Fire Ravages Multi-Family Home In Vernon, Spreads To 2nd Dwelling

VERNON, CT — A raging fire that ravaged a tenement in the Rockville section of Vernon Monday before spreading to an adjacent multi-family home displaced 25 people and kept firefighters busy well into the night.

The initial call came in at 5:08 p.m. at 80-82 Union Street. When firefighters arrived, the building was engulfed in heavy smoke. Some residents had to be rescued with ladders, one even held by Vernon Town Administrator Michael Purcaro, who also happens to be the town' s emergency management director.

The building sits at the corner of Union and Ward streets and, with winds gusting at better than 30 mph, the fire spread to 330 Ward Street, located behind the tenement, Vernon Fire Marshal Daniel Wasilewski said.

Firefighters were still battling the blaze well after 8 p.m. and water could be seen pouring into the Union Street building as smoke was still billowing out of it. At 7:30 p.m., firefighters were expected to be using the hoses for at least another two hours, Wasilewski said.

Two people were taken to nearby Rockville General Hospital for smoke inhalation, he said. No one else was injured, he added.

In all, 15 people were displaced from 80-82 Union St., a large multi-family building that dates back to the 1800s, according to Wasilewski. He said the formal investigation would begin in the morning but said the building would be considered a total loss.

Another 10 people were displaced from 33 Ward St., he added.