Newington Fire Marshal's Office: Recent Back-To-Back Fires Were Unrelated

From the Town of Newington:

May 24, 2021

The Newington Fire Marshal’s Office (FMO) would like to take this opportunity to provide clarification regarding recent fire incidents in Newington.

At 1035 hours on Wednesday, May 19, 2021 the Newington Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD) responded to a single-family home on Woodmere Road for a structure fire. At 0428 hours on Thursday, May 20, 2021 the NVFD responded to a single-family home on Robbins Avenue for another structure fire.

In both cases, all occupants and pets were able to evacuate the dwellings prior to NVFD arrival, and no injuries were reported. The fires caused significant damage to the structures, and were brought under control quickly by responding fire personnel.

The FMO, in conjunction with the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit (FEIU), responded to and investigated the cause and origin of both incidents.

While it is understandably alarming to have these significant events occur back-to-back within a 24-hour period, we want to assure our community that there is no cause for concern. The incidents were unrelated, and both were determined to be accidental in nature through our investigations.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind our community of the importance of fire prevention, as well as to encourage residents to educate themselves on how to be fire-safe, as well as what to do should a fire occur in your home. If you would like assistance with this or need additional information or resources, please reach out to us at mmanke@newingtonct.gov.

We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the CSP FEIU, NVFD, our Task Force towns, Newington Police Department, Building Department, Newington Human Services, American Red Cross, and members of our community for their assistance.

This press release was produced by the Town of Newington. The views expressed are the author's own.