Investigation Results of the Cause of the Greenwood Avenue Fire on July 13th

Report from Thomas Galliford (Fire Marshal), Bethel Fire Marshal’s Office with assistance from the CT State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit and Bethel Police Department, and State Fire Marshals, on the investigation and cause of the Greenwood Avenue structure fire on July 13, 2017:

“The structure fire that occurred at 1am on Thursday July 13, 2017 was investigated by the Bethel Fire Marshal’s Office with assistance from the CT State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit and Bethel Police Department to determine the origin and cause of the fire. It is protocol for the Bethel Fire Marshal’s Office to request assistance from the State Fire Marshals for any large property loss fires with injuries. Local and State fire investigators spent close to 12 hours processing the scene on July 13 and have continued to do follow up with other agencies and witnesses.

“The cause of the fire is Undetermined at this time and the investigation remains open.

“The fire started in the second floor living room of Apartment A, 182 Greenwood Avenue. The fire then traveled via the exterior from the windows and into the attic space and caused considerable damage to the attic and roof of the building.

“The tenant in the apartment of fire origin is recovering at Bethel Healthcare . The required fire alarm system in the building was working properly at the time of the fire and was a vital component to the prompt notification and evacuation of occupants from the building.”