A dog died as a fire gutted a small house in the Maples, a waterfront community on the Housatonic River in Shelton.
There were no other injuries.
Firefighters were sent to the house — 143 in The Maples — at 7:55 p.m., Shelton Fire Department Assistant Chief Daryl Osiecki said.
“A good 50 percent of it was involved” with flames when they arrived, Osiecki said. “A lot of fire, concentrated mostly in the rear of the house, on the river side.”
Except for a pet dog in a crate, the house was empty.
Firefighters stretched a 2.5‑inch hose line to extinguish most of the flames down within about 15 minutes, Osiecki said.
“Once the heavy fire was knocked down, they were able to go in the front door with a smaller line and then start making an interior attack,” he said. “That’s when they found the canine.”
The dog was in a crate, Osiecki said, and impossible to rescue because of its proximity to where the fire was.
Fire officials advised residents to put pets in crates near the front doors of their homes to increase the chance of rescue in case of a fire.
A GoFundMe page has been set up independently to help the resident who lived in the house, identified as “Josh.” The dog was named Harley. The page promises to give donations to the victim. Click here to see the page.
The flames and smoke from the fire gutted the home.
“It’s most likely going to be a total loss,” Osiecki said.
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The fire also caused cosmetic heat damage to neighbors’ houses on either side, but those homes are structurally sound.
The fire was caused by ashes from a wood stove in the home that were put in a plastic bucket next to a deck, Fire Marshal James Tortora said.
The deck and home caught fire, after which a neighbor called 911, Tortora said.
According to Shelton public land records, the house is owned by Brian Desautels, a West Haven lawyer, and Sara Desautels.
Neighbors said the couple rents the house out. The man who lives in the house declined to comment at the scene.
