Rutland Herald
By Dan Colton
Staff Writer | March 08,2015
Staff Writer | March 08,2015
Photo by Jill Paton
The Killington Townhouses condominium complex in
Killington is engulfed in flames shortly after midnight. Two wings were
destroyed by what was initially reported as a chimney fire. All of the
timeshare occupants inside escaped safely.
KILLINGTON — No one was hurt in a fire that destroyed at least half of a 16-unit timeshare condominium complex early Saturday.
The fire was initially reported at the Killington Townhouses on Innsbruck Lane at about 11:30 p.m. Friday night and kept fire crews on the scene into Saturday afternoon. The fire rekindled briefly at about 4 p.m.
Killington Fire Chief Gary Roth said the incident was initially labeled a chimney fire in the section C wing, but by the time firefighters arrived it had spread to engulf the section D office wing as well.
The complex had four wings, A through D, but C and D were burned to the ground Saturday. The condition of the remaining condominiums was unclear.
A number of residents were inside the building, Roth said, but they escaped safely and were evacuated to other nearby lodging.
Many regional fire departments responded to a mutual aid call. Roth said the fire took six hours to extinguish.
“We had three fire engines, two platform trucks and somewhere around nine tankers to shuttle water,” Roth said.
He added that the county-wide response is standard protocol for a prolonged fire.
The Rutland City Fire Department was among the outside departments called in. Rutland responders got the call “right off the bat” around midnight, said Brad LaFaso, the department’s operations chief.
LaFaso arrived at around 5 a.m., he said, and the fire hadn’t yet subsided.
“It was tough fighting the fire in below zero (temperatures),” he said.
Freezing water and low water pressure complicated the efforts and caused issues throughout the night and into the morning.
Other firefighters reported seeing the blaze climb “50 or 60 feet” into the air, he said.
LaFaso said that by 11:30 a.m., most fire crews had left the scene.
By 2 p.m., smoldering and charred debris littered the area where half the building once stood. A layer of ice from the firefighters’ hoses covered much of the burned remnants.
The back half of the building was gone, with ashen tree limbs fallen across exposed and charred stairwells.
Paul Kaufman, president of the Killington Townhouses, said he drove from Massachusetts when he heard about the fire.
“It’s a tragedy,” he said.
About 600 families rent time in the Killington Townhouse condos through the year, Kaufman said.
But after the fire, he said, the future of the complex is up in the air.
“Obviously, we lost our office,” Kaufman said. “We lost our ability to communicate with our owners — we’re struggling to get that accomplished.”
He said he didn’t know how much financial damage the fire caused or how many people were evacuated from the building.
Helen and Frank Carcio of Massachusetts were taking photos of the scene Saturday afternoon.
They said they couldn’t believe the townhouses had burned. They’d been renting the same condo since 1985, Frank Carcio said.
Helen Carcio said that although they were not staying at Killington Townhouses that weekend, they were renting a nearby condo managed by the same people.
They checked out of their nearby timeshare a few hours early, Helen said, because displaced renters needed a place to stay, and the Killington Townhouses manager asked for a favor.
So, Helen Carcio said, they packed up early and came by to check out the scene.
Before they left, the Carcios left a house-warming gift for the next tenants.
“We left some beer in the fridge for them,” Helen said, “and some Baileys.”
The fire was initially reported at the Killington Townhouses on Innsbruck Lane at about 11:30 p.m. Friday night and kept fire crews on the scene into Saturday afternoon. The fire rekindled briefly at about 4 p.m.
Killington Fire Chief Gary Roth said the incident was initially labeled a chimney fire in the section C wing, but by the time firefighters arrived it had spread to engulf the section D office wing as well.
The complex had four wings, A through D, but C and D were burned to the ground Saturday. The condition of the remaining condominiums was unclear.
A number of residents were inside the building, Roth said, but they escaped safely and were evacuated to other nearby lodging.
Many regional fire departments responded to a mutual aid call. Roth said the fire took six hours to extinguish.
“We had three fire engines, two platform trucks and somewhere around nine tankers to shuttle water,” Roth said.
He added that the county-wide response is standard protocol for a prolonged fire.
The Rutland City Fire Department was among the outside departments called in. Rutland responders got the call “right off the bat” around midnight, said Brad LaFaso, the department’s operations chief.
LaFaso arrived at around 5 a.m., he said, and the fire hadn’t yet subsided.
“It was tough fighting the fire in below zero (temperatures),” he said.
Freezing water and low water pressure complicated the efforts and caused issues throughout the night and into the morning.
Other firefighters reported seeing the blaze climb “50 or 60 feet” into the air, he said.
LaFaso said that by 11:30 a.m., most fire crews had left the scene.
By 2 p.m., smoldering and charred debris littered the area where half the building once stood. A layer of ice from the firefighters’ hoses covered much of the burned remnants.
The back half of the building was gone, with ashen tree limbs fallen across exposed and charred stairwells.
Paul Kaufman, president of the Killington Townhouses, said he drove from Massachusetts when he heard about the fire.
“It’s a tragedy,” he said.
About 600 families rent time in the Killington Townhouse condos through the year, Kaufman said.
But after the fire, he said, the future of the complex is up in the air.
“Obviously, we lost our office,” Kaufman said. “We lost our ability to communicate with our owners — we’re struggling to get that accomplished.”
He said he didn’t know how much financial damage the fire caused or how many people were evacuated from the building.
Helen and Frank Carcio of Massachusetts were taking photos of the scene Saturday afternoon.
They said they couldn’t believe the townhouses had burned. They’d been renting the same condo since 1985, Frank Carcio said.
Helen Carcio said that although they were not staying at Killington Townhouses that weekend, they were renting a nearby condo managed by the same people.
They checked out of their nearby timeshare a few hours early, Helen said, because displaced renters needed a place to stay, and the Killington Townhouses manager asked for a favor.
So, Helen Carcio said, they packed up early and came by to check out the scene.
Before they left, the Carcios left a house-warming gift for the next tenants.
“We left some beer in the fridge for them,” Helen said, “and some Baileys.”
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