2 injured after fire rips through condo complex in Brookfield

BROOKFIELD, Conn. (WTNH) – Two people were sent to the hospital after a fire destroyed a dozen condos early Thursday morning.

According to fire officials, the call for the fire came in around 1:20 a.m. at the Ledgewood Condominiums located on Boxwood Drive.

The condos were all affected by the fire and sustained extensive damage. A total of 21 people were displaced.

“It’s an open roof. So, once it got into the roof from one unit, it spread down through all the adjacent units,” explained Brookfield Fire Dept Assistant Chief Derek Broadmeyer.

First responders banged on doors and got everyone out. Everyone else who lives in the complex could only stand and watch the flames spread.

“You saw one roof go, and you were just praying, god please don’t let it go to the next roof, and then it just moved down the line,” said Elizabeth Martin, who moved in last fall.

Two people were sent to the hospital following the fire, one of them for smoke inhalation. Fire officials said they had non-life threatening injuries.

The fire destroyed or gutted all 12 units. The solid walls in between the homes are still standing, but with no fire walls in the attic, everything burned from the top down.

The condos were serviced by just a 4-inch water main, which was not nearly enough water to fight a fire this size. So, the regional tanker task force had to truck in water.

“Took a little while to get tankers as everybody in this area is volunteer,” Assistant Chief Broadmeyer said.

Meanwhile, residents had to grab what they could and run.

“Figured something was wrong, started to smell smoke. Looked out the windows, saw flames,” Martin remembered. “Woke up my daughter. Got her out.”

They also got the pets out: the gecko, the frog and the hamster. All went to the nearby senior center where the Red Cross was offering help.

“We give them immediate needs with financial assistance plus we give them recovery services,” said Red Cross Volunteer Arthur Hopkins. “And, we’ll follow up with them in several days to see how they’re doing.”

Just about everyone lost about everything. Except their lives.

“Everything else is just stuff. We’ll replace it. We’ll figure it out. We’re alive and thank God,” said Martin.

It is unclear how many people have been displaced at this time. Investigators are looking into the cause.

This is a developing story. Stay with News 8 for updates.

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