Community Corner

Motorcycle Gas Tank In Home Explodes in One of Two Home Fires Blamed on Candles

At least 13 people have been displaced from their homes, but no major injuries were reported after two buildings were set on fire by unattended candles in two days.

As nearly 80 percent of Meriden remains without power for a fourth day, fire officials are blaming candles for two home fires Tuesday and Wednesday that displaced at least 13 people from two residential buildings in Meriden. The fires reportedly caused no major injuries.

On Wednesday morning, a man living in a powerless apartment on 155 Britannia Avenue jumped to safety from his first-floor window after the gas tank of the motorcycle he was keeping inside exploded, according to Fire Marshal Steve Trella. A candle the man had lit reportedly ignited clothing on the floor, and those flames leapt to the motorcycle, Trella said.

"Fire gutted the apartment," Trella said, and the three other apartments in the complex had to be evacuated at around 7:30 a.m. Eight adults and two children were evacuated, and the Red Cross is now working with them in regards to lodging, Trella said. The man who owned the motorcycle was unhurt.

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The first candle-related fire happened just two blocks away on Tuesday morning at about 10:30 a.m., when Meriden fire responded to a call from an elderly woman living on the second floor at 54 Sherman Ave., that smoke was rising from the first floor unit below.

A mother and daughter residing in the first floor apartment had allegedly left candles burning in their bathroom, used to light the space as they were getting ready that morning, and left the unit. Flames from the candles set clothes that were on the floor on fire.

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The elderly woman wasn't injured, but firefighters convinced her to be taken to a local hospital and checked for smoke-related injuries, Trella said.

The house, owned by a Cheshire landlord sustained "quite a bit of damage, that will likely take quite a bit of time to repair."

Trella strongly recommended that residents eschew candles for flashlights or battery-operated lanterns to light their homes while the power is out. He also said residents should use common sense in not bringing items with gasoline inside the home.


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