Fire At Funeral Home Extinguished By Stamford Firefighters

STAMFORD, CT — A malfunctioning crematory chamber was determined to be the cause of a small fire that broke out at the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home on Monday, according to fire officials. Fire Captain Philip Hayes said crews were returning from "a previous EMS incident" around 6:30 p.m. when they noticed heavy smoke coming from the area of the funeral home, located on Myrtle Avenue.

Around this time, the fire department's dispatch center also began receiving reports of smoke in the area of Myrtle Avenue and Frederick Street, Hayes said. (To sign up for Stamford breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

"[Firefighters] arrived...and reported thick, black heavy smoke billowing from a chimney in the center of the building," Hayes said in a statement. "A light smoke condition was also observed coming from a basement entrance at the rear of the building."

Firefighters then made their way down to the basement, where they found a malfunctioning crematory chamber, Hayes said.

"Crews worked quickly to contain the fire and ensure that it did not extend beyond the crematory chamber," Hayes said.

Hayes said 22 firefighters in total worked quickly to bring the blaze under control, resulting in only minor smoke and water damage to the building.

The department's fire marshals division is currently investigating the incident. Stamford EMS stood by at the scene but were ultimately not needed, Hayes said.

According to the Connecticut Post, owner Nicholas Cognetta said the fire resulted from the funeral home's two cremation chambers being heavily used over the past few weeks amid the spread of the new coronavirus.

As a result, one of the chambers overheated and melted some wires, causing the door to open prematurely during the process, the Connecticut Post reports. The funeral home has been serving families of the deceased in the state, as well as Westchester County, N.Y., for the past few weeks.

"We have been taxing these machines with corona needs," Cognetta said to the Connecticut Post.

See also: Stamford Coronavirus Updates: GoFundMe Launched For Hospital

The virus, also referred to as COVID-19, is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that's a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past.