One of the biggest news events in the area was the fire at Danbury Airport. Unfortunately, I arrived on the scene right after the fire was for the most part put out but if you saw the report on television, you know how serious this fire was (thank God no one was hurt).

This post also marked the first time I attempted to produce a high-resolution video clip which could be watched on television (granted that you know how to view files from your computer on your TV). Be on the lookout for better quality videos next year as I'm working out an arrangement with a video service and moving away from YouTube.

Originally posted on Sept 13 2007.

I found out about the fire at Danbury Airport around 11:20 and ran down to the scene. FOX-61, NEWS-12, WVIT and WTNH were on the scene as well the print media including the News-Times, which got a jump on everyone since they have a police-fire scanner.

I'm rather tired right now because I didn't leave until well after 1:00 A.M. and I have a great deal of video from the fire to process. I'll update this site with images and video from the fire soon.

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UPDATE: Wow, what a night. I thought the library fire was bad but this is by far on the ugliest fires I've ever seen in Danbury.

First off, HATS OFF to the Danbury Fire Department. I have no idea how those guys but that fire out so fast (with all those different types of fuels and chemicals) but they did it and it probably saved lives. Talk about a wild first night for the new firehouse...

Hats off to all the residents of Danbury who catch video and photos of the fire. I've seen some amazing photos and video from people who were on the scene (McNally's had a decent crowd that night and people caught pictures on their cell phones). Unfortunately, I found out about the blaze late in the evening and by the time I arrived on the scene, most of the fire was extinguished (thank goodness). The silver lining in arriving late was that I was able to get some close-up shots of the building and video tape the firefighters in action.

Also a round of thanks goes out to those guys in uniform who came up to me and say "hey, you're that guy with the blog." I really appreciated that they didn't give me any problems and pointed to the best place to film the footage while staying out of their way. Big thumbs up goes the guys who took care of the on-lookers who were dangerously darting in the street. I owe you round the next time I see ya.

NOTE: The following video is formatted high-resolution and surround sound stereo. Although you can watch it on this webpage, it's really designed for full screen. For the full experience, just click the rectangle on the lower part of the video window and enjoy the show.


You can watch my photo slide show of the scene by clicking here.

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The News-Times did an excellent job with their coverage of the blaze. Obviously, there is no information regarding the origin of the blaze because of all the fuels and stuff involved but the state examiners are on the scene and I'm sure we'll learn more about what happened in the coming days.

The newspaper also did a smart thing collecting footage from readers and I encourage you to take a look at their user-submitted photos and videos.

News-Times user submitted photos
News-Times user submitted video of the fire

You can also read/watch the report from WTNH by clicking here.

UPDATE 7:00 p.m.: It seems like the Danbury News-Times photographer Carol Kaliff caught the photo of the night (if not the year). Her photo from the fire is on the AP wire and was picked up by the Hartford Courant in their article on the blaze. I'm sure the photo will be used elsewhere so I'll keep an eye out and see who else picks it up.

I think an award is in store for someone...