Overview
- Crews were dispatched around 12:30 a.m. to George Street, where heavy fire engulfed the first and second floors.
- Firefighters located John Morris deceased upstairs and rescued Aurelian Kamp from under a bed through a window; he was pronounced dead at 1:30 a.m.
- Investigators determined the blaze began in a first-floor den and was accidental smoking-related, with state police, fire and police units involved.
- A mother, two children and another woman escaped; one woman was hospitalized for injuries and a firefighter suffered a minor injury as the Red Cross assisted the displaced family.
- Neighbors attempted rescues that the fire chief called heroic, and a 6 p.m. vigil was scheduled at St. Barnabas Church in North Haven.