Stonington yacht club fire injures one, threatens Amtrak power lines

Stonington ― Fast acting borough firefighters prevented a maintenance shed fire Monday afternoon from damaging overheard power lines that serve not only Eversource customers but the adjacent Amtrak rail line.

About 1:30 p.m., police received calls of fire in a shed at the Wadawanuck Club at 196 Water St.

Stonington Borough Fire Chief Jeff Hoadley said he arrived first and found heavy fire coming from the shed, which is directly under the power lines. Hoadley said he was immediately concerned the fire would damage and take down the overhead wires that carry 13,000 volts of electricity for Eversource and 26,000 volts that serve Amtrak. If the that occurred, service between Boston and New York would be interrupted.

Hoadley said the next firefighter to arrive, volunteer Hunter Wilcox, began protecting the wires by extinguishing the fire below. Hoadley said firefighters were able to get the blaze under control in about 15 minutes after putting 750 gallons of water on the fire. The shed and its contents were destroyed.

A maintenance worker who was in the shed suffered burns and was taken by Mystic River Ambulance to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital. The extent of his injuries was not immediately known.

Hoadley said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Also responding to the fire were the Pawcatuck and Wequetequock fire departments, Stonington Ambulance, Stonington police, L+M Hospital paramedics and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The DEEP responded as the shed is located less than 200 feet from Stonington Harbor.

Editor’s note: This story corrects the amount of water used to extinguish the fire.