by the local and state fire marshals.

Plaut was a political writer who co-authored a book on the race for the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination between then-Mass. Sen. John F. Kennedy and Sen. Stuart Symington of Missouri. The book, "Front Runner, Dark Horse," which he wrote with Ralph G. Martin, was published in 1960.

Plaut also worked on oral histories with former members of the Kennedy Administration for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library in Boston, according to organization's Web site.

A few neighbors braved the freezing temperatures to watch the fire, and expressed concern for the Plaut's safety.

"He's a great guy and a very interesting man," said neighbor Joe Corley. "I hope he's all right."

Corley said the interior of the home was "filled with papers" that Plaut used in his writing and research.

Firefighters made their initial entry through the front door, but were unable to locate the homeowner.

After an hour of fruitlessly trying to suppress the flames from inside the house, the chief directed all the firefighters to evacuate the building, and they poured water on the fire from outside.

The homeowner's body was found in a second-floor bedroom about 6:25 p.m. A police department spokesman said the victim's name would be released after a positive identification is made.

Article courtesy of The Danbury News-Times

Photo 1 courtesy of Kevin M. Doyle

Photo 2 courtesy of the News-Times

A Ridgefield man was arrested Tuesday morning in connection with three recent cases of arson in town, a burglary and for smashing windows of two businesses.

Ridgefield police investigation led to the arrest Christopher Garill, 42, of 20 West Lane.

He is charged with starting the fire that engulfed and destroyed Hot Shoes Dance Studio and offices at 424R Main Street on Oct. 11.

Mr. Garill is also charged with arson in connection to the fire at Attorney Patrick Crehan’s office at 181 Main Street in September and a Nov. 9 fire in a garage behind the bicycle shop at 22 Catoonah St.

Both Main Street arson charges include a charge of reckless endangerment. He is also charged with burglary at 181 Main St and the garage on Catoonah Street.

Mr. Garill faces a criminal mischief and burglary charge for allegedly smashing a window and entering Everywoman’s Spirit on Danbury Road Nov. 12. He faces a second criminal mischief charge for smashing the front window at Bailey’s Backyard on Bailey Avenue with a rock on Nov. 2.

“The detectives were just determined to solve these crimes and they interviewed and re-interviewed the victims and witnesses,” Capt. Stephen Brown said. “The patrol division also went out of their way to prevent further incidents.”

Capt. Brown said Mr. Garill was spotted at the scene of some of the incidents and witnesses and other evidence helped police crack the case.

The Ridgefield Fire Department and Connecticut State Police Fire Marshal also assisted in the investigation.

Other small arson fires have been reported in the last few months and not connected to Mr. Garill, including the burning of cornstalks outside of Bailey’s Backyard.

“We’re not done with this case,” Capt. Brown said. “We’re going to continue to investigate and follow-up.”

Police believe that Mr. Garill acted alone in all the incidents.

Mr. Garill was in custody at the Danbury courthouse Tuesday on $100,000 bail. He is being arraigned today.

He appeared in the Press police log on Nov. 26 for a DUI arrest. The arrest was unrelated to this investigation, police said. var obj = SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Ridgefield man charged with three fires, window smashing", url: "http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14960:ridgefield-man-charged-with-three-fires-window-smashing&catid=46:rfd-local&Itemid=25", description: "", content: "A Ridgefield man was arrested Tuesday morning in connection with three recent cases of arson in town, a burglary and for smashing windows of two businesses.Ridgefield police investigation led to the arrest Christopher Garill, 42, of 20 West Lane. He is charged with starting the fire that engulfed and destroyed Hot Shoes Dance Studio and offices at 424R Main Street on Oct. 11. Mr. Garill is also charged with arson in connection to the fire at Attorney Patrick Crehan’s office at 181 Main Street in September and a Nov. 9 fire in a garage behind the bicycle shop at 22 Catoonah St.Both Main Street arson charges include a charge of reckless endangerment. He is also charged with burglary at 181 Main St and the garage on Catoonah Street.", updated: "2008-12-02 18:30:17" }, {button: true});

Article courtesy of the Ridgefield Press

Fourteen people, including five children, were without a home this morning after a blaze  damaged six units  at Fox Hill condominiums on Route 35, Danbury Road, overnight.In temperatures around 15 degrees, firefighters fought the fire for 90 minutes before it was controlled. However, firefighters were still on the scene at 10 a.m. after a "rekindle" was found.

The general alarm was sounded around 2:15 a.m.

Investigation indicates the fire involving units on Redwood Lane was not arson. There were earlier, unconfirmed reports that the fire might have been of suspicious origin.

Ridgefield and state fire marshals are investigating.

One firefighter was injured.

Upon the fire department’s arrival, heavy fire was visible from the back of the building involving several of the condos. Fire traveled on both the interior and exterior of the building through void spaces into five of the six condos. Firefighters performed an aggressive interior attack of the fire while being hindered by difficult fire and building conditions, challenging terrain, and extremely cold temperatures.  Ultimately five condos were damaged by fire and all six were damaged by smoke and water."   

Sixty firefighters responded from the Ridgefield volunteer and paid departments as well as departments in Danbury, West Redding and Georgetown.

The Red Cross, Ridgefield social services and First Selectman Rudy Marconi were on the scene helping residents, many of whom are being temporarily housed at the Days Inn on Route 7.

Fox Hill is a condominium complex of 286 units completed in 1977, located opposite the Recreation Center/Founders Hall complex on Danbury Road.

The highway department sent a sanding truck to the scene because water was freezing on surfaces almost on contact.

Photos by Kevin M. Doyle

Article courtesy of the Ridgefield Press

Two more fires in the village are under scrutiny.

A fire was put out Sunday night at about 11:30 in the empty garage behind the bicycle shop on Catoonah Street, next door to the fire house.

“It was quickly extinguished,” Fire Marshal Dave Lathrop said this morning.

The building, already in disrepair, appears to have sustained minor damage.

“I can’t comment on it,” Mr. Lathrop said. “...It is under investigation.”

Monday morning Mr. Lathrop and Ridgefield Police were also looking into evidence of a fire on Bailey Avenue, where decorative corn stalks outside Bailey’s Backyard restaurant were blackened and burned.

The fire was called in by office workers who saw evidence of the fire on their way to work this morning.

The two incidents appear to be the fifth and sixth suspicious fires this year.

A fire on Spectacle Lane tested positive for accelerants last March. In late September there was a fire at Patrick Crehan’s law offices, in an outbuilding at his home on south Main Street. Also in late September, a recycling bin behind the Press building was found burning on a Friday afternoon. It was extinguished by employees.

 And, on Saturday night, Oct. 11, a fire destroyed the Hot Shoes Dance Studio in the building behind storefronts at 424 Street.

Article courtesy of The Ridgefield Press

Ridgefield fire damages home early Monday morning

Danbury considers regional fire training school

Site could train area towns


By Dirk Perrefort
Staff Writer


Article Last Updated: 10/20/2008 06:14:44 AM EST
  
DANBURY -- State and local officials like the idea of a regional fire training school that could be used by area towns.

Danbury Fire Chief Geoff Herald discussed establishing such a school Friday during a meeting of the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials, which voted unanimously to support the proposal.

"Having a regional school would allow all the departments in the area to have a better working relationship," Herald said.

"As time goes on, we are going to have to depend on each other more and more. This will save each municipality both time and money."

He added the Danbury department's training facility on Plumtrees Road could be used for the regional school. It has a concrete "burn house" that the city refurbished about two years ago and a large concrete slab that is used for vehicle extrication exercises.

Many fire departments in the region already use the facility.

If the plan moves forward, Herald said, a trailer on the property that\\\'s used as a classroom could eventually be replaced with a permanent year-round building.

Other training equipment, including a tower training facility that could be used to simulate a variety of conditions firefighters face, could also be built on the site.

Herald said at this point officials are just looking for the regional training school designation, which requires action by the state legislature. Funding could follow. No cost estimates were available at this early stage.

Adam Piskura, director of fire training for the state, said there are seven regional training facilities in Connecticut. The closest one to Danbury is in Fairfield.

Piskura said a regional approach to training is favored because it's more efficient.

"It's great cross-training," said Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Chief Tim Pambianchi, whose firefighters were training at the Plumtrees Road facility on Saturday.

"Being able to use this smokehouse enables more training more frequently ... and the city of Danbury has been very accommodating in allowing us to train here and that allows both fire departments to integrate so they know what each other is capable of," he added.

Bill Halstead, the fire marshal in Newtown, said he fully supports the proposal.

"It's something that's definitely needed in the area," he said. "Right now we have to travel quite a distance to get to a regional school.

"If we had one in Danbury and there was a large-scale incident in our town, we could be on the scene within 15 minutes."

He added that having a regional training center would also help departments in the region coordinate their services.

"Firefighters from different departments could train together and utilize each others' resources," he said. "Everyone gets to work together."

Deputy House Speaker Robert Godfrey, D-Danbury, said he looks forward to working with local fire officials and legislators to bring the proposal to Hartford.

Because lawmakers expect a difficult budget year, "we will be looking for smart growth regionalizing efforts" and "economies of scale."

"Intermunicipal cooperation has all the makings of the kind of model we will want," he said. "I can't see anyone objecting to this kind of thing."

Contact Dirk Perrefort

at dperrefort@newstimes.com

or at (203) 731-3358.

Story Courtesy of the Danbury News-Times


 

RIDGEFIELD - Officials said someone deliberately set a fire Saturday that badly damaged five businesses off Main Street.

No injuries were reported, as no one was in the building when the fire started.

Deputy Fire Marshal Michael Grasso said investigators have ruled out accidental causes for the fire, which was reported at 12:17 a.m. at the "Shops off Main," a two-story building off Main Street and Bailey Avenue that housed a dance studio, a grocery store and three professional offices.

  Slideshow: Click here to see pictures of investigators at the scene Saturday morning.

"It is an intentionally set fire, so therefore it was arson," Grasso said.

The fire is the second suspicious fire on Main Street in less than a month.

On Sept. 23, someone set fire to a cottage at 181 Main St.

However, investigators Saturday would not connect the two incidents.

"There is nothing similar at all," Grasso said. "We can't say they are connected at this time."

The fire

A police officer spotted smoke in the area and contacted the fire department.

Officials listed the address as 424-A Main St.

A shed in an alley on the side of the building was engulfed when firefighters arrived. The flames traveled up the building and into the roof.

Upon arrival there was heavy smoke and fire starting to show on the peak of the roof.

Part of the roof collapsed onto the second floor, which housed several offices. Three of the offices had tenants. Other spaces were vacant.

It took some three hours to get the blaze under control.

Ridgefield called for assistance from the Danbury Fire Department, which sent an engine and a ladder truck. A ladder truck from Georgetown and a truck from Wilton were also dispatched to the scene.

Fire companies from Georgetown, Miry Brook and Redding covered the town for the Ridgefield department while they battled the blaze.

Merchants react

In addition to the offices, Milillo Farms, a grocery store, suffered heavy smoke and water damage as did Hot Shoes, a dance studio.

Karen Casagrande, a town resident who owns the dance studio, watched the building burn.

She and her husband Gordon said a large crowd gathered in the parking lot during the fire, apparently patrons from several bars surrounding the scene.

"They were out here watching it. It was like a barn fire in high school," Casagrande said.

Casagrande has owned Hot Shoes for 24 years, but moved into the new space less than two years ago.

Most of damage in the studio was from smoke and water damage.

About 500 CDs and stereo equipment was ruined by the water. She planned to start looking Monday for a temporary space for her dance studio, which has about 200 students.

Casagrande was grateful firefighters kept the blaze contained to one building.

"These guys were great. I can't tell you how amazing they were. For as bad as it was, they contained it," she said.

A steady stream of residents offered condolences Saturday to Mario Galeano, who manages Milillo Farms, an independent grocery store that was also damaged. His in-laws own the store.

The investigation

Grasso said the fire started on a shed about two feet from the building, in an alley where several large trash receptacles were stored.

The shed housed a large air compressor used to ventilate air from underneath the property. The land apparently had a contamination problem at some point, Grasso said, and part of the clean-up mandated by the state Department of Environmental Protection included the installation of the air compressor.

However, the device had not been used in two years, the property manager told fire officials.

A team from the state Fire Marshal's Office assisted in the investigation and focused on the alley, were the damage was the worst.

They took away at least three pieces of evidence, which were placed into brown paper bags after being videotaped.

"There were a few pieces of evidence that will be sent to the state lab for examination," Grasso said.

Ridgefield Police Det. Steve Papstein was at the scene all day Saturday interviewing merchants from the damaged building as well as employees at nearby stores.

The rear entrance to a Subway sandwich shop is close to where the fire was set, as is Bailey's Backyard, a restaurant.

Other nearby restaurants include 50 Coins.

Papstein is hoping patrons might have spotted something between 10 p.m. Friday and midnight Saturday.

"Right now we're looking for information, so if anyone who was in this area has anything, they should call, " Papstein said.

The phone number at the police department is (203) 438-6531.

Article courtesy of the Danbury News-Times

Photo by Kevin M. Doyle