06/18/2026
At approximately 11:45PM last night, June 16th, Bethel Fire & EMS and the Stony Hill Volunteer Fire Company were dispatched to a reported automatic fire alarm in a commercial occupancy on Turkey Plain Rd. In Bethel, when a fire alarm activation is alerted to Bethel Dispatch, standard protocol is to notify both of the volunteer fire departments in town for a cooperative response.
As firefighters were assembling at the stations, Bethel Car 1 (Bethel FD's Fire Chief) responded directly to the reported address. Upon his arrival Car 1 found heavy smoke presenting from the structure and declared a "working fire," instructing Dispatch to begin requesting additional resources for a building fire (immediately requesting a 2nd Alarm - more on that below)
Bethel's Engine 6 was the first engine to arrive on scene, took a position in the driveway, and deployed a series of hose lines to begin fire suppression (aka, put water on the fire). Additional BFD units arrived to send water to Engine 6 while a hydrant (approximately 1400' away) was connected to. Stony Hill's Truck 4 took a position in the driveway and sent crews to the roof to provide vertical ventilation (in a fire, heat and smoke rises, so ventilating through the roof helps relieve those conditions below). Stony Hill also responded with additional apparatus.
Because of the size of the structure and the potential for a major incident, Car 1 requested a 2nd Alarm which received additional manpower and resources from:
Danbury Volunteer Fire Battalion 19, INC.
Danbury Fire Department - CT
Redding Fire & EMS Company #1
West Redding Volunteer Fire Department
Georgetown Volunteer Fire Company
Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company
Danbury Volunteer Fire Battalion Thirty-One, Inc.
Mill Plain Independent Hose Company, #12
Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company, No. 1. Inc.
New Milford Fire Department
These resources provided tankers (with water), ladder trucks, a rapid intervention team (which is a standby firefighter rescue team), station coverage to protect the rest of the town, and air-and-light services (to light up the scene and refill air bottles). Additionally, while Bethel and Stony Hill's ambulances operated on scene, the rest of the town was covered by ambulances from Brookfield and Redding's ambulances. Bethel's Paramedic was also on scene. No injuries were reported.
Bethel Police Department provided dispatch and scene protection services, including road closures due to hydrant supply lines crossing the road.
Talk about neighbors helping neighbors. As the scene began to calm down, resources were released to get back to protecting their towns (and to get some sleep). As always we are grateful for our mutual aid partners. After the scene was placed under control, crews returned to the station to pack hose, refill air bottles, and put the trucks back into a state of readiness. Cleanup was done at 4:30AM, just in time for many of our volunteers to sneak a nap before starting their work days elsewhere.
The fire remains under investigation by the Bethel Emergency Management & Fire Marshal
Fire alarm systems are a vital tool in detecting a fire early and starting a fire department response right away. In this case, the building was unoccupied, so it was the alarm system that initiated this response in the late hours of the night.
We're proud to serve this community and grateful to do so with our mutual aid partners.
Photo Credit: Brookfield Volunteer Fire Company
