Connecticut

Four children killed as a fire tears through a multifamily home in Connecticut

Published

2 years ago

January 3, 2024

Four children killed as a fire tears through a multifamily home in Connecticut

SOMERS, Conn. (AP) — A fire that raced through a two-family home in northern Connecticut on Tuesday night killed four children and several animals as firefighters struggled with rescue efforts because of clutter, authorities said.

The four children who died in the Somers blaze were ages 5, 6, 8 and 12 and lived in one side of the house with their mother and three other siblings, fire and town officials said. The mother was not home at the time and her 19-year-old daughter, who was watching over the other children, escaped by jumping out of a second-story window, First Selectman Tim Keeney said.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire in the close-knit town of just under 10,000 people about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Hartford. State and local officials were investigating.

“This is a small community so everybody knows everybody else, and these obviously are four kids that are in our community so it definitely hurts a lot of our members,” town Fire Chief John Roache said at an early afternoon news conference. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to this family.”

A neighbor described a heartbreaking scene with people screaming and the three survivors jumping from the second floor.

Roache said firefighters rescued three dogs from the home, but a litter of puppies died.

The 19-year-old daughter and two of her siblings survived. One of them had serious burn injuries and two had minor injuries, said officials, who did not disclose which sibling suffered the serious injuries.

Four people who were in the other side of the house escaped without major injuries. A firefighter suffered a burn injury and was treated and released from a hospital, officials said.

The fire was reported shortly before 10:30 p.m. and the first firefighters arrived about five minutes later to find the entire front of the house on fire, Roache said. The flames made it difficult to enter through the front, and items in the home made it difficult to get through the back door, he said. Around 60 firefighters from 12 agencies responded to the blaze, he said.

“It’s a tremendous loss for the town,” Keeney, the first selectman, told reporters at the scene Wednesday morning. “An incredible loss, a tragedy the town hasn’t seen forever that I’m aware of. I’ve lived here my whole life.”

The family that lost loved ones in the fire was offered help by the American Red Cross and social service officials, authorities said. A local aid fund was accepting donations for the family, officials said.

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Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

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Connecticut

Crews battle barn fire in East Windsor

Published

16 hours ago

November 21, 2025

Press Room

Multiple roads in East Windsor were closed for several hours as crews fought an early morning barn fire.

According to the Broad Brook Fire Department, a large barn fire broke out a 365 North Road around 1:30 Friday morning.

Mutual aid from multiple towns are assisting at the scene.

The fire department had route 140 shut down between Harrington Rd and the old Herb Holden Trucking on Broad Brook Rd. closed due to hydrant lines across the street. Main St at Wesley Rd was also blocked.

The fire was knocked down and roads reopened around 5 a.m.

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Connecticut

Hartford HealthCare could acquire 2 Prospect hospitals by year end

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2025

Press Room

Hartford HealthCare could acquire 2 Prospect hospitals by year end

After years of uncertainty regarding the future of the Connecticut hospitals owned by bankrupt operator Prospect Medical Holdings, two of the three facilities could have a new owner by the end of the year.

On Tuesday, Hartford HealthCare, one of Connecticut’s largest health systems, presented its case to the state’s Office of Health Strategy to purchase Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals. Under the new expedited approval timeline for hospitals in bankruptcy, state officials must issue a decision by Dec. 30.

During the public hearing, Hartford HealthCare CEO Jeffrey Flaks said the health system plans to bring all its expertise, resources and capabilities to Manchester, Rockville and the surrounding towns.

“The robust apparatus of Hartford HealthCare will be brought to these communities to make health care better. That’s why I’m so confident that we have this very unique opportunity to dramatically improve health care that will be here for generations going forward,” Flaks said.

Hartford HealthCare will spend $86.1 million to purchase the facilities and pledged to invest an additional $225.7 million towards capital improvements, like facility and IT upgrades, over the next three years.

Hartford HealthCare also plans to recruit new physicians to the Manchester and Rockville communities, as well as expand access to specialty care, like oncology, inpatient rehabilitation and vascular and orthopedic surgical services, according to the application submitted to the state.

If approved, the deal would serve as the first step towards concluding a lengthy search to find new buyers for Prospect’s Connecticut hospitals — a process that often seemed on the brink of failure.

In 2022, Prospect signed a deal to sell its three Connecticut hospitals — Manchester Memorial, Rockville General and Waterbury — to Yale New Haven Health for $435 million. But the deal was mired in setbacks and litigation.

In August 2023, a cyberattack crippled operations at Prospect’s facilities around the country. In 2024, Yale New Haven Health and Prospect Medical sued and countersued each other over the true value of the hospitals. In January 2025, Prospect filed for bankruptcy and, by the following month, Yale officials said a deal appeared “impossible.”

In September, Yale agreed to pay $45 million to Prospect to end all disputes over the hospitals’ sale.

Hartford HealthCare stepped in and its acquisitions of the Manchester and Rockville facilities could be finalized by the end of the year. Connecticut’s flagship academic medical institution, UConn Health, seems poised to acquire Waterbury Hospital. A judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Northern Texas approved the UConn deal earlier this week, and now the transaction must obtain state approval.

It’s a speedy transition for the three hospitals, whose ownership had languished in uncertainty for years.

While the Yale deal was pending, Lamont and OHS received broad criticism for the lengthy approval process. That led state legislators to approve a measure earlier this year that allows for an expedited timeline for the acquisition of hospitals that have filed for bankruptcy.

Under the emergency certificate of need timeline, OHS must issue a final decision within 60 days from when the application is deemed complete.

In an emailed statement, Lamont’s spokesperson Rob Blanchard said OHS “met all statutory timelines in the Yale-Prospect [certificate of need review]” and that the legal disputes between the two companies illustrate the transaction’s complexity.

“Yale’s decision to file suit against Prospect less than two months after the agreed settlement raised clear concerns about the parties’ readiness to close the deal. The disputes that prolonged the CON process are now evident in the lawsuit, countersuit, and resulting $45 million settlement,” Blanchard stated in emailed comments.

Erosion of services at Rockville

Despite the promise of new ownership for Prospect’s Connecticut hospitals, the formerly private equity-backed operator will leave a lasting imprint on the state’s hospital system — perhaps most notably in the erosion of services at Rockville General.

When Prospect acquired Eastern Connecticut Health Network, which includes Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals, both facilities were full-service acute care hospitals. Today, Rockville — which serves a geographic region that’s largely rural — functions as a satellite campus of Manchester, with only an emergency room and behavioral health unit.

A spokesperson for Prospect did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

Rep. Tammy Nuccio, R-Tolland, lays the blame for the diminishment of the hospital directly with the state.

“That’s OHS’s failure,” Nuccio said. “They allowed this to happen.”

A 2023 investigation by The Connecticut Mirror found that Prospect began cutting services during the early days of the pandemic, eventually shuttering most of Rockville’s inpatient units without obtaining the required state approvals. Records and employee testimony submitted to the state show that officials were aware of the unauthorized cuts going back as far as 2021.

In February 2022, OHS fined Prospect for some of the service cuts at Rockville, but the operator appealed the penalty. The agency ultimately found it did not have substantial evidence to penalize Prospect, and waived the fine.

In October 2024, OHS launched another investigation into the service cuts. In May of this year, Connecticut officials reached a settlement with Prospect Medical Holdings. OHS fined the operator $300,000, but the agreement also allowed Prospect to shutter all services at Rockville aside from the emergency room and behavioral health, officially making the facility a satellite campus of Manchester.

At the time, then-OHS commissioner Deidre Gifford issued a statement saying the agreement “protects critical resources” for patients and families in the area.

“The agreement also holds the Prospect applicants accountable to the community, requiring public notice of past terminations and development of a strategic plan for the consolidated hospital. The plan must be developed with community input and presented to the community in a public forum,” Gifford’s statement read.

Hartford HealthCare has said as of now they don’t expect service cuts at either Manchester or Rockville. But Nuccio said she’s suspicious based on the company’s history with Windham Hospital, which HHC acquired in 2009.

In 2015, Hartford HealthCare announced the conversion of Windham’s critical care unit to what’s known as a progressive care unit, which can’t handle the same complexity of care. Most recently, the company received strong pushback from the local community over the system’s decision to shutter Windham’s labor and delivery unit, which stopped performing births in 2020.

During the hearing on Tuesday, executives with HHC stated that the system improves the quality of care at all of the hospitals that join its system and that they are proud of the work done with former acquisitions. The company’s certificate of need application states that HHC invested hundreds of millions of dollars in facilities it acquired in the past, resulting in drastically improved quality of care for patients.

Tina Varona, a spokesperson for Hartford HealthCare, declined to make Flaks available for an interview after he testified in Tuesday’s hearing, saying he had to leave immediately.

“We are unable to comment outside of the testimony at this time due to the NDA and pending regulatory review,” Varona stated in an email follow-up after the hearing.

Following Tuesday’s hearing, Attorney General William Tong issued a statement saying he expected Hartford HealthCare to maintain services, including labor and delivery, intensive care and behavioral health. But he called on OHS to hold Hartford HealthCare to its promises.

“Expectations must be matched by accountability: Absent other legal impediments, I would urge the Office of Health Strategy to seek firm commitments to continue these vital services,” Tong said.

Vernon mayor Dan Champagne shared Nuccio’s sentiments in holding the state accountable for what happened to Rockville Hospital, particularly for how long officials took to approve the failed 2022 deal with Yale. But, he said, he’s grateful Rockville has not suffered the same fate as Prospect hospitals in Pennsylvania, which had to close because they couldn’t find a viable buyer.

Champagne said he understands skepticism of what an acquisition by a big hospital system could mean for Manchester and Rockville. But for him, Hartford HealthCare’s bid will guard against the most damaging result: closure of the hospitals and the flight of medical professionals from the communities.

“There are a lot of people who say, ‘big systems can sometimes lead to increased prices or closure of services,’” Champagne said. “We need to go back to what we’re facing here. I’m watching other hospital systems close from Prospect. We have an opportunity to keep this open. That’s the most important thing.”

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Connecticut

Connecticut police warn parents about new e-bike laws ahead of holiday shopping

Published

2 days ago

November 19, 2025

Press Room

Connecticut police warn parents about new e-bike laws ahead of holiday shopping

HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) – As e-bikes top many teenagers’ holiday wish lists, Connecticut police are reminding parents about new state laws that went into effect October 1 that classify some models as motor vehicles requiring a driver’s license.

More than a million e-bikes were sold in the United States last year, and the devices continue growing in popularity among teenagers and older adults who want to stay active.

“So many kids are buying e-bikes or getting them as gifts, and they can be very powerful,” Chief Joshua Bernegger of the Watertown Police Department said.

The new Connecticut law creates three different classes of e-bikes based on speed and power. All riders must wear helmets regardless of the class.

If the e-bike’s motor is less than 750 watts, there is no age restriction and riders only need to wear a helmet. However, if the motor is 750 watts or more, Connecticut no longer considers it an e-bike but classifies it as a “motor driven cycle.” These require riders to be at least 16 years old and have a driver’s license.

E-bikes with top speeds exceeding 28 miles per hour are not classified as e-bikes under state law.

Bernegger said the new laws address rising safety concerns about e-bike accidents.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of serious accidents in CT over the past year,” Bernegger said. “The number of fatal accidents involving bicycles has risen more than 300% over the prior year, and our emergency rooms are seeing dramatic increase in significant injuries for children and adolescents riding e-bikes.”

The police chief said some e-bikes may be too powerful for young teenagers to handle safely.

“It’s often more of a bike than a young teen, 13, 14, 15-years-old can really handle,” Bernegger said.

Eric Otero, lead salesman at Bikers Edge in Bristol, said e-bikes have transformed his sales floor in recent years.

“Teenagers are kind of taking over the streets on them,” Otero said. “I get calls everyday about them.”

Otero said he sells a couple e-bikes each week, usually to teenagers eager to ride on city streets.

Bernegger advised parents to research their purchases carefully, especially when buying online.

“It’s often more of a bike than a young teen, 13, 14, 15 years old, can really handle,” Bernegger said.

The new law includes specific penalties for violations. Riding without a helmet results in a $90 fine. Riding a modified e-bike costs $100. Riding a motor driven cycle under age 16 or without a driver’s license can result in the bike being impounded.

Otero advised parents to act quickly if they plan to purchase an e-bike for the holidays.

“I’d call now because they’re going faster than you think,” Otero said.

As e-bikes top many teenagers’ holiday wish lists, Connecticut police are reminding parents about new state laws that went into effect October 1.

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