Second person dead from fire within an illegal attic apartment

NEW BRITAIN — A second person has died from injuries suffered in a fire at a Belden Street building with an illegal attic apartment, city officials said.

“That apartment only had one egress,” said city Health and Building Director Sergio Lupo. “That’s why it was illegal. It only had one staircase as a way out and that was on fire. They couldn’t get out.”

Rafael Tello, the owner of the building at 115 Belden St. where the fatal fire occurred Monday was cited for prior violations including having 10 people living in a second-floor apartment and having an illegal apartment in the attic in 2021 that was supposed to be disassembled, city documents said.

A phone to call to Tello was not returned.

Tello was also facing another round of violations due to a lack of heat and hot water in his own first-floor apartment at the address just four days before the fire, notes from a city inspector revealed. As of Dec. 14, “Mr. Tello has not been cooperative and not complying,” the notes drafted by city inspector Manuel Sotomayer said. “NOV (notice of violation) will be issued and referred to court.”

The fatal fire occurred Monday at around 12:30 p.m. before Sotomayer could issue any violations.

Officials have not released the name of the person who was found dead in the illegal apartment or the name of the person who jumped from illegal apartment as the building went up in flames and later died.

City inspection documents obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media Group through a Freedom of Information request indicate that Tello was required in 2021 to disassemble the illegal attic apartment including taking off all doors and getting rid of all appliances, city documents said.

Sotomayer was drawn back to the address on Nov. 16 after a tenant complained that there was no hot water or heat on the first floor where Tello was living, his notes said. In that case, Tello had rented a room in his own living space to a family of three who complained that there was no heat, Lupo said.

At one point in the past several weeks, the city called Connecticut Natural Gas to shut off Tello’s gas due to a dangerous furnace condition which was not getting repaired, Lupo said. The recent furnace issues were unrelated to the illegal attic apartment or the fire, Lupo said.

When Sotomayer arrived to deal with the no heat and hot water complaint, the entire building was not inspected because the issue was related to the first floor, Lupo said. By that point, the family that had originally complained had moved out, he said.

The state Fire Marshal’s office is now investigating the cause of the blaze city officials said.