By SANDY McGEE
and JON BAKER

LINCOLN — A fast-moving fire claimed the life of a beloved elderly man early yesterday morning.
John E. Fitzgerald, 90, of 6 Lakeview Ave., died Monday after a fire broke out at about 9 a.m. at his home off Cobble Hill Road in Lime Rock.

Fitzgerald and his wife of nearly 69 years, Hazel, were both inside the split-level ranch on the lower level during the early morning hours. John Fitzgerald, a retired watchmaker, was shredding paper at the time when his wife heard a loud noise and saw smoke.
“She (Hazel) heard a loud bang,” said veteran Lime Rock Fire Chief Frank Sylvester. “She left when she heard a pop.”
Hazel Fitzgerald, 94, managed to get outside safely and without injury as firefighters arrived. A passing motorist had seen flames coming from the house and called the police dispatch center at 9:05 a.m.
“The home was fully engulfed when we arrived,” Sylvester stated. “The fire spread throughout the house fast.”
Firefighters, who controlled the fire within 25 minutes, first searched the first-floor portion of the split-level ranch. Fitzgerald’s body was discovered at the top of the staircase on the second floor, about 15 feet from the front door. Rescue and fire officials believe Fitzgerald may have traveled up about five steps in search of his walker, which was found near his body.
“I found his shoes by his walker,” Sylvester noted.
Personnel from the state’s Medical Examiner’s Office were at the scene on Monday to investigate.
“We are offering whatever assistance we can to the family,” Sylvester said. “It’s undetermined how it started, though it appears to be accidental. We know it began in the basement.
“They were very nice people, a nice family, from what I was told,” he added. “I talked to Hazel, her daughter and granddaughter (Jennifer Goldberger), and the wife told me he had been down there shredding paper. He told his wife to leave, to go out through the back cellar door, and she did.
“Mr. Fitzpatrick is now at the state Medical Examiner’s Office, and I’m assuming they’ll perform an autopsy. The natural guess would be the cause of death is smoke inhalation. It’s a very sad story.”
This is the second recent tragedy for the family. The couple’s adult daughter died after a bout with cancer less than a month ago.
“I was at work at Johnston Town Hall when my son, Daniel, called me,” Goldberger offered. “He said, ‘Grammie and Papa’s house is on fire, and we don’t know if Papa got out.’ This is unbelievable. No words can describe how I feel. We just lost my aunt Donna a few weeks ago, on July 23.
“Literally, we just got over it, and now this,” she added.
Sylvester noted the home “as a total loss, over $200,000 worth of damage,” and suspected the blaze to be electrical in nature, though the cause remains under investigation.
A home-based day-care center sits next door, one in which five to six children were inside at the time of the conflagration. The fire didn’t spread to any other dwelling.
“I saw the red lights when I looked out,” said Joan Lewis, who resides next to the Fitzgeralds. “I said we had to get out because I didn’t know which way the fire was going.”
Firefighters from the Lime Rock, Saylesville, Lonsdale and Albion districts responded, as well as two Lincoln rescue units. Captain Jon Wright and colleagues Jeff Enos and Kyle Rodrigues arrived first in Engine 32, as Hazel Fitzgerald moved to another neighbor’s home.
“Both Jon and Jeff took this tragedy personally,” Sylvester stated. “They found the individual near the steps, and they’re emotionally crushed by what happened. That’s why they have sought out a grief counselor. In fact, they won’t be the only ones.”
According to Lewis, the Fitzgeralds were neighbors in which they reveled.
“They are wonderful people, wonderful neighbors,” Lewis said. “They are very, very neighborly.”
Hazel Fitzgerald was known to serve homemade treats and cold refreshments to Lewis’ son-in-law, who performed regular gardening and light maintenance for them.
“She would come out and serve a strawberry chiffon pie to him,” Lewis said.
According to neighbors, the couple did not wish to move into a retirement home.
“She (Hazel) would say, ‘This is my dream house,’” Lewis said.
 “They were very self-sufficient. They just wanted to be by themselves. They didn’t want to move,” added another neighbor who asked not to be identified.
“I’ve known them since they moved in, and John is the greatest guy on the planet,” she offered. “He was a very strong family man, and a wonderful father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
“When I came out my front door, I saw flames blazing out of the two downstairs front windows,” she said. “I was just thinking, ‘How do I get to Hazel? Is she OK?’
“This is a very close neighborhood, and everyone always watches out for everyone else’s homes,” she continued. “I was told by an official that, when (nefarious) people find out about a fire, they’ll come and try to loot it. We’ll be watching their home.”
Police Chief Brian Sullivan also stated that Patrolman Ryan Laboissonniere, who had been working a detail shift near the fire site, was racing to the scene when he was involved in an accident. According to Sullivan, Laboissonniere drove himself to a nearby hospital “as a precaution,” and — aparently — no one was injured in the crash, though the cruiser suffered front-end damage.
The couple, who were high school sweethearts, lived on Lakeview Avenue for the past eight to 10 years, according to neighbors. They celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary on Dec. 30.
“My grandmother is completely in shock,” Goldberger said. “She lost her husband and her house. There’s nothing left. We can’t believe this.”