Friday fire in Fullerton Inn chimney; Chester holds its breath

The Springfield Ladder Truck reaches for the chimney at the Fullerton. Photos by Shawn Cunningham unless otherwise noted. Click photo to launch gallery.

By Shawn Cunningham
©2015 – The Chester Telegraph

Around 6 on Friday evening, the owners of Chester’s Fullerton Inn heard a distinctive sound. “It was a roar,” said Bret Rugg. “A loud roar.” Suspecting a chimney fire, Rugg and his wife Nancy ran into the street to see flames shooting out of one of the building’s two chimneys.

“It was like having an Olympic torch on top of the building,” said Rugg, who ran back into the building to extinguish the fireplaces in lobby and tavern.

The Chester Fire Department responded to the scene along with the Springfield Fire

A firefighter inspects the chimney at the Fullerton.

Department’s ladder truck. The Fullerton Inn was evacuated and the power to downtown Chester was shut off. It was unclear at 7:15 when the power would be restored.

Employees of the Fullerton Inn, evacuated from the scene, look up at the building as firefighters check on the chimney.

Nineteen of the historic inn’s 20 rooms were booked for the night with the occupants of 16 rooms having arrived. As cooks and waitstaff stood by outside the inn, it became clear that dinner service was over. What was not evident was when guests could return to the building.

This is the third major fire situation in Chester since the start of the New Year. Within almost a month of each other, two homes burned to the ground, killing pets, displacing families and setting many in this small community on edge.

Down the street at the Free Range, owner Ann Paterno said that without electricity dinner service was impossible. With two large parties expected, Paterno had her fingers crossed that the power would be restored, but by the time the lights came back on at about 7:50, it was too late to get the kitchen running, and according to Rick Paterno, the restaurant closed for the evening.

At 8 p.m. the Chester Fire Department reported that all of the responding departments except Proctorsville had been released and that the building had been turned back over to the Ruggs.

In addition to Chester and Springfield, fire departments from Bellows Falls, Ascutney, Rockingham, Proctorsville, Londonderry, Walpole and Ludlow responded to the alarms.

As night falls, firefighters begin to leave the scene. Photo by Claudio Veliz.