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Officials: Cause of Silver Ridge Road Fire Determined To Be Lamp or Fragrance Warmer in Family Room

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The fire that damaged much of a Silver Ridge Road home last weekend appears to have started with one of two heat sources on the first floor, officials said. Though the official cause of the fire will go down as undetermined, it started with either a lamp or plug-in fragrance oil warmer, a type of “diffuser,” in the living room, according to Bob Rockwell, fire inspector in the New Canaan fire marshal’s office. Because of just where the fire started, “it raced up the stairs” and spread quickly throughout the house, Rockwell said. “The Fire Department did a great job—they knocked it down as soon as they got there,” he said. The fire was reported around 5 p.m. Saturday and caused significant damage to the first floor of the home at 48 Silver Ridge Road, smoke and heat damage to the second floor and water damage to the basement, officials have said.

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New Canaan Fire Marshal Offers Residents No-Cost, Penalty-Free Home Inspection

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Here’s something Fairfield Fire Chief Richard Felner told NBC Connnecticut in the wake of a house fire this month that claimed the lives of a mother and daughter: “If they had smoke detectors, that might have saved their lives.”

In the wake of that tragedy and with an eye on safety, New Canaan Fire Marshal Fred Baker is offering a free, courtesy home inspection to town residents. “Fire Marshals in the state of Connecticut do not have jurisdiction in one- or two-family homes, so our only avenue to promote fire safety to those most at risk is through PSAs, articles in local media, school visits, speaking to public groups,” Baker said in a written statement. “Another option is to be invited into one’s home to conduct a ‘Courtesy Home Inspection’ where we visit to review important home fire safety tips.”

Those include:

Smoke and CO detector placement;
Safe ash disposal;
Home fire extinguishers;
Home escape plans;
Extension cord use;
Flammable and combustible fuel storage;
How to properly handle a cooking fire. “No citations will be issued and there is no charge for this service,” Baker said. To hear more or schedule a courtesy visit from the New Canaan fire marshal, call his office at 203-594-3030.