DANBURY — Donna Maccarrone can credit an alert canine to her escape from a spreading kitchen fire in her Tamanny Trail home that she at first tried to extinguish before the blaze moved beyond her control, officials said Sunday afternoon.
Maccarrone and her dog, whose name was not immediately known, were uninjured in the 11 a.m. accidental fire that ignited from food cooking on the stove, said Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Williams.
After turning on the stove, Maccarrone apparently left the kitchen and was in a back bedroom of the raised ranch home when she heard the dog barking, Williams said. When she reached the kitchen, fire had leaped from the stovetop to the nearby cabinets, he said. She tried to spray it down with a fire extinguisher, but it was moving too fast, he said.
Nineteen firefighters responded to the fire, and within minutes had doused the flames that spewed light smoke throughout the house, Williams said. The kitchen suffered moderate damage that will require repair, and the electrical wiring in the area will also need to be carefully checked, he said.
The Red Cross was contacted to assist, but Maccarrone was able to arrange for temporary housing with a nearby relative, Williams said. Telephone service at her home is currently disconnected.
Deputy Fire Marshal Mark Perry investigated.
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