NAUGATUCK — An alert neighbor extinguished a porch fire that broke out at 74 Sheffield Lane Wednesday morning.
Just before 9:45 a.m., Felix Rolon said he was about to start working on his car when he heard several “popping sounds” next door. He looked outside and noticed flames on the porch. He immediately called 911.
He grabbed a garden hose, jumped over a three-foot split rail fence and started spraying the fire, he said. The flames were out when the Naugatuck Fire Department arrived minutes later.
The fire caused minor damage to siding and the porch. Nobody was injured.
Acting Deputy Fire Marshal William Scanlon said it started by accident. The homeowner thought the fire either started with a cigarette, or from hot grease she had put in a can, and placed in the trash on the patio. Scanlon said that because there were two possible causes, the official cause will be undetermined.
