Fire on Wheeler Drive

The Danbury Fire Department responded to a garage fire that extended into the house Friday afternoon.

Preliminary reports said no one was home when it started. Deputy Fire Marshal James Russell said the preliminary investigation said the pellet stove probably malfunctioned.

"They pretty much lost everything," Russell said. That included the garage, the kitchen, the living room and the loft. Russell said a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a lot of tools were also destroyed.

"If it was mine, I'd bulldoze it and start over," Russell said. "It took out the garage, most of the kitchen. The loft and the living room."

He said two cats survived the fire, and one suffered smoke damage. Both are expected to survive. Except for the cats, no one was home at the time.