6 families displaced following arson at apartment complex in Hartford

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - In Hartford six families are without a home after a fire at an apartment complex.

That fire is now under investigation as arson, and police said the person who set it lived in the building.

It happened in the south end of the city at 930 Wethersfield Avenue.

Officials said the fire started in the closet of a third-floor apartment unit.

Investigators believe that individual may have been having a mental episode.

It was around 1 a.m. when fire crews and police arrived at the scene.

Smoke and flames were billowing from the roof and windows.

Firefighters were able to contain the fire before it spread to more units.

While at the scene, police identified and detained a suspect. According to investigators, that individual lived in a third-floor apartment where the fire started.

He was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Fortunately, nobody else was injured.

Now six families are looking for a new home. Eyewitness News spoke with a neighbor who saw the flames.

“I mean this place was, all you could see was flames coming out the window off the roof. It was disgusting. It really was. I mean I feel really sorry for these people,” said Sandy Swanson of Hartford.

“It appears at this point in the investigation he was attempting to harm himself. Possibly having a mental episode,” said Lt. Aaron Boisvert with the Hartford Police Department.

The suspect is in the hospital and an arrest warrant is pending for him and he’ll be charged, officials said. His name has not been released yet.

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