Investigation into six-alarm blaze in Meriden underway
Man hospitalized after fire in vacant building and adjacent factory
Meriden officials urged the public to steer clear of the scene of a six-alarm blaze as cleanup and investigations continued on Saturday, according to city officials.
One man was hospitalized as the Meriden Fire Department was joined by multiple crews to battle a six-alarm fire in a vacant building and an adjacent structure in Meriden beginning Friday night.
City officials said the fire was reported at 7:55 p.m. on Friday at an abandoned building at 167 Pratt St. and spread to an adjacent building that housed a plating factory where a man was rescued.
The injured man injured was expected to recover, Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpetti said during a news conference on Saturday.
Scarpetti, accompanied at the news conference by Meriden Fire Chief Ken Morgan, said the investigation is in full swing and included state fire officials, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Scarpetti said there’s “no reason” for residents to be concerned about contamination in the air.
Morgan said the fire “progressed rapidly.” He thanked the multiple fire departments from surrounding areas who helped fight the fire. “For us to call Hartford, that’s unusual,” Morgan said.
Morgan said there were 70 to 100 firefighters who helped battle the blaze. No one was injured, he said, because the fire was mostly fought from the outside. One veteran firefighter said it was the biggest fire he had ever responded to.
“Everything worked (out) as good as it possibly could have,” Morgan said.
City officials put up a fence around the scene. Although they do not yet know what caused the fire, Morgan said when an abandoned building catches fire, “it’s not usually on its own.”
Officials haven’t been inside the building yet but are capturing images with drones.
A determination is being made regarding demolishing the building, which may come down on its own, Morgan said.