By David Owens
The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — A 74-year-old man was pulled unconscious from a burning house at 15 Brainard Road and rushed away in an ambulance on Thursday afternoon, a fire official and neighbors said.
The man was in critical condition at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center Friday.
A dog was found dead in a bathroom.
Assistant Fire Chief Richard Winn said firefighters were called to 15 Brainard Road after a police officer patrolling the neighborhood just east of Bishops Corner saw smoke and called in.
Winn said the fire appeared to start in the basement and burned through the floor above it. The fire may have been burning for a while before it was reported, he said.
Firefighters found the resident near the back of the house. He appeared to be trying to get out, Winn said.
A German shepherd was found dead inside the house. Firefighters pulled a cat from the house and worked to save it by administering oxygen, Winn said. The town’s animal control officer took the cat from the scene.
Nancy Zenke, who was visiting a neighboring home, said that when she heard the fire engines arriving she went outside and saw thick black smoke coming out of the chimney. Firefighters forced their way through the front door and began breaking windows to vent the smoke, she said.
Investigators were working to determine the fire’s cause.
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