Unattended Candles Cause Harrowing Fire In Vernon Sunday: Report

VERNON, CT — Unattended candles were the cause of a harrowing Sunday morning fire at a Union Street apartment building in Vernon, officials are saying, and the town's emergency management director and town administrator is crediting rescue efforts to old-fashioned urban firefighting.

The fire wrecked the inside of a row of apartments along the historic Fitch Block on Union Street, just before Downtown Rockville. In all, 16 adults and 2 children were displaced. Many of them were rescued after hanging out windows to cry for help and firefighters threw up ladders in a tight alleyway to pull them to safety.

The fire broke out at 10:45 a.m. An alarm at 30 Union Street and several 911 calls alerted authorities to a problem, officials said. When police and firefighters arrived, they found heavy flames coming from windows on the east side of the building and several people were hanging from windows in an effort to escape the flames, Vernon Assistant Fire Chief Robert Babcock said.

Firefighters and Vernon Police quickly raised ground ladders to reach the residents and escorted them to safety. A ladder truck was able to get to the building from an adjacent lot.

Seven people were injured in the fire and were treated for smoke inhalation across Union Street at Rockville General Hospital. Two of the injured were transferred to Bridgeport Hospital for further treatment, officials said.

Firefighters from Ellington, South Windsor, Manchester, Tolland, Coventry and Bolton assisted Vernon firefighters in battling the blaze. Area EMS crews also responded to assist Vernon's EMS crews. Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne and Town Administrator and Director of Emergency and Risk Management Michael Purcaro said Eastern Connecticut Health Network opened Rockville General Hospital's cafeteria as a warming center and to offer refreshments to working crews and displaced residents.

Some of the injured were carried on stretchers or pushes in wheelchairs across the street to the hospital.

"We were literally walking people across the street into the emergency department," Purcaro said. "This was a total team effort."

Officials said the bulk of the fire damage was in two apartments, but residents of the building's 22 apartments were displaced Sunday night because electrical and gas service to the building was cut.

The American Red Cross was assisting residents with lodging and the Cornerstone Foundation was offering living space.

Though the cause was pinpointed to the candles, police and the building and fire departments were still investigating the scene Monday.