A fire caused serious damage to the Torrington Country Club on Monday.

A late-night fire caused serious damage at the Torrington Country Club in Goshen late Monday.
The fire started in or near a Dumpster next to the building and spread to the rear wall and then the ceiling above a ballroom. A 911 call triggered by the building's automatic fire alarm system went out at 10:30 p.m. No one was in the building at the time.
Goshen firefighters were first on the scene and sprayed compressed foam on the flames, which had fully engulfed the wall and were spreading across the ceiling of the ballroom, according to Fire Chief Barry Hall.
Hall called for mutual aid from Torrington and Litchfield. Each sent ladder trucks that hosed down the roof of the building.
The blaze was declared out by about 1:30 a.m., Hall said, but Goshen firefighters remained on the scene until 6:30 a.m. A favorable wind aided the firefighting effort, according to Hall.
"The wind was coming out of the south instead of the west, which it usually does this time of year," Hall said. "Had it been from the west, it would've pushed the fire through to the other side (of the ballroom)."
Containing the fire to the ballroom area, Hall said, was a remarkable accomplishment given the head start the fire had. The ballroom was damaged by smoke and water, while smoke permeated most of the rest of the building.
Goshen Fire Marshal William Baldwin and the state fire marshal's office are investigating the blaze.
A dining room, kitchen, bar and pro shop in the other half of the building were being powered by a generator Tuesday afternoon. Power to the building was cut during the fire. The golf course was closed on Tuesday but is expected to reopen today.
The country club and fire are no strangers. In the 1980s a fire destroyed the original club, which was built in 1929.

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