Hartford Fire Victim in Critical Condition

An update on our top story from Wednesday as a Hartford, Vermont man remains in critical condition in a Burlington hospital after a Tuesday evening fire that destroyed a four-unit apartment building.

Authorities have still not identified the individual – who is said to have suffered serious burns while trying to extinguish the blaze in his kitchen – though posts on the Hartford Fire Department’s Facebook page identify him as Charles Crooks. The University of Vermont Medical Center confirmed to YCN News that a patient by that name was being treated at the Burlington Hospital.

It took crews from eight departments nearly two hours to control the fire at 1661 Maple Street in Hartford, with excessive damage deeming the building unlivable.

Crews from the American Red Cross have been assisting the building’s 12 displaced tenants, providing them prepaid debit cards to help pay for immediate necessities like food, shelter, and clothing.