By Nicholas Rondinone and Kristin Stoller
The Hartford Courant
HARTFORD, Conn. — Firefighters rescued an 8-year-old girl from a burning building on Hamilton Street and rushed her to a hospital as flames spread to a neighboring porch and nearby cars, fire officials said Friday night.
Fire Chief Carlos Huertas said that the child was taken to a hospital for treatment, along with a police officer and a firefighter who suffered smoke inhalation. Officials said that all three were being treated at Hartford Hospital and were expected to be released Friday evening.
Fire Capt. Helene Lynch said they believed that 12 families, about 20 adults and 10 children, were displaced from the building where the fire began at 22-24 Hamilton St. and the adjacent building at 18-20 Hamilton, not far from Zion Street in the Frog Hollow neighborhood.
On Saturday morning, second floor resident Jose Hernandez stood outside the badly charred building in the same clothes he was wearing the night before.
After running out of the building in his bare feet, he said he attempted to go back in and save his neighbor’s daughter -- the 8-year-old girl. The police prevented him from reentering the building, Hernandez said.
Aprile Rivera, another resident and Hernandez’s girlfriend, said the 8-year-old girl’s mother hurt her knee and had a hard time walking, so she was unable to get her daughter out herself.
“We didn’t realize the fire was that big,” Rivera said. “I don’t even know if our dogs died or if they made it out.”
The displaced families are being housed in a local motel, paid for by the Red Cross, until Monday, Rivera said. They were brought over on a bus Friday night and were instructed to talk to city officials on Monday to find out their next steps, she said.
Rivera said the couple hasn’t been able to retrieve anything from their apartment.
“I keep thinking of everything I lost in there,” she said. “It makes it harder that it happened over the weekend.”
The building is expected to be torn down by Saturday afternoon, Sabel Adjusters President Allen Sabel said. Sabel Adjusters represents the interest of people who own the building in negotiations with insurance companies, Sabel said.
The biggest challenge will be making sure the house next to 22-24 Hamilton St. doesn’t get damaged in the process, he said.
Sabel said it is too early to tell whether the owners of the building will rebuild it.
The Red Cross is helping 39 people -- 26 adults and 13 children in 10 families -- as a result of the damage to the two buildings, according to a statement released by Chief Communication Officer Paul Shipman.
Though one displaced family was not at the scene of the fire, Shipman said they have been provided information to contact the Red Cross for assistance.
They are helping with emergency housing, food and clothing needs, including warm clothing due to the colder temperatures. The affected children were provided with stuffed animal toys.
Comfort kits were also given to the families, and contain personal care items such as toothbrushes, deodorant, shaving supplies and other items, he said.
A witness who lives in a nearby building on Hamilton Street said he saw two firefighters carrying the girl, who appeared to be wet, from the building.
“Firefighters took her out of the front door,” Estefan Garcia, a 15-year-old high school freshman, said as he huddled in the cold with several friends up the street. Garcia said he saw them take the girl to an ambulance.
The fire was reported at 7:28 p.m., and firefighters saw flames coming from the back of the building when they arrived, officials said.
Garcia, who lives in a third-floor apartment at 8 Hamilton St., said he spotted a plume of fire coming from 22-24 Hamilton. “It was like a volcano,” he said, adding that he heard loud popping coming from the rear of the building.
Garcia said he ran down the stairs of his apartment building and into the front of the burning building to help get some people out.
“Once I was in there, I took the stairs by three,” Garcia said, adding that he went to an upstairs apartment and got several people out. Others, he said, were coming from the back of the building, and they all gathered on the opposite side of the street.
A rear porch of the adjacent building at 18-20 Hamilton St. caught fire and collapsed. Several cars behind 22-24 Hamilton St. were on fire when firefighters arrived, fire officials said.
“Overall, this could be a lot worse, but by the grace of God the men and women of Hartford fire did a great job today,” Huertas said.
As the fire progressed, firefighters retreated to a defensive position and attacked the flames from above. Crews were still on the scene checking for hot spots about 11 p.m.
The cause of the fire was being investigated late Friday evening and has not been released as of Saturday morning.
Hamilton Street was shut down near Zion Street.
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(c)2014 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.)
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