Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Fire Guts Multi-Family Home on Prospect Avenue [Video]

West Hartford Fire Department says no one was injured.

UPDATED 6:10 p.m.

A raging fire which appeared to have originated in the attic or top floor of a multi-family home on the West Hartford side of Prospect Ave. Thursday afternoon resulted in significant damage to the building, but the residents were able to get out safely and no injuries were reported.

West Hartford firefighters on extension ladders shot water through a hole in the roof as soon as they determined that no one was left inside the house.

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Kazy Carter, who lives on the third floor of the 383 Prospect Ave. home, was in the shower when she saw black smoke coming out of the heater. She looked out the window and saw a small flame.

"I was really scared – very, very scared. I grabbed my nephew and my dog and ran out," said Carter, her hair still in curlers. She had recently moved in with her sister after being forced out of her Garden Street home in Hartford because of a fire there.

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"We lost everything, everything we own. I thank God I got out with my life," Carter said.

She lived with her sister, niece, and three nephews on the third floor, but only one of her nephews was also home at the time.

Vernon Carter, 18, a recent graduate of Hartford High School, escaped with his aunt and held his dog Coco as they watched the fire burn from across the street. "I grabbed some clothes that were in bags and ran out with no shoes," he said.

Vernon Carter said that the home's first floor was undergoing renovation and his family had planned to move downstairs when it was completed. He said he heard the smoke detectors as soon as the smoke started to become visible.

Vernon Carter said that neither he nor his aunt have any idea how the fire started.

Glenda Reyes said her 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son were in the second-floor unit of the home next door when they saw smoke. Her daughter called 911 around 4:15 p.m.

Reyes said she raced home from work and was only able to grab her purse before firefighters evacuated her home for safety reasons.

Siding on the homes on either side of 383 Prospect Ave. appeared to have sustained heat-related damage.

Prospect Avenue was closed between Park Road and Boulevard.

West Hartford Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Quish, who was on the scene, said information was not yet available about the cause of the blaze.

 

ORIGINAL STORY

The responded to a call at 4:15 on Thursday afternoon and found flames shooting from the roof of a three-story multi-family home at 383 Prospect Ave.

Firefighters were still battling the fire at 5 p.m. but reported that no one was left inside the home and no one had been injured.

According to neighbors, several families lived in the home, which is on the West Hartford side of Prospect between Park Road and Boulevard. Neighbors said they suspected the fire started in the attic or at the top of the house.

Firefighters from around town were fighting the fire through the roof using extension ladders.

Patch will update the story as it progresses.


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