Crime & Safety
Family Displaced After Late Night Fire in Windsor Locks
A family of five has been displaced after a fire late Sunday night caused significant damage to their side of a duplex on Fairview Street. In total, nine people were affected by the blaze.
What started as a fire in the basement of a duplex Sunday night on Fairview Street quickly spread through one of the units causing extensive damage and displacing a family of five, according to fire officials and residents.
Windsor Locks fire personnel were able to extinguish the blaze fairly quickly, according to Deputy Chief John Donahue, but the unit at No. 12 is uninhabitable.
No one was injured in the fire and firefighters were able to rescue two cats and two turtles, Donahue said Monday.
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On Monday afternoon, one of the homeowners of No. 12, who asked not to be identified, said that the cats were doing well, but one needed medical treatment because she was in the basement when the fire started.
"Mostly smoke damage upstairs. Part of the wall in the dining room where there was wire. The fire started to come up through the hole in the wall," the homeowner said.
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Neighbor Mark Monroe said he had been watching football and doing laundry in the basement of 10 Fairview St., the unit connected with the basement of No. 12 where the fire started.
"I was watching football and doing my laundry. Someone said, 'fire, fire.' There is a divider between the basements. I see smoke pouring out the top, and yelled to everyone "get out'," he said
"A rush of smoke came up and filled the kitchen within seconds," Monroe said.
Asked when they might be able to return to occupy the home, Monroe said, "I wouldn't know anything about that. I am not good with that kind of stuff."
The families stayed with others or in a motel after the fire last night; the fire started sometime around 10:30 p.m., according to the residents.
Residents of 10 Fairview St. re-entered the house to remove the oxygen tank used by their father. They were concerned it might explode and cause even more damage. According to Monroe, firefighters said that, "it probably wouldn't explode, in other cases of them being in a fire just the top melted," but he just couldn't take the risk.
"(The fire) even hit our spare bedroom on the opposite side, everything is covered in smoke," he said.
