UPDATED: Fire Heavily Damages Historic Cheney Mansion

Update, 3:20 p.m. 

According to Fire Chief Robert Bycholski, the preliminary cause of the fire that raged through the historic Philip Cheney Mansion Friday morning was caused by a contractor's soldering of copper gutters in the attic, although the Fire Marshall is still conducting an investigation into the origins and cause of the blaze. 

Original Story

A two-alarm fire caused heavy damage to the former Philip Cheney Mansion Friday morning, an historic home once owned by a member of the Cheney family that has been undergoing extensive renovations as a residence the past few years.

According to Fire Chief Robert Bycholski, the fire broke out in a third floor attic of the massive home at approximately 9  a.m. Friday morning, but quickly spread through the top two floors of the home due to its age and wooden construction.

The fire was contained at about 11 a.m. Friday morning, and shortly after the home was declared uninhabitable, but Bycholski said that firefighters had to contend with intense heat and extreme fire conditions at points.

Bycholski said there were  no injuries as a result of the fire, but the deceased body of a cat was found on the second floor after firefighters had contained the blaze. Only contractors were on the property at the time the fire broke out, Bycholski said, and its cause had not been determined Friday morning.

“The investigation is still ongoing as to the cause of the fire,” Bycholski said. “We know they did have contractors on scene at the time.”

Eight fire apparatuses from the Manchester Fire, Rescue and EMS Department responded to the scene, as well as two units from the East Hartford Fire Department and one from the Manchester Eighth Utilities District Fire Department. Bycholski said that the Vernon, South Windsor and Glastonbury fire departments covered the town’s service area during the blaze.

Although from the outside it appeared as though the home had not suffered much damage Friday morning, Bycholski said that the inside of the home had been significantly damaged.

“It’s extensive heat and fire damage,” Bycholski said. “It’s sad almost, because it’s such a historic home.”

The home, built around 1900, was once owned by Philip Cheney, a member of the Cheney family of silk manufacturers, and the Cheney Brothers Historic District, which includes the Philip Cheney Mansion, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

According to town records, Anthony G. Viscogliosi purchased the almost 15,000-square foot home in 2003. Town records list the home’s appraised value at $1.39 million.