while battling blaze, firefighters experience hydrant failure

By Joe Kelly

A longtime Norfolk family has lost the house they called home for more than 50 years.

Early in the morning of Sunday, Sept. 10, as intense lightning storms swept through the Norfolk area, the home of Jenny and Michael Langendoerfer, located south of the village center on Litchfield Road, became completely engulfed in flames. The couple and their two sons, Barrett and Xavier, escaped unharmed, but the house and virtually everything inside was destroyed.

Richard and Joann Munch purchased the house in 1971 and raised Jenny and her three siblings there. Jenny and Mike then purchased the home from them for their family of four. The fire occurred just hours after the funeral and burial of Dr. Richard Munch, where Jenny gave the eulogy for her father.

Firefighting crews from Thomaston, Watertown, Harwinton and Woodbury assisted Norfolk in battling the two-alarm blaze—the largest response in Norfolk since last November’s gas spill, according to Jon Barbagallo, public information officer for the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department. A firefighter suffered a wrist injury and was transported to a hospital.

Firefighters “Darken” Blaze

According to Matthew Ludwig, Norfolk’s first assistant fire chief, the alarm was received at 3:48 a.m., and the first fire truck to arrive on the scene carried 1,000 gallons of water, which was immediately deployed to “darken down” the fire. At the same time, firefighters connected a hose to a nearby hydrant, but no water came out. The hose had to be disconnected and then reconnected to a second hydrant 800 feet away.

Water flowed from the second hydrant and, according to Ludwig, Norfolk’s newest truck—a 3,000-gallon tanker—arrived on the scene.

Ludwig estimated the delay in producing water from the hydrant at about two minutes, and he does not believe it had an impact on the firefighting effort. “The guys who were manning the hoses did not even realize there was any issue,” he said.

According to a spokesperson for Aquarion Water—which is responsible for maintaining the hydrants as part of its overall responsibility for the town’s water system—the valve between the water main and the hydrant was in the closed position, blocking the flow of water. Both the water main and hydrants in that area of Litchfield Road were replaced in 2021. Aquarion opened the valve later on Sunday. In addition, the second hydrant was found to have experienced a gasket failure and was replaced.

In the wake of the fire, First Selectman Matt Riiska said he has requested Aquarion to check the performance of all 75 hydrants in town.

Popping Noise Alerts Family

The family was awakened by a loud popping noise, saw flames reflected in nearby trees and went downstairs to discover that a wicker chair on the porch had caught fire. Everyone was outside before any alarms in the house sounded. Intense thunderstorms had occurred throughout the night, and the family believes it was lightning that somehow ignited the chair. The precise cause of the fire is under investigation.

Friends of the family set up a Go Fund Me effort which has so far raised over $110,000 through more than 500 contributions.

“We want to express our deepest gratitude to every fire department that responded, every EMT, every volunteer and every person in the community who lifted us up,” said Jenny. “The outpouring of support and concern has been tremendous, it has been the silver lining, knowing we are in everyone’s heart has truly helped us begin to heal. We are so thankful for each and every person who’s offered their heartfelt support, we are fortunate to live in such a special place.”

The family said they plan to rebuild and have also asked for help in locating their two-year-old cat named Lynx, who is still missing.

One of the last fires in Norfolk on this level occurred in December 2016, when a blaze consumed the house of Larkin Hasbrouck on Estey Road.