After 26 Fire-Related Deaths, CT Officials Focus on Prevention, Code Enforcement

Two fatal fires in the state within a week — which left a total of five people dead, including two children — have brought the number of people who died in a fire in Connecticut so far this year to more than two dozen.

The causes of both residential fires, one in Cheshire and another in Hartford, remain under investigation by local fire marshals and Connecticut State Police, with the Office of State Fire Marshal keeping tabs on both investigations to possibly put out information to the public on fire prevention or potentially look at bolstered code enforcement.

“So anytime we get a report of a fatal fire it’s cause to take a step and look at what the cause is,” State Fire Marshal Lauri Volkert told The Courant.

“So we’re in conversation with the local fire marshals and with the state police to look at the causes and, if there’s kind of code questions or safety issues like that, we’ll step in as subject matter experts and help provide that level of expertise to the investigation.

“But then we’ve also started having conversations with local fire marshals to follow up after fatal fires a couple months after the fire to talk through what the causes are and how that can shift our fire prevention messaging,” Volkert added.

Community grieves loss of 3 sisters, toddler as investigation into Hartford house fire continues

According to Volkert, in 2024, there were a total of 43 fire-related fatalities reported in Connecticut. So far this year, 26 fire-related deaths have been reported, which puts the state on pace to see a similar number to last year.

Volkert said state officials are working to drive those numbers down as much as possible. After a number of fatal fires earlier in the year were found to be related to smoking, Fire Safe CT put out PSA messaging warning about the dangers of smoking and fire safety, she said.

The newly launched initiative brings together the Office of State Fire Marshal, the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit, the Connecticut Fire Academy, the Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The effort is focusing on giving Connecticut residents fire prevention information through multimedia campaigns and to equip local fire departments and municipal fire marshals with enhanced resources and educational materials, according to statement issued from Gov. Ned Lamont’s Office.

“Keeping Connecticut families safe is our highest priority,” Lamont said in a statement. “Fire Safe CT brings together the best of what our state has to offer — public safety, health care and environmental expertise — to help residents stay safe and informed. It’s a model of collaboration, and I’m proud to support it.”

“From investigation to education to training, this initiative links every part of the fire safety ecosystem,” Ronnell A. Higgins, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said in the release. “Our agencies are united in the mission to prevent fires before they start and support recovery when they do.”

Officials identify man found dead in debris following house fire in Cheshire

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, fatal fires around the nation were steadily on the rise between 2014, when 3,275 deaths were reported, and 2021, when that number climbed to 3,800. The only year that saw a drop in the timespan was 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

National fire deaths dropped slightly in 2022 to 3,790 fatalities and again in 2023, when 3,670 fire-related deaths were reported. National data beyond 2023 was not immediately available.

The most recent deadly fires in Connecticut occurred in Cheshire on Aug. 12, when a man and his dog were found dead in a burning home after the roof partially collapsed.

This past Monday, two adults and two children were found dead when a fire broke out in the early morning hours at a single-family home on Shultas Place in Hartford where multiple others escaped the blaze. Four residents and a firefighter were also taken to the hospital, according to fire officials.

Authorities did not immediately say whether the homes had working smoke alarms. Both fires remain under investigation.

According to West Hartford Fire Marshal Bob Grimaldi, the key to surviving a fire is having an early warning. The best way to do that, he said, is by having working smoke alarms or detectors.

Grimaldi, who spent nearly three decades with the Bristol Fire Department before joining West Hartford in 2019, said he has found that fire deaths more often than not involve someone who is sleeping. In many cases, the individual had no way of knowing that a fire had started.

“I found over the years that a lot of fatalities can be attributed to non-working smoke alarms,” Grimaldi said, adding that many people either aren’t even aware that there is a fire or, by the time they do realize it, it’s already too late.

“By the time they may wake up, they’re coughing or choking because of the smoke,” Grimaldi said.

According to Grimaldi and Volkert, state law requires all dwellings to have working smoke alarms.

“You want to have smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms on every level of your home and outside of the sleeping area,” said Volkert, who spent about 15 years as a fire inspector and fire marshal with the Windsor Fire Department before being appointed as state fire marshal in December.

She said she recommends having alarms inside of each bedroom in the event that the fire breaks out in that room. She also suggests devices that are interconnected.

“They actually make wireless interconnected (alarms) where if one goes off, they all go off, which gives you a better chance of hearing it throughout the house,” Volkert said, adding that she uses this type of device in her own home.

Grimaldi also stressed the importance of sleeping with a bedroom door closed, which helps keep smoke and particles out of the room and can drastically reduce the spread of flames into the bedroom.

“Smoke is actually what usually kills people in fires,” Grimaldi said. “It’s not the heat, it’s usually from the smoke.”

It’s important once a resident realizes there is a fire to get out of the home as quickly as possible and to contact the fire department, Grimaldi and Volkert said. Under no circumstances should anyone ever go back into a burning home, even in instances where they may feel like they need to help someone inside, they said.

Even one gasp of smoke-filled air can be enough to incapacitate someone.

“All it takes is that one gasp of air and it fills your lungs,” Grimaldi said, adding that it’s best to advise firefighters of anyone trapped in a home.

If someone does find themselves trapped in a home and unable to escape a fire, especially for those on the second story or higher, Grimaldi said it’s best to close the door and get to the nearest window, where they can wave down responding firefighters and expedite a rescue.

“Dial 911, let them know where you are, the address, and then tell them where you are and that you can’t get out,” Grimaldi said.