Lessons Learned In Racquet Club Fire Helped During Foxwood Manor Blaze

The fire that broke out last week at Foxwood Manor Apartments in Middletown’s Levittown section could have ended up a lot worse.

Thanks to a plan put in place after the massive multi-alarm at nearby Racquet Club Apartments, the quick action of firefighters and a group of hero teenagers, the blaze was not able to destroy an entire apartment building like during last year’s fire.

Middletown Fire Marshal Jim McGuire said last year’s July blaze that destroyed 43 first- and second-floor apartment units in the B building at Racquet Club caused local fire officials to examine their plans and response.

“The fire service did not make any mistakes during the Racquet Club fire, but there were a lot of things we didn’t know because we never dealt with them,” he said.

The fire marshal said his office along with local fire chiefs met last year and devised a list of recommendations for owners of nearby apartment complexes. Some of the recommendations included adding breakaway fencing around pools (to allow access to the community pool’s water) and calling additional responding trucks. One issue firefighters ran into was low water pressure in some fire hydrants. In response to the issue, firefighters marked which hydrants had better pressure and made sure responding crews would have enough hose to reach all of the buildings along the section of Veterans Highway (Route 413) that encompass Racquet Club and Foxwood Manor.

The fire marshal also credited the management of Foxwood Manor for donating several pieces of special equipment that will help firefighters deal with large residential fires in the future.

Last week’s accidental fire, which started in the area of a Christmas tree, was stopped quickly and resulted in no serious injuries.

“We put our plan into place,” McGuire said. “It worked.”