Man dies in fire at Branford condo

By Rachael Scarborough King, Register Staff
May 27, 2008

BRANFORD — A fire in a condominium complex on Stonegate Drive left one man dead Monday evening, fire officials said.

A man returning home at 19 Stonegate Drive, Unit H, discovered a fire in his roommate’s bedroom, Deputy Chief Ron Mullen said. When firefighters arrived on scene, they found a 46-year-old man in a second-floor bedroom and took him to Yale-New Haven Hospital.

The man was not breathing when firefighters found him, and he died at the hospital, Mullen said.

Officials have not yet positively identified the man, he added.

No firefighters and no other residents of the complex were injured, according to the Fire Department. The fire was contained to the bedroom, and no other condominiums received damage. The unit where the fire occurred is in a building with nine other units, Mullen said, but fire officials did not evacuate the building.

“The fire was confined to the room and quickly extinguished,” he said.

The Branford fire marshal’s office and the Police Department are continuing to investigate the fire.