VERNON, Conn. — A fire at the Fitch Block apartment building in the Rockville section of Vernon, was caused by unattended candles, according to the fire marshal.
The fire broke out Sunday morning, trapping several people inside. Many of them had to be rescued by firefighters.
"I tried to crawl at first, got lost in a little section. Turned around, was able to find my door again, called my mom and told her I couldn't see anything. I didn't know what to do. It felt like an hour walking through that hallway, or crawling. I have rug burn," said Emilio Medina, a resident of the building.
He was able to make it out on his own, but he was one of seven people who needed to be taken to the hospital.
"I was on oxygen for six hours," said Medina. "My O2 levels were low, my carbon was high and they just kept checking on me every few minutes," he said.
Fortunately, Rockville General Hospital is located directly across the street.
"Literally we had wheelchairs and stretchers from the ambulance and the hospital coming right out onto the scene and bringing people into the emergency department for triage and care," said Michael Purcaro, Town Administrator and Emergency Director, for the Town of Vernon.
Officials say 13 families were displaced. Many of them are being helped by the Red Cross, but the Cornerstone Foundation, a local organization in town, has also stepped up to help.
"Because we're shelters basically Cornerstone has the basics; food, clothing and shelter," said Brian Flint, deputy director. "We have a soup kitchen that has prepared food but we also have canned food, take home food so whatever it takes we're willing to help," he said.
Since the fire happened just days from Christmas, residents say it is unfortunate they now don't know how many of their belongings they lost, or when they'll be able to return home.
"I got some of my clothes, I'm going to bring them to my mom's wash them up see what I can salvage," said Medina. "There's a lot of smoke, soot, seems like it needs a lot of deep cleaning," he said.
Cornerstone says it will be opening a bank account to collect donations for families.