Vernon's Fitch Block In 'Remarkable' Recovery After Fire

VERNON, CT — Residents are moving back into apartments in one of Vernon's most historic buildings less than four months after a fire tore through its interior. The local fire marshal said Friday the efforts by the Fitch Block's owner have been nothing short of "remarkable."

"This is not the norm in this part of town," Vernon Fire Marshal Daniel Wasilewski said Friday. "The new landlord in Rockville is a corporation that has never seen the property It's picked out by an agent and the tenant sends checks to an address. A lot of tenants have told us they have no idea who owns the building. In the case of the Fitch building, the landlord is not only here, but has gone above and beyond the fire code before and after the fire. This is a landlord who cares."

Wasilewski and owner Alan Williams gave Patch a tour of the circa 1889 building on Union Street Friday. It's on the National Register of Historic Places in the town's Rockville section.

The fire broke out on Dec. 20, a day that began as a quiet Sunday, but turned into chaos due to what Wasilewski termed "total human error." According to a fire marshal's report, an unattended candle started a fire in an apartment near a rear entrance and exit door. At the time, the Fitch Block was equipped with state-of-the-art fire detecting and safety features, including doors.

The resident of the apartment, however kept not only the apartment door open, but a hallway door open while trying to fight the fire himself with an extinguisher and it caused a vacuum effect that spread smoke and fire to other parts of the building, according to a report. The resident bypassed an alarm box 4 feet from the apartment door, Wasilewski said.

In all, 16 adults and two children were displaced. Many of them were rescued after hanging out windows to cry for help and firefighters threw up ladders in a tight alleyway to pull them to safety.

Seven people were injured in the fire and were treated for smoke inhalation across Union Street at Rockville General Hospital. Two of the injured were transferred to Bridgeport Hospital for further treatment, officials said.

Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne and Town Administrator and Director of Emergency and Risk Management Michael Purcaro said Eastern Connecticut Health Network opened Rockville General Hospital's cafeteria as a warming center and to offer refreshments to working crews and displaced residents.

Some of the injured were carried on stretchers or pushed in wheelchairs across the street to the hospital.

"We were literally walking people across the street into the emergency department," Purcaro said. "This was a total team effort."

That left Williams, who has owned the Fitch Block since the mid-1980s, to pick up the pieces. He said, with a trace of relief in his voice, that residents have been moving back in to several apartments that have already been repaired.

"We've been doing what we can to get everyone in and make the building even safer than it was before the fire," he said.

Williams showed off the fire doors that each apartment is equipped with, equipment that is top of the line, Wasilewski said. Each apartment also features heat detectors. A centralized system recently installed adds to the safety features and can tell firefighters the exact source of a problem.

"The focus has been getting the tenants safely back into the building," Williams said. "Some people were too traumatized over what happened and they moved to another place. But some have been here for 10, 15 years. This is their home. I can't say enough about the support from the town and the local contractors as we have put a lot of 10-hour days into this."

He continued, "When I first got to the scene and saw the road blocked off and how many professionals were at the scene fighting the fire and assisting tenants, I knew how severe it was."

Williams said he secured generators from local suppliers for keep the systems working while renovation work was taking place.

"It's a relief to see the tenants back," he said. "But we still have work to do."

The apartment where the fire began was essentially destroyed and is being renovated. Other units sustained either heavy smoke damage — the odor is still prevalent in some areas of the Fitch Block — or fire damage.

Williams said the apartments are being renovated "as close to the architecture of the period as possible."

Some feature ornate archways inside.

Others have elaborate windows.

Williams said as happy as he is to see folks back in the Fitch Block, he added he would not rest until the building is completely renovated.

"Thanks to the courageous work of our Vernon police, fire and EMS personnel, no lives were lost in the December 20th fire at the Fitch Block," Champagne said Friday. "It's great to see how much work has been completed to reopen this important historic building so that tenants can return to their homes. I am grateful to Mr. Williams for his investment in making the building even safer, and for restoring a Rockville landmark."

Williams said he has even received some inquiries about first-floor commercial units that measure 1,300 to 2,600 square feet.

"It's a great building," he said. "I'm glad we can start using it again."