Crime & Safety
2 Firefighters Hurt Battling 2-Alarm Blaze At Historic Lighthouse Inn
With mutual aid from across the region, New London firefighters worked to knock down the fire at the historic Lighthouse Inn Thursday.
NEW LONDON, CT — Two firefighters, one with possible smoke inhalation, were taken to the hospital Thursday after responding to a two-alarm blaze at the Lighthouse Inn in New London, according to city officials and media reports.
The call came in just before 2:40 p.m., New London firefighters confirmed. Located at 6 Guthrie Place, the historic Inn was the scene of a major fire in the late 1970s. It had recently been renovated and reopened this winter.
The blaze drew mutual aid from numerous fire agencies including Sub Base, Mohegan, Poquonnock Bridge, Electric Boat and Norwich. A number of ambulance companies were also called to the scene. Utility companies were contacted to shut off electric and gas at the building. It took around an hour for firefighters to knock down the blaze, it's reported.
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Second-floor windows were broken, and smoke was visible coming out of the windows as well as the balcony and roof above shortly before 3 p.m., The New London Day reported. The building suffered damage, but was saved. New London fire Chief Tom Curcio told The Day that the majority of the fire damage was limited to the back of the building and its roof.
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New London police sent out the following tweet: "Structure fire Guthrie Pl. area. Numerous emergency service vehicles in area. Traffic congested, roads may be closed. Please stay out of area."
Built in 1902 as a country home for steel industry magnate Charles S. Guthrie, it was converted to an inn in 1927. The building and the remnants of the estate were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, according to The Lighthouse Inn's website.
The property was sold at auction in 2016.
Fire has struck the inn before. A 1979 blaze burned off the roof and destroyed the building's upper floors, according to The New London Day.
See related: Historic New London Lighthouse Inn Property Sold at Auction, Planned to Reopen
Lighthouse Inn Bar, Restaurant May Open This Year
With reporting by Ellyn Santiago, Patch Editor
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