Firefighters Respond to Kitchen Fire in East Putnam

Putnam, Conn.- At approximately 10:17 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5th, 2023, the East Putnam Fire Department, along with mutual aid companies, were dispatched to 20 Joslin Rd for a reported kitchen fire.

According to East Putnam's Fire Chief Abe Walker, upon his arrival, he found a heavy smoke condition on the second floor and multiple occupants still inside the residence. He immediately called a working kitchen fire on the second floor and began evacuating the occupants from the building.

As Chief Walker finished the evacuation, the first crew began advancing a hose line to the second floor. This crew was met with zero visibility conditions as they searched for the source of the fire. While there was a heavy smoke condition, crews found the source of the fire largely knocked down and were able to rapidly extinguish all remaining fire.

The second floor of the home sustained heavy smoke damage and will not be habitable until the damage can be mitigated. The red cross is assisting 4 adults and 1 child who were displaced.

While the closest fire hydrant was nearly a mile away, firefighters were able to extinguish the fire with the water on the scene and held the assignment to a 1st Alarm.

Crews remained on the scene for approximately an hour overhauling.

No injuries were reported on the scene.

The incident is under investigation by the Putnam Fire Marshal.

Agencies who responded, or were dispatched, included the East Putnam Fire Department , Putnam Fire Department , Attawaugan Fire Department , Quinebaug Vol FD , Dayville Fire Company , Putnam EMS , and the Connecticut State Police

0903 Update: the number of residents assisted by the Red Cross has been updated to reflect the official Red Cross statement instead of on scene reports.