[Albe Bassett is chief of the New Canaan Fire Department.]
Friday morning, Aug. 22, 2025, the New Canaan Fire Department responded to a home reporting smoke in their basement.
As a family, they safely evacuated their home and gathered in a predetermined meeting place on their property. The call was then placed to 9-1-1 to report the event. The New Canaan Fire Department responded and found a switch for a pump had shorted out causing the light smoke condition found by the homeowner.
Although the family had had an emergency situation emerge at their home, there are many positives to be found in this incident.
Earlier this year, the family had asked the New Canaan Fire Marshal to conduct a Home Safety Evaluation. These Safety Evaluations are conducted at no cost to the homeowner and are offered to any town resident upon request. Although there was no way to identify in advance that the switch would fail, the family was well educated in how to conduct themselves in a fire emergency situation. Crucial steps taken to mitigate the event were: Closing the door to the area where the smoke was found, evacuating the home, gathering at their designated meeting place and calling 9-1-1.
In addition to the Home Safety Evaluation, the family had created an account in the Town of New Canaan’s “Community Connect” app. By answering some simple questions in Community Connect, they were able to alert responding firefighters in advance where the family’s meeting place was and that they have a dog who would need to be accounted for should an incident take place when the family was not home.
Unfortunately, not every event can be prevented. The lesson learned in this incident, however, is that with proper Fire Safety Education and advanced preparation through an app like Community Connect, our community can limit both injury and property loss.
For a complementary residential home inspection, please email the Fire Marshal’s office at donna.hutter@newcanaanct.gov or call 203-594-3030 to schedule a visit.
The link for Community Connect is: https://www.communityconnect.io/info/ct-townofnewcanaan