Dumpster afire at 30 Hales Court – Photo Town of Westport

By John H. Palmer

WESTPORT – A quick response by Westport firefighters to a dumpster fire at 30 Hales Court Thursday morning likely saved a home from going up in flames.

The first call came in at about 11:30 a.m. for what Assistant Chief Brian Meadows described as a “fire originating from the dumpster in front of the house.”

The fire department responded quickly with a large number of apparatus to the Greens Farms neighborhood, knocking down the fire down within seven minutes and keeping it from growing larger, Meadows said.

The weather was sunny, but very windy and could have fanned a much larger fire. Meadows credited the fast response to preventing severe damage to the house.

Damage was largely confined to items inside the dumpster – Photo Mark Molesworth

Damage to the house was limited to the exterior, burning some siding and paint but not extending into the inside of the house.

At press time, the name of the tenant and whether the tenant was home at the time of the fire was unknown. Meadows said in a press release that no occupants were displaced and no reported injuries. Fire personnel were released from the scene around 12:25 p.m.

A cause for the fire has not yet been determined and is being investigated, Meadows said.

The fire at 30 Hales Court was quickly extinguished – Photo Mark Molesworth

The Village at Hales Court is a multi-family apartment complex, that contains 78 income-restricted affordable housing units and was modernized in 2008, according to records found online, and is located on land owned by the Westport Housing Authority.

John Palmer, a Norwalk native, is executive editor of the Westport Journal, and has covered community news in Fairfield County and Massachusetts for over 30 years. He can be contacted at jpalmer@westportjournal.com.