2 Hospitalized After Kitchen Fire In Hamden

HAMDEN, CT — Two people were hospitalized after a kitchen fire at an apartment building in Hamden on Thursday morning, according to fire officials.

Firefighters responded to a report of a fire at an apartment at 667 Mix Ave. around 8:45 a.m. Arriving crews found a 44-year-old woman sitting on a second-floor window sill with heavy smoke coming from the window, according to Fire Marshal Brian Dolan.

Dolan said the crew immediately deployed a ladder and was able to rescue the trapped woman. A 51-year-old man was also rescued from an interior stairwell, according to Dolan.

“Crews were able to locate the seat of the fire in the kitchen and quickly extinguish the blaze,” Dolan wrote in a news release. “The apartment had heavy fire damage in the kitchen and significant smoke damage throughout the unit.

“Deputy Fire Marshal Nelson Hwang has determined that the fire started on the kitchen stovetop.”

The woman said she had turned on the stove to cook breakfast, then fell asleep and woke up to the smell of smoke, according to Dolan. Smoke detectors were activated.

“The occupants had safely exited the building but then re-entered to gather personal belongings,” Dolan said. “The woman became trapped in the bedroom where she awaited rescue from the Hamden Fire Department.”

She was taken to the Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital and treated for burn injuries, according to Dolan. The man was treated for smoke inhalation at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

“The Hamden Fire Department would like to remind residents to never leave cooking unattended,” Dolan said. “You should immediately evacuate a fire condition in the home. Never re-enter a building to retrieve personal belongings.”