Vernon Fire Marshal: Discarded Sparklers Caused House Fire

VERNON, CT - The fire that ravaged a two-family home on Franklin Street early Tuesday morning was caused by sparkler remnants placed in a plastic garbage can next to an older house, the Vernon Fire marshal said.

The sparklers were legal, Fire Marshal Adam Libros said.

But that was not the problem. They were discarded in a plastic garbage can, which melted and caught fire, he said. The fire then spread up the outside of the house and into the attic, where it spread even more, Libros said.

He said the house, built in the early 1900s, had "no fire stops" in its construction.

Libros said Tuesday afternoon that the investigation is closed.

"We want to stress, whether it is sparklers, ashes or cigarette butts - anything burning - place them into a metal container away from the house and make sure they are extinguished," Libros said.

Here is the original story from Tuesday morning:

An overnight fire wrecked a duplex home on Franklin Street early Tuesday morning, police said.

The fire could have begun with some Fourth of July revelry that lasted into July 5. Neighbors said the blaze broke out right after an amateur fireworks show in the middle of the street.

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Vernon Police Department Spokesman Lt. William Meier said the initial call came in at 12:41 a.m. from a Windermere Avenue resident who thought he saw a large bonfire in a backyard.

Police then drove into a raging house fire at 14-16 Franklin St. They had to bang on the doors of the home to get some of the residents out, according to Meier and neighbors.

"They were unaware the house was on fire," Meier said.

The Vernon Fire Department call log shows two alarms being sent out.

Firefighters then took care of the blaze, but the final cleanup efforts did not take place until about 3 p.m., neighbor Michelle Schifley said.

Schifley said residents were lighting off fireworks right before the fire began. One of her children had friends over for a sleepover and the teens came running into her house announcing the fire.

She said immediately saw police trying to get the residents out of the house.

Police would not say if fireworks could be the cause and said the incident is being investigated.

"It was just a mess," Schifley said. "It was very scary."

Photo Credit: Michelle Schifley