Photo: Eugene Driscoll
Shelton Fire Department Assistant Chief Nick Verdicchio at the scene Friday.
Update: Police have identified the person found after Friday’s fire in Fairchild Heights mobile home community.
Original post follows.
A person was found dead inside a mobile home gutted by fire in Shelton Friday.
As of about 7:30 p.m. the person had not been identified.
The fire was reported by residents of the Fairchild Heights mobile home community off Bridgeport Avenue in Shelton about 5:50 p.m., Shelton Fire Department Assistant Chief Nick Verdicchio said.
The home burned was on Hemlock Drive, within the development.
Firefighters from all four of Shelton’s volunteer fire companies responded and saw smoke and flames coming from the home.
“The trailer was fully involved at that time,” Verdicchio said. “They laid in, crews made an entrance into the trailer (and) got about halfway in but the fire load was just too great, we had to back them out.”
Larry Dwyer of Derby sent this short video showing the flames from a distance. The article continues after the video.
At least one propane tank was burning inside the home, he said. “The fire load was just too great to safely put anybody else in there.”
Firefighters were able to knock down the flames within 15 to 20 minutes, he said.
While searching the home afterward, they found the victim.
Verdicchio said the damage from the fire made details difficult to determine in the immediate aftermath.
Photo: Ethan Fry
A view of the home where a person was found dead after a fire in Shelton.
“Neighbors on scene reported that there might be possibly somebody in there,” he said. “We think it was the living room. That corner of the trailer was severely burned, severely charred.”
Detectives and the Shelton Fire Marshal were at the scene Friday night, with officials from the state fire marshal’s office en route.
“Now it’s just an ongoing investigation,” Verdicchio said. “Shelton police and the state will be taking over from here.”
The fire was contained to the mobile home where the person’s body was found. No other injuries were reported.
While local firefighters were putting out the blaze, fire companies from Derby, Monroe, and Trumbull responded to firehouses in Shelton to respond to other calls.
The video below shows a fire police member putting up tape to keep the general public out of the scene.
