Back-To-Back Fires Test Ellington Crews

ELLINGTON, CT — Two house fires were reported less than an hour apart early Saturday In Ellington, including a Burbank Road blaze that forced a family from its home.

The Town of Ellington identified the fires as occurring at 9 East Porter Road and 118 Burbank Road. Public incident alerts from Tolland County Mutual Aid Fire Service list the East Porter Road call at 1:34 a.m. and the Burbank Road call at 2:30 a.m.

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First Selectman Laurie Burstein said no one was injured in either fire. She said mutual-aid resources and water supply were requested because the area lacks hydrants.

Burstein said the American Red Cross responded to Burbank Road and helped the displaced family with relocation, financial resources, care packages and other necessities.

The Burbank Road home belongs to Jessica and Anthony Rosati. A GoFundMe fundraiser for the family says they lost everything in the fire and is collecting money for emergency housing and essential expenses. The Crystal Lake School PTO also organized donations of clothing, diapers, hygiene items and other necessities for the Rosatis.

NBC Connecticut, citing Crystal Lake Fire Department Deputy Chief Michael D'Averso, reported that the East Porter Road fire was upgraded to a second alarm. D'Averso told NBC that a truck initially assigned to that fire was sent to Burbank Road for a downed-tree-and-wires call, where crews found the Rosati home fully involved.

Mutual aid responded from Crystal Lake, Ellington, Tolland, Somers, Willington and West Stafford.

CT Insider reported that Eversource said fallen tree limbs brought down power lines on Burbank Road, leaving about 55 Ellington customers without electricity Saturday morning. Power was restored by Saturday night, according to the report.

That outage report does not establish a cause for the fire, and no public official has linked the power issue to the blaze or connected the Burbank and East Porter Road fires.

Patch has requested information from the Ellington Fire Marshal's Office on the status and cause of both investigations.