By Tara O’Neill
Connecticut Post
FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Town firefighters responded to fires potentially caused by lightning Thursday, one of which seriously injured a firefighter, officials said.
Around 6:40 p.m., the Fairfield Emergency Communications Center received a call for a structure fire in the 1000 block of Mill Hill Road. Several units were dispatched to the residence and the first units on scene reported smoke coming from a large detached garage.
“Units used multiple hand lines to aggressively battle this fire,” officials said.
The homeowners were “very lucky” the fire was discovered in the early stages by a delivery person, or the damage could have been far worse, said Assistant Fire Chief Schuyler Sherwood.
One firefighter suffered serious injuries to their face while battling the fire and was taken to a hospital by ambulance. His injuries were non-life-threatening, officials said.
The last unit cleared from the scene at 9:25 p.m.
Shortly after the communications center received a call for the Mill Hill Road fire, there was another call for a structure fire in the 700 block of Gilbert Highway.
Several Fairfield fire units responded and additional Westport fire units assisted.
The first unit at the scene reported that the invisible dog fence transformer in the residence shorted out, possibly because of a lightning strike, and caused smoke to fill the residence.
There were no reported injuries. The scene was cleared by 7:34 p.m.
The cause of both fires will be investigated by the Fairfield Fire Marshal.
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