Bethel Firefighters Extinguish Blaze At UCONN

BETHEL, CT — Firefighters tackled an early morning blaze Saturday, right next door to their home base.

At approximately 6:15, crews from Stony Hill Volunteer Fire Company were dispatched to an activated fire alarm at the University of Connecticut Agricultural Extension Center, located conveniently next door.

Bethel police officers, investigating the locked building from outside, could see smoke and fire inside, and the incident was redispatched as a structure fire.

A rapid intervention team from the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company and Bethel police forced entry through a rear door and located a fluorescent light fixture burning in a hallway ceiling as well as the carpet below. The crews were able to extinguish most of the blaze using a fire extinguisher, before Stony Hill firefighters took down the rest of the fire using a water can extinguisher. Crews opened up the ceiling and found the fire was held to the immediate area surrounding the light fixture.

No injuries were reported, and the fire is under investigation by the Bethel Fire Marshal's Office.

"If it weren’t for the functioning, monitored fire alarm system, this would have been a much different outcome," fire officials posted to social media.