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New Canaan Fire Marshal: Change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries

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As it seems that this interminable winter will never end, we look for signs that better (i.e., warmer) weather is approaching. One of those is the beginning of Daylight Savings Time which starts this weekend, officially at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 10. (Remember “Spring ahead – Fall back.”)

In concert with the nationwide campaign “Change Your Clocks—Change Your Batteries,” the New Canaan Fire Department wants to remind everyone to change the batteries in your smoke detectors and CO alarms. 

“There is no greater tragedy than one that could have been prevented.” I can’t take credit for this statement, however, I could not agree more and the tragedy of home fires with the devastation they create is a perfect example. And when the prevention is as easy as installing and maintaining smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, it becomes more ironic. 

Thanks to generous donations by New Canaan Fire Fighters, Local 3224, free batteries will be offered to New Canaan residents (three per household, please) at Fire Headquarters on Main Street from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 9. Residents who are unable to change their own batteries may call fire headquarters at 203-594-3140 to arrange for fire fighters to come to your residence for assistance.

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Three Sent to Norwalk Hospital Following Car Crash Thursday [UPDATED]

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Three individuals involved in a two-car crash Thursday afternoon at the intersection of Smith Ridge and Michigan Roads were taken to Norwalk Hospital’s emergency room with minor injuries, according to police. Emergency responders were called to the scene at approximately 1:53 p.m. on a report of a car crash with injuries. 

There, they found two cars with their front ends damaged: a Lexus hatchback nosed toward the northeast corner of the intersection and a Honda wagon pushed into a property on the same corner and facing south, as though it had been struck and traveled backwards. 

It isn’t clear what caused the crash, though the operator of one vehicle was cited for failure to obey a stop sign, according to police. In addition, a large red tractor-trailer parked just south of the intersection along the east side of Smith Ridge Road effectively blocked sight lines for northbound motorists as well as any vehicle traveling west on Michigan Road from North Wilton Road, where drivers would need to nose out into the intersection before turning in either direction or crossing Route 123—a dangerous proposition even without a large obstruction such as the truck. 

The tractor-trailer had Wisconsin plates and the letter on its cab said Merchants Delivery & Storage Co. from Racine, Wisc. A police officer on scene said the truck had been there for two days.

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High Winds Snap Pine Tree on Norholt Drive on Monday, Damaging House

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Firefighters midday Monday responded to a report of a tree that had fallen into a house on Norholt Drive, officials said. The top of a large pine tree snapped off as winds gusted more than 50 mph, damaging the rear of the home, according to a press release issued by Fire Chief Jack Hennssey. No one was injured, he said. The tree broke a window in the home, according to dispatcher reports. The National Weather Service has put New Canaan under a high wind warning through 6 p.m. Winds are blowing up to 28 mph and gusting up to 55 mph, according to the National Weather Service. 

As of 1 p.m., 54 Eversource customers were without power in New Canaan.

Fred Baker

Fire Marshal: Hot Fireplace Ashes Ignited Garbage Truck Load on Conrad Road

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New Canaan’s fire marshal is reminding residents that fireplace ashes can remain hot for several days, after a garbage truck fire on Conrad Road last week appeared to be caused by a “hot load.”

Emergency responders were called to the area of 51 Conrad Road at about 7:58 a.m. on Feb. 4 on a report of a truck fire. 

There, they found the garbage truck with its contents on fire, which required the operator to dump the load into the road so that it could be extinguished without damaging the vehicle, according to Fire Marshal Fred Baker. “The likely cause of the fire was fire place ashes that had been disposed of from the weekend,” Baker said in a press release. “Fortunately, there were no injuries. Also, fortunately for some homeowner, their garbage pickup was Monday morning and not Tuesday morning—the fire would have been in their home.”

In addition to allowing fireplace ashes to cool, the ashes if they must be removed should go into an approved metal container with a tight lid, Baker said.

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Two Transported to Hospital After Crash on Route 123 Thursday Morning [UPDATED]

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Two motorists were transported to Norwalk Hospital Thursday morning with non-life-threatening injuries following a car crash on Route 123 in New Canaan, officials said. Just before 11:30 a.m., emergency responders including the New Canaan Police Department, New Canaan Fire Department and New Canaan Emergency Medical Services were dispatched to New Norwalk Road near Old Kings Highway on a report of the crash. It was a three-vehicle crash, according to fire officials. Air bags had been deployed in at least one vehicle involved, and one vehicle appeared to have come to a stop off of 123 facing the oncoming traffic lane. New Norwalk Road was closed for about one hour while emergency personnel tended to the injured parties and the cause of the crash was investigated, according to police.