Retired Pastor Dies In House Fire

WATERFORD, CT — A predawn house fire Tuesday on Jordan Terrace left one person dead.

William 'Bill' Reed Sr., a retired pastor for the First Baptist Church of Waterford was named as the person who died in the fire.

It was reported at around 4:30 a.m. that one person was trapped inside the house. New London firefighters reported being on the scene by 5 a.m., "extinguishing fire and searching for a trapped victim."

Reed's wife Alethea passed away at age 87 in 2016, and according to her obituary, Pastor Reed is the father of Roger Reed, a Waterford Police Sergeant.

Waterford firefighters reported that all of the town's fire companies responded to the "working house fire early this morning," adding there was myriad mutual aid from area fire companies.

They reported that the investigation and any new information will come from the director of fire services or the fire marshal’s office.

The Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit and the Waterford Fire Marshal's Office are investigating, Patch confirmed. Waterford fire marshal Peter Schlink was on the scene at 11 a.m.

Responding were Cohanzie, Goshen, Jordan, Oswegatchie and Quaker Hill fire companies in addition to mutual aid from New London, SUBASE and Niantic.