Residents of West Hartford Fellowship Housing have been displaced following a fire on Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. [Updated, Dec. 27, 8:15 a.m.]

By Ronni Newton

Updated, Dec. 27, 8:15 a.m.

The West Hartford Fire Marshal’s Office will continue to investigate a blaze that broke out in the wall of a unit on the first floor of 10 Starkel Road, Building 2 of West Hartford Fellowship Housing.

Mark Garilli, the CEO of West Hartford Fellowship Housing, told We-Ha.com late Friday that as officials work to determine the cause of the fire, a decision was made “to evacuate the building overnight and allow investigators to return tomorrow afternoon before opening the buildings back up to residents.”

West Hartford Fire Chief Greg Priest said that 18 residents from 16 apartments who were inside at the time the fire occurred in the building were evacuated, with some receiving assistance from firefighters and others evacuating on their own. Some of the residents in Building 2 – which was just completed this spring and is 100% affordable housing for seniors or individuals with disabilities – are on full-time oxygen, and emergency personnel assisted to ensure their needs were accommodated.

Shelter was provided initially at the West Hartford Senior Center in Bishops Corner, which is directly across the street.

“A few residents chose to stay with family however many don’t have that option,” Garilli said. “So, 20 of our residents were transported [Friday] evening to the Hampton Inn in Farmington just as the snow began to fall. They are all now safely checked into their rooms. We expect residents will be allowed to return on Sunday.”

Garilli confirmed that there were no injuries as a result of the fire, which was reported at 12:01 p.m. Friday, Dec. 26, when a resident in a ground floor unit smelled smoke. No one required transport for medical treatment of any kind.

Power was restored to the majority of the building, and Garilli said emergency generators are operational, the fire alarm system is working, and the sprinkler system was not activated due to the fire, which was mostly contained to the wall and ceiling of the initial ground floor unit where the fire broke out, and the the unit above.

While the ground floor unit will require complete rehabilitation and repairs will be needed to the unit directly above on the second floor, Garilli said otherwise the only lingering effect is a faint smoke smell remaining and damp spots on the carpet on the first floor.

“Our team will be on rotating fire watch (per order of the fire chief) until Monday morning when we are back at full staff capacity. No residents of Building 1 were displaced, and all remain in their apartments tonight,” Garilli said late Friday.

Garilli expressed his thanks to the many town staff from the fire, police, building, emergency services, and social services who assisted at the scene, as well as the Senior Center staff, EMS, Eversource, and CNG. He said Becky Sears, the Senior Center director, provided pizzas and bus transport to the hotel. “Throughout the day, staff from Haynes along with a team of electricians arrived to investigate the causes and ensure the buildings were safe,” he added.

“Family members, Board members, staff, and residents all pitched in. It took a village today and I could not be prouder of our community,” said Garilli.

Original story

A fire broke out inside the wall of a ground-floor unit at West Hartford Fellowship Housing on Friday, and several dozen residents are displaced – at least temporarily – from a building at 10 Starkel Road that was completed just a few months ago.

West Hartford Fire Department Deputy Chief Jarrad Smith said dispatchers received a 911 call at approximately 12:01 p.m. Friday.

“Originally the call came in with a party on scene reporting that they could smell smoke in their apartment,” Smith told We-Ha.com.

Crews arrived at the scene quickly and found a burning odor and light smoke in the ground floor unit, and as crews were investigating the smoke became heavier.

It took roughly 15 minutes to uncover the source of the blaze, and West Hartford Fire Department used thermal imaging – a heat detecting device – to discover the active and hidden fire in the walls and ceiling behind the electrical circuit breaker box, Smith said.

“That fire ran up the walls to the fire stop of the apartment above,” Smith said.

All on-duty companies responded to what was then determined to be a working fire, and mutual aid from the UConn Fire Department also supported West Hartford units at the scene due to the size of the building and number of occupants. The building contains 65 units on three floors.

“Firefighting efforts were initiated, along with a more global evacuation of the apartment building and disconnection of electrical service,” Chief Greg Priest said in a news release.

According to Smith, once the source was identified the fire was rapidly contained and knocked down within minutes and fully extinguished and declared under control by 12:31 p.m., but approximately 18 residents from 16 apartments were evacuated during the incident.

Many of those who evacuated, including several residents who were dependent on oxygen, were given shelter at the West Hartford Senior Center in Bishops Corner, which is right across the street. They were evaluated by emergency personnel, but no injuries were reported and there were no injuries or transports to the hospital, Priest said.

According to Smith, many of the residents were able to self-evacuate, but others who use wheelchairs were assisted by emergency responders from the fire and police departments.

Representatives from West Hartford Emergency Management assisted Senior Center staff with the residents who were temporarily displaced, providing them with food and water as needed.

According to Priest, fire damage was contained to the apartment of origin, but there was some smoke and water damage to other areas of the building.

“Preliminary information indicates that only one apartment will not be habitable however the assessment is still ongoing,” Priest said. A West Hartford Building Department official responded to the scene and will make a final determination regarding the habitability of other units, and some occupants are voluntarily seeking alternate housing, he said.

The exact cause of the fire, which appears to be electrical in nature, is under investigation by the West Hartford Fire Marshal’s Office.

No firefighter injuries were reported, Priest said.

The West Hartford Fire Department expressed appreciation for the support of dispatchers at the West Hartford Emergency Reporting Center as well as the West Hartford Police Department, American Medical Response, and mutual aid partners from the Hartford, Newington, and New Britain fire departments who covered town while West Hartford units were engaged in the incident.

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