NEW LONDON — One home is completely destroyed and another is badly damaged after a fire began behind a home on Fuller Street Saturday morning, according to Fire Chief Thomas Curcio.
Curcio said during a phone call Saturday that the fire spread to a home at 61 Fuller St. and spread to the house next door, most likely due to the wind.
A gas valve was also involved, Curcio said, so there was free-flowing natural gas at the scene.
“I’m pretty sure that was from the fire that had either set off a relief valve or something,” Curcio said. “We had to wait for Eversource to come and secure the gas to the building.”
Power lines were down when the fire department arrived, according to Curcio, so there were also live wires at the scene.
“They immediately called second alarm at first and then it went to a general alarm because we needed that much help,” Curcio said. “Then fire also spread into the nearby woods from hot embers. The nearby town took care of that for us.”
Three firefighters were treated for first and second-degree burns on their faces and necks and were released, the chief said. Curcio said he believed a pet died in the first home as well. There were no other injuries and everyone was out of the homes when the fire department arrived.
“They did try to make an aggressive interior attack, but they had to withdraw because the roofs on both of the homes were coming down, so we had to use caution while we were going inside,” Curcio said.
One home was completely destroyed and while Curcio did not go into the second home, he said the fire burned off most of the roof and he assumes the home would have a lot of water damage.
All fires have been extinguished and the fire marshal was on the scene Saturday evening investigating the cause of the blaze.
In a Facebook post earlier, police asked residents to avoid the area near Fuller and Colman streets Saturday morning. All affected roads in the area have been reopened.
State Rep. Anthony Nolan, D-New London, said on Facebook that no one had been reported injured, thanking firefighters for their efforts.
“Please keep our neighbors in prayers, along with our firefighters who did tremendous job fighting this fire,” Nolan said.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.