Editor’s note: This article by Darren Marcy first appeared in the Valley News on May 24.
HARTFORD — A two-alarm fire at an apartment building on Woodstock Road displaced 14 people Monday evening.
Hartford firefighters responded at 5:42 p.m. Monday to 583 Woodstock Road, where the former Pleasant View Motel had been converted into an 11-room efficiency complex. The fire damaged three rooms but all 14 residents have been forced to find alternative housing while the building is made suitable for habitation, including restoration of utilities.
Fire Chief Scott D. Cooney said Tuesday afternoon a conclusive cause of the blaze has not been determined. The day after the fire, investigators with the Hartford Fire Prevention Division, Hartford Police Department, Vermont State Police and Vermont Division of Fire Safety were working at the scene.
The complex, once a roadside motel, includes a community kitchen and laundry facility and a common area.
Cooney said he was told by the owner, Lin Chen, of Hanover, that 14 people lived in the 11 units.
Complex resident Ryan Deschaux said he lives about five doors from the rooms that burned. Deschaux has lived there a little more than a year and described the rooms as small efficiencies with a bathroom and refrigerator. He has a microwave in his room.
Deschaux said he had just left for work before the fire, but because people didn’t know if he might be asleep, his door was kicked in and his possessions smell like smoke.
The Red Cross gave him a card that he’s used to pay for two nights at the Comfort Inn, Deschaux said, and he has family in the area he can stay with temporarily. He said he has not been told how long it will take before he can move back into his room.
Bryce Jackson said he was in the unit farthest from the fire, but his room still smells of smoke from repeatedly opening his door to remove some possessions as the flames continued to spread.
Jackson also got out his boxer-mix named Brigit.
“The fire (was) spreading very quickly, and they managed to put it out before it destroyed more than one other room and the laundry room,” Jackson said.
Cooney said the initial crew did a good job getting a water line established and knocking down the fire quickly.
Hartford Fire Department’s five-person on-duty crew arrived to find flames coming from rooms 1 and 2. They were joined by fire departments from the New Hampshire communities of Lebanon and Hanover. Crews also arrived from Norwich, Hartland, Woodstock and Windsor, plus Plainfield, New Hampshire.
Cooney said the fire was controlled by 6:37 p.m. with the majority of fire damage limited to rooms 1 and 2 and a laundry room.
Power to the building had to be cut and needs to be restored before residents in other rooms could return.
“Once the utilities are repaired, those are definitely livable,” Cooney said.
Jennifer Costa, regional communications director for the Red Cross, said nine adults received assistance following the fire.
She said if any residents were missed at the scene, they should call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
There were no injuries reported among residents or firefighters.
