Two weeks ago, a house burned down on the corner of North Main Street and Church Street. Firemen from the Wallingford Fire Department arrived at the scene to put out the fire before it spread any further.

Because the house is located just a few blocks from campus, students who passed the site noted the destruction. “I did not get to see the house burning or on fire, but by the time I got there, the fireman had already put out the fire and the whole house looked like a piece of charcoal,” said Barton Lui ’12. “I hope the residents of the house are unharmed.”

The house neighbors are close to some faculty houses, including that of English teachers Watson and Elizabeth Lowery. Mr. Lowery, who lives about five houses down, was at home during the fire. “I walked up the street and I saw flames bursting out of one of the windows in the house… “moments later flames burst out three other windows.”, he said. “I felt as though the house next door might catch fire because the siding was beginning to melt, but ultimately I was not worried as several firemen stood only a few feet from the second house with hoses at the ready.”

Although the fire was extinguished, the contents of the house were not saved. “The house was essentially gutted,” explained Mr. Lowery. The inhabitants, a middle-aged man and his dog, managed to get out unscathed before the flames spread and windows shattered. “That’s the good news; the bad news is that his house is ruined,” Mr. Lowery said.