Fire Damages Restaurant's Storage Building

A fire overnight caused extensive damage to a storage building for The Water's Edge at Giovanni's restaurant, but no one was injured, and the restaurant manager said no important restaurant property was stored there.

The small, two-story structure at the end of Purdy Lane (see map attached to this article), sits at the end of the small road, where it ends at the edge of Holly Pond.

A Stamford resident across the pond saw the fire and reported it at 12:23 a.m., said Darien Fire Marshal Robert Buch. That call meant that the fire was put out relatively early, before it could do a lot more damage, he said.

About 33 firefighters and five fire vehicles responded to the report, with 10 firefighters and one engine from the Noroton Heights Fire Department and the rest from the Noroton Fire Department, Buch said. The Noroton Heights firefighters happened to have a crew ready to offer assistance, he said. It took about 45 minutes to put out the fire.

Buch said the cause of the fire is under investigation. The fire appears to have started outside the building, and it quickly went up walls to burn on the second floor, he said.

Sal Latoracca, general manager of the restaurant, said the restaurant essentially lost "nothing" in the fire. Old chairs, used tables and some holiday decorations were stored there, he said, but, "it was all junk" that was left there just in case it might be used later, he said. Some plates were also stored in the building.

Correction: Most of the firefighters at the scene were from the Noroton Fire Department, with Noroton Heights contributing about 10 firefighters and one engine. As originally written, the article reversed that.