Burlington Fire Department Saturday morning at 0514 hours, the Burlington Emergency Communications Center received several 911 calls reporting a possible structure fire at 199 King Street, a six unit apartment building in the City of Burlington. The Burlington Fire Department was immediately dispatched, and first due fire apparatus arrived at 0518. First arriving companies encountered significant fire on the second floor that was extending to the third floor, as well as one occupant who had self-evacuated in need of medical evaluation.
Burlington firefighters initiated an aggressive and coordinated fire attack and search of the building. Crews discovered two unconscious victims in one of the second floor apartments and transported one of them the University of Vermont Medical Center. Tragically, both of these victims did not survive.
Burlington Firefighters spent the following hours performing overhaul and ensuring that any residual fire was extinguished. The building did not have automatic fire sprinklers or a monitored fire alarm, however several smoke alarms were noted in the apartments.
The fire went to a 3rd alarm requiring the use of all on duty resources as well as recalling off duty staff. A total of 46 Burlington firefighters responded to this incident. The South Burlington and Colchester Fire Departments assisted on scene while the Winooski, Shelburne and Vermont Air Guard Fire Departments provided coverage for Burlington residents and guests. UVM Rescue, Colchester Rescue and St. Michaels Rescue responded to the scene, evaluated one of the occupants and remained available in case of any firefighters became injured.
One firefighter sustained minor injuries and no other civilian injuries were reported.
Two of the apartments sustained significant fire damage and the remaining apartments have both smoke and water damage.
The origin and cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Burlington Fire Marshal’s Office in coordination with the Burlington Police Department, The Division of Fire Safety and the Vermont State Police.
Preliminary investigation into the fatal structure fire at 199 King Street reveal it to be accidental in nature.
It was determined that one of the occupants fell asleep with smoking materials that ignited nearby combustibles.
While we are not releasing the victim’s personal information, we can confirm that the victims were a 31 year old male and a 55 year old male.
In response to the fatal fire, Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following statement:
“Early this morning, Burlington lost two residents in the City’s first fatal fire since June 2012. My heart goes out to the friends and loved ones of the deceased, and the other five households who are now displaced. I walked the burned-out building with Fire Chief Steven Locke soon after it had been stabilized. I commend the Burlington firefighters who responded to this tragedy within minutes of the emergency call. They moved swiftly through the structure while it was still engulfed in flames to ensure that no other lives were lost.
“An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway. What is already clear is that the fire moved through the apartment building with stunning speed and power, upending the normalcy of many lives in a matter of minutes. I urge everyone to check your smoke alarms and fire systems regularly – and hug your loved ones. Despite all the progress we have made on building fire safety in recent decades, our protection from sudden tragedy requires ongoing vigilance.”