Fire at East Lyme home displaces family

May 20—EAST LYME — A house in the Flanders village caught on fire Wednesday afternoon.

A two-and-a-half-story dwelling on 15 Partridge Court became engulfed in flames on Wednesday, prompting response from Flanders Fire Department and mutual aid calls to various other departments. Nobody was home at the time.

Flanders fire Chief Chris Taylor said he knows the family — a husband, pregnant wife and 1-year-old child — that was displaced.

According to the Connecticut Red Cross, the organization is helping 14 people total after the East Lyme fire and a fire in Bridgeport. A news release states that the Red Cross is assisting one family of two adults and a child after a fire Wednesday in East Lyme.

"Red Cross caseworkers will connect with those affected in the coming days to work on a longer-term recovery plan," the release reads.

Taylor said essentially the whole house was affected by the fire. The fire marshal is investigating the cause.

"It kind of went through the entire home. It came from the garage up to the second floor through the attic with smoke damage throughout," he said. "I know the fire marshal is looking outside the garage, not sure where. It appears to have started outside, I'll say that, but it's not my call."

Aside from Flanders, fire companies and departments from Niantic, Oakdale, Chesterfield, the sub base, Old Saybrook, Oswegatchie, Cohanzie and Old Lyme, among other responders, came to the scene. Taylor said it took approximately 40 minutes to control the fire.

"There was a lot of fire, so we wanted to make sure we had plenty of people and personnel, and to make sure we had adequate water on a hot day," he said, noting the whole front of the house was fully involved in flames.