At least four children died and three others including an adult were rescued after a multi-family home caught fire on Quality Avenue, Connecticut Tuesday night, with authorities terming the incident a “tremendous loss”, local media reported.
The identities and details of the deceased children were not made public however, reports say that the ages of the victims are 5, 6, 8, and 12 years old.
All four belonged to the same family while the adult member was supervising the children.
One of the three injured sustained major burns and was treated accordingly, authorities noted. Officials also noted that during the fire, there were also several pets inside three of the dogs were rescued while the puppies succumbed to injuries.
“It’s a tremendous loss for the town,” First Selectman Tim Keeney Keeney said.
As the firefighters arrived at the scene, they found the house completely engulfed at around 10:20pm Tuesday. They also faced difficulty while breaking in.
“They had difficulty getting into the house because the doors had things in front of them,” Keeney stated.
According to the officials, eight people were residing on the one side of the home.
Somers Fire Chief John Roache said: “Firefighters when they got inside quickly found two children. One died at the scene and the other died at Johnson Memorial Hospital.”
The superintendent of schools in which the dead children were in said the support will be provided as they grieve the loss.
“Our Somers Public Schools community is dealing with this tragic event and our counseling staff will provide support to students throughout the week as needed. Our staff, students and families will support each other as we navigate this tragedy,” Superintendent Sam Galloway, of Somers Public Schools, said in a statement.
“Incredible loss. A tragedy the town hasn’t seen forever that I’m aware of,” Keeney said, adding “I’ve lived here my whole life.”
Roache said: “One firefighter suffered burns while fighting the fire and was released after being treated.”
Officials noted that people who were living on the other side of the house quickly made their way out unhurt.
“The whole front of the house was very involved. The first floor is right up to the second floor. Limited access. Very hard to get in there. Crews did an extraordinary job trying to get in there and do some rescues. They did several grabs and got victims out,” Roache said.
Roache said the house is older construction with several concealed spaces, which allowed the fire to spread rapidly, and it took considerable effort to get the fire under control around 12:56am.
Authorities have commenced an investigation into the incident and ruled out any criminal activity causing the fire.
