Fire Destroys Detached Garage At Seymour Home

An early morning fire in Seymour Tuesday destroyed a detached two-car garage at a Smith Street home.

There were no injuries.

Fire Marshal Paul Wetowitz said firefighters were dispatched about 3:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Upon arrival firefighters saw a detached garage at the property, 42 Smith St., was engulfed in flames, Wetowitz said.

The man who owns the home, James Conroy, heard an explosion in the garage a little after 3 a.m., Wetowitz said, after which he saw smoke coming from the building.

Conroy opened the door to the garage in the hopes of letting a cat inside escape, but the fresh oxygen fueled the fire, Wetowitz said.

CONTRIBUTEDBasically it’s totaled,” he said of the building, which sat about 50 feet from the house on the property.

The cat that was inside the garage has not been found, Wetowitz said.

We did make an attempt to enter to look for his cat and the heat was too hot, so we had to back out,” Wetowitz said.

The fire began in an area near a wood stove, he said, but the damage was so extensive it was impossible to look for more clues inside the building safely.

All I could say was the area of origin is around the wood stove,” Wetowitz said. The cause is undetermined.”

As the fire burned, they put water on the area to make sure the blaze didn’t spread. They also had to water down an acetylene tank in the garage because a valve on it melted and it was leaking.

Wetowitz said Conroy lost an old vehicle he had planned on restoring and a truck in the blaze.

Conroy declined to comment when reached by phone Tuesday.

Firefighters were on scene until about 7 a.m., Wetowitz said.

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