2 DEAD IN APARTMENT FIRE AT EAST BROOKLYN MILL SITE IN CONNECTICUT. ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN RED CROSS, AT LEAST 14 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DISPLACED.
January 30, 2015
BROOKLYN, Conn. (WTNH)– Two people are dead following a
house fire in Brooklyn Friday afternoon.
Two men were killed Friday afternoon when fire tore through
the old Tiffany Mill site in East Brooklyn, ravaging apartments and forcing
nearly a dozen residents from their homes.
Building owner Jim Dandeneau said earlier Friday afternoon
that two residents remained unaccounted for after another tenant went
door-to-door to rouse neighbors and get everyone out.
"There are two tenants still missing. We haven't heard
yet from the fire department, haven't gotten official word, but we're not sure
they made it out," Dandeneau said, adding that one of the missing
residents had worked the third shift for him Thursday night.
State police said crews from the Brooklyn Fire Department
searched the building just after 1:45 p.m. and found the bodies. According to
Major Michael Darcy, the men died in the area where the fire broke out. They
have not been publicly identified.
According to emergency dispatchers, flames had already
engulfed the building by the time firefighters arrived, and they had to beat
back the fire before they could get inside.
Dandeneau said the historic structure, built in 1820,
contains seven apartments and houses 10 or 11 residents. A spokesperson for the
American Red Cross, which is helping tenants who lost their homes, said at
least 14 people have been displaced.
The facility suffered major damage. Dandeneau said smoke
detectors sounded but the building is not equipped with sprinklers due to its
age. He employs a full-time maintenance worker and added that the apartments
are newly renovated and the building is up to code.
Karl Kuhn Jr., of Kuhn Builders in North Grosvenordale, said
he saw smoke pouring from the windows and rushed to the rescue of two tenants
who had refused to leave the burning building without their cat.
Six fire departments from Brooklyn and Killingly responded
to the scene, along with state police troopers, who have shut down Route 6 in
the area of 182 South Main Street.
The Connecticut State Police Fire & Explosion
Investigative Unit and Eastern District Major Crime Squad are investigating,
along with the local fire marshal.
It's not yet clear if the fire is accidental or will be
deemed suspicious.
