Fire at Stonington Yacht Club leaves injured and threatens Amtrak power lines

July 15, 2024, 4:44 p.m. • Last updated: July 15, 2024, 4:44 p.m.

Stonington – Quick-responding county firefighters prevented a fire in a maintenance hangar Tuesday afternoon from causing damage to power lines that serve not only Eversource customers but also the adjacent Amtrak rail line.

At around 1:30 p.m., police received reports that a fire had broken out in a shed at the Wadawanuck Club at 196 Water Street.

Stonington Borough Fire Chief Jeff Hoadley said he was the first to arrive and found a heavy fire erupting from the shed directly beneath the power lines. Hoadley said he immediately feared the fire could damage and destroy the overhead wires that supply 13,000 volts of electricity to Eversource and 26,000 volts to Amtrak. If that happened, service between Boston and New York would be disrupted.

Hoadley said the next firefighter, volunteer Hunter Wilcox, began protecting the lines by putting out the fire underneath. Hoadley said firefighters were able to get the blaze under control in about 15 minutes by dumping 750,000 gallons of water on it. The shed and its contents were destroyed.

A maintenance worker who was in the hall suffered burns and was taken by ambulance from Mystic River to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital. The extent of his injuries was not immediately clear.

Hoadley said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

Also responding were the Pawcatuck and Wequetequock fire departments, Stonington EMS, Stonington Police, L+M Hospital paramedics and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. DEEP responded because the shed is less than 200 feet from Stonington Harbor.