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Cleaning up after massive 6-alarm fire in Meriden

Meriden Fire Chief Ken Morgan said crews rescued one individual, but it’s unclear why they were in the building.

MERIDEN, Conn. — Crews are cleaning up after a six-alarm fire at a property on Pratt Street in Meriden on Friday night. 

 Mayor Kevin Scarpati said Saturday that officials do not believe there is any harm or contamination in the air as a result of the fire.

There has been a fire there before, but for an unrelated reason; the fire chief said Saturday that the fire last time was caused by an error in manufacturing.

Morgan also said that close to a dozen other fire departments assisted Meriden’s through mutual aid, some from as far away as Hartford. 

There were about 80-100 first responders on the scene. The Salvation Army was also there to assist. Firefighters reported no injuries.

The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing. Officials are working to determine whether the buildings would need to be demolished.

Two buildings were damaged, one of which is vacant. The other houses the CRC Chrome plating business. 

The affected part of Pratt Street remains closed and stayed closed through most of Saturday as firefighters continued to investigate. People are asked to avoid walking and driving in the area.

The fire was called in at 7:55 p.m. Friday. Upon arrival, the Meriden Fire Department encountered heavy smoke.

Firefighters were back on the scene Saturday morning to tackle remaining pockets of fire.

Fire Chief Ken Morgan said crews rescued one man from the building housing the plating business, but it’s unclear why he was in the building. The individual was taken to the hospital with injuries that do not appear to be life-threatening.

Crews tackled most of the fire from the exterior. Firefighters had difficulty getting into certain areas of the two buildings to get the flames under control.

However, most of the fire that broke out in the building containing the plating factory has been knocked down.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) was on scene monitoring, due to fire in the plating facility. 

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Credit: Haley Chmura

   

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