A man died, a firefighter and two others were injured, and 19 people were displaced when a multi-family Hartford home burned to the ground over the weekend.
The deadly blaze erupted Saturday just before 2 p.m. near Fenwick Street, officials told WFSB-TV. First responders arrived to see the rear porches engulfed in flames that reached the third floor and lapped at another building. Half of Hartford’s fire department rushed to the scene, WTNH-TV reported.
“The fire was so intense it started spreading to the structure next to the fire building, so we had to call for an additional assignment, which is a second alarm,” Hartford Fire Chief Rodney Barco told WTNH. That second fire was knocked down quickly, he added.
Barco said firefighters believe a propane or oxygen tank exploded shortly after the roof collapsed. Officials declared the building a total loss.
The fire “took off from the second, first and third floor,” he said. “It just took off, and then there was an explosion.”
Firefighters rescued one man from the third floor who was in cardiac arrest, and he later died, WFSB reported. An adult and a child were brought to the hospital, as was a firefighter who suffered minor burns to the face and neck. The victims’ names were not released as of Sunday.
Five families, including 10 adults and nine children, were displaced and are being helped by the Red Cross, fire officials told WVIT-TV and other outlets. The cause is being investigated.
