(Updated) Seven People Displaced in Liberty Street Fire

(Updated: Nov. 29, 2 p.m.)
Seven local residents have been displaced from their Liberty Street home after a fire tore through the second floor of the split family home early Thursday afternoon.

The fire was reported around noon after a neighbor called it in. Flames tore quickly through the second floor apartment at 179 Liberty St., but were contained to the one level, Southington Fire Capt. Mark Saucier said. There was no one in the apartment at the time of the fire and only one person was home downstairs but she evacuated before fire officials arrived.

No one was injured during the response and flames were contained and extinguished in under 30 minutes, fire officials said.

“It seems pretty apparent that the fire began at the couch on the second floor, but we don’t know the cause just yet,” Saucier said. “The scene remains under investigation.”

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The early afternoon fire forced fire officials to close off Liberty Street from West Center Street to Eden Avenue as fire officials battled the blaze. Several firefighter remained on scene well into the afternoon to help clear the home and to prevent flare-ups.

Saucier said gas and electric utilities were shut off to the home. The second floor apartment suffered considerable damage from smoke and fire, as did the attic area, according to Saucier. The first floor was affected with considerable water damage.

“It’s just – no one was home. Everything’s gone,” said a tenant of the second floor, who then declined to comment further or give his name.

The building is owned by Joseph and Angelina Dellaporta, who live at a separate location in town, according to the town’s GIS reports. Officials said two children lived in the bulding, but neither were around at the time of the fire.

The case remains under investigation, but fire officials have already ruled the incident as accidental.

It is the third structure fire that officials have responded to in under a week, as small garage fires spurred up earlier this week. No one was injured or displaced in the previous fires, officials said.

(Original Story)
Southington firefighters extinguished a blaze that damaged a 179 Liberty St. home Thursday.

No one was home when the fire broke out around noon Thursday and firefighters were able to put out the blaze before it could spread in the three-story home.

The home, however, sustained considerable water and smoke damage, officials said.

The Liberty Street property is located near the intersection with Eden Avenue. The road is reportedly closed as of 12:45 p.m. and will likely stay closed for at least another half hour, officials said.

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