♪♫ This Tank Is On Fire….♪♫

#FAIRFIELD, CT, July 17, 2013: At 5:52 P.M. the Emergency Communications Center received a report of Propane Gas Grill on Fire in the rear yard of a Northwood Road residence.  The Fairfield Fire Department responded within minutes with four engines and two ladder companies.  Engine Three, stationed only one block away, arrived on scene and extinguished the fire with an extinguisher under the command of LT Darrick Lundeen.

Soon after the fire was extinguished personnel noticed that propane gas was leaking from the valve area of the twenty pound cylinder.  Personnel monitored the air using combustible gas meters and determined that the concentration was not a hazard to area residences. Personnel were unable to stop the leaking gas so a determination was made to conduct a controlled burn under the direction of Hazmat Technicians Philip Plante and Thomas Pond.

With equipment borrowed from the Fairfield County Hazardous Incident Team, technicians on scene were able to burn off the remaining propane using a device call a “flare tower”.  Without this useful tool, escaping propane, which is heavier than air may have found an ignition source.  Assistant Chief Erik Kalapir said, “Quick thinking by the son alerting his mother of the fire with quick notification of 911 and a speedy response by emergency crews prevented this from becoming a real tragedy.”

Petitions for Westport RTM Candidates Available

Town Clerk Patricia Strauss announced today that petitions for Westport residents interested in becoming a member of the Representative Town Meeting, (RTM), the town’s 36-member legislative body, will be available for distribution beginning Tuesday, July 23.

 Petitioners must gather 25 signatures from their district to qualify to be on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Residents interested in running for the RTM can pick up a petition at the Town Clerk’s office located in room 105 of the Town Hall.  After gathering the 25 signatures, return the petition to the town clerk by Tuesday, Sept. 10 she said.  

 “My staff will gladly review the instructions with the petitioner,” Strauss said. “A district map and a list of district voters will be supplied to aid each petitioner in gathering the required signatures.”

 Representation on the RTM, a non-partisan legislative body, is based on population from nine districts, four members from each district.  Members are elected for two-year terms.

 RTM members:

  • Vote on every town request for appropriations in excess of $20,000;
  • Approve town ordinances;
  • Vote on final approval of the town budget;
  • Serve on two or more committees that review and make recommendations regarding appropriations and ordinances;
  • Review certain decisions of town boards and commissions.

 For further information about this and other election matters, contact the Town Clerk, Patricia Strauss, at 203-341-1105 or pstrauss@westportct.gov . 

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