Father, son and their dog escape Norwich house fire

Nov. 18—NORWICH — A city man, his elderly father and their dog escaped a fire Monday afternoon that badly damaged the two-story home they live in at 43 Lafayette St.

Firefighters responded at 12:13 p.m. and found the home engulfed in flames, according to Fire Chief Tracy Montoya, who was first at the scene.

"There was a fire in the yard and the fence, and the side facing us, there was fire ground to roof," Montoya said. "Windows were out already, so it had worked its way inside."

Montoya also said the fire had caught the overhead electrical wires on fire and they were sparking and arcing in the street. Norwich Public Utilities arrived and shut off the power.

Montoya said he believed the fire may have started in the yard.

Firefighters from Norwich, East Great Plain, Yantic and Mohegan Tribal fire departments responded, he said.

Firefighters were able to knock down the fire in 10 minutes, and had it under control in an hour, according to Battalion Chief Marc Benjamin. Benjamin said most of the fire damage was to the outside of the building.

Residents Jim Marra, 55, and his 88-year-old father Ralph Marra, who rented the property, watched from the backyard as firefighters knocked out walls and ceilings to get to the last bits of the fire.

Jim Marra, holding their dog Bagel, a Chihuahua-mix on a leash, said the two were both in the house at the time of the fire. He said he was upstairs working on a computer while his father was downstairs. That's when his father heard a popping noise.

Jim Marra said the next thing he knew the whole house was going up in flames and the smoke was making it difficult to breathe. Then he heard a police officer calling for him and he followed the light from the officer's flashlight to escape.

"It all just happened so fast," he said.

Once the fire was under control, the Marras were trying to get back inside their home to see if they could salvage any of their belongings. The American Red Cross is helping the Marras, who plan to stay with a family member.

On the same property as the house, there is an unoccupied two-story apartment building and small building that houses Browne Dental Laboratory, said Robert Browne Jr. who owns the property with his father.

The Marras rented the home from them, Browne Jr. said.

"I was next door showing the upstairs apartment to a potential tenant. They had just left," he said. "Actually one of the guys that I was speaking with was banging on the door telling (the Marras) to get out because there was smoke coming out."

Meanwhile, the heat from the fire melted some of the vinyl siding at the next house next door at 35 Lafayette St. Benjamin said it was lucky the house didn't catch fire.

"If we didn't get it when we did, we would have had that one going," he said, pointing to the 35 Lafayette St. home. "And it just would have worked its way down the street."

That home is owned by Mike Hague, who arrived at the fire scene shortly after 1 p.m.

"It sounds like it was just from the heat of the fire," he said about the melted siding, adding he would "contact his insurance company and go from there."

"I think we got lucky," he added.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Editor's note: This version corrects the address of the fire.