By JON BAKER

LINCOLN  —  A fire that mysteriously started in a first-floor, spare bedroom of a posh home at 382 Angell Road just after 10:50 p.m. Thursday was extinguished expeditiously by a platoon of Lime Rock firefighters. The blaze nevertheless forced a Cambodian family of four to find another place to live.

According to veteran Lime Rock Chief Frank Sylvester, the modern, three-story structure — sold in 2005 for $445,000 — suffered a great deal of smoke damage; he also expected the repair price tag to be anywhere from $75,000-$150,000.
There were four people – including homeowner Khun Pisey, his wife and one of two daughters, as well as a friend – inside the cellar at the time, but all escaped without injury. Another daughter apparently wasn’t home.
“They had no idea how the fire started,” Sylvester said. “Evidently, the friend of the girl noticed smoke coming from the (cellar) ceiling, so he grabbed a garden hose from outside and tried to extinguish the blaze, but to no avail. That’s when they called the fire department.”
Less than two minutes after the call to Lincoln Police dispatchers, Lime Rock Engine 32 firefighters Joe Amaral, Jimmy Dean and Shawn Slekis arrived first, and described the fire as “Code Red” (meaning flames could be seen jutting from that bedroom). It was followed by Lime Rock Engine 31 (from Station No. 1), Lonsdale Engine 4, Saylesville Ladder 1 and Rescue vehicles 2 and 4.
“When I arrived at about 11:05 p.m., we had firefighters inside the building attacking the fire and checking for extensions (that is, hot spots that might have traveled to other inside areas),” Sylvester stated. “It wasn’t really a bad fire, in that the guys got in and worked it, containing a lot of the damage to where it started.”
As he walked through the home with Assistant Chief Arthur Jacques, Sylvester pointed out smoke damage in a few hallways and the back living area, and also a melted smoke alarm and doorbell chime located near the fire’s initiation. A few front and left-side windows already had been boarded up when Sylvester and Jacques pulled into the driveway at about 4 p.m., Friday.
“That tells you how hot it was in here,” Sylvester said. “We don’t know how it started, so we’ll say it’s an accident at this point. It’s still being investigated.”
A fire report assembled by Lime Rock Deputy Chief Steve Tucker indicated that the first item to burn may have been a newspaper or magazine, and that neither electronics nor a cigarette caused the blaze.
“I know Deputy Fire Marshal Dave Scott of the State Fire Marshal’s Office was here to conduct a thorough investigation,” Sylvester noted, while Jacques mentioned firefighters needed only 10 minutes “to knock it down, and another 20 to look for extensions.”
Police Det. William Strain and Patrolman Christopher Nightingale also reported to the site, with Strain assembling his own report for his department.
“I’d guess the family could renovate the home in three months, so it could be ready by Thanksgiving,” Sylvester said. “In the meantime, I like a family in this predicament to have a live-in motor home on the property. The reasons: They should be close to it at all times, and see what work is being done to the house. For now, they said they would stay with some friends. If that wasn’t the case, we would’ve called in the Red Cross or a motel to set them up.
“They were very lucky,” he continued. “We actually had some guys fighting the fire while others put fire-retardant material over furniture in other rooms. It could’ve been much worse … The guys did a heckuva job, and the companies who responded saved the whole house, which looks like it’s made on the outside by California redwood.
“Especially at that hour of the night, the firefighters responded well, as always,” he added.