Residents of West Hartford Fellowship Housing have been displaced following a fire on Friday, Dec. 26, 2025.

By Ronni Newton

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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