A fire broke out at a two-story condominium on Folkstone Road in the Broad Brook village of East Windsor Wednesday afternoon, sending firefighters into heavy smoke and flames pouring from the first floor before crews knocked down the main blaze in about five minutes. No injuries were reported, though smoke spread into three neighboring units in the process.
Crews Arrived to Heavy Smoke and Flames
Crews responded to the condominium building around 3:55 p.m. Wednesday, according to Broad Brook Fire Chief Gerald Bancroft, as reported by CT Insider. Bancroft said the first arriving crews found heavy smoke and fire coming from the first floors of the unit. The condo sits within Scantic Glen, a multi-family townhouse community of two-story frame townhomes with vinyl siding, gas fireplaces, and shared-wall construction, according to listings on Realtor.com.
Firefighters knocked down the main body of the fire within about five minutes of arriving, the station's report notes. They then discovered additional fire burning in the basement of the condominium unit and extinguished it as well. Smoke was found in three other condominium units beyond the one where the fire started, though the physical fire damage stayed contained to the basement and first floor of the original unit.
Fire Declared Under Control Within Half an Hour
Bancroft said the fire was declared under control about 30 minutes after firefighters arrived on scene, per the same account. Crews remained at the complex afterward to check for hot spots, and no injuries from the fire were reported. Bancroft took command of the Broad Brook Fire Department in February 2025, succeeding longtime chief Thomas Arcari, who retired after 12 years in the role, according to Connecticut House Democrats; Bancroft had previously served as assistant chief within the department.
Broad Brook Fire Department held primary response jurisdiction for the Folkstone Road call because East Windsor is divided by municipal ordinance into two distinct fire service areas, with Broad Brook covering the Broad Brook section and the majority of town territory while the Warehouse Point Fire District covers its own separate zone, according to the Town of East Windsor. The town levies separate fire district taxes and maintains distinct territorial boundaries for coverage. Tolland County Mutual Aid Fire Service Inc. provides 911 services to sixteen towns, according to the East Windsor Ambulance Association.
Cause Still Under Investigation
Local and state fire marshals are investigating the cause of the fire, alongside East Windsor police detectives, CT Insider reports.
Broad Brook has seen serious multi-family fires before. In March 2022, firefighters responded to a fire on Church Street in Broad Brook where heavy smoke and wind-driven flames in a multi-family structure resulted in one fatality, according to Patch. Broad Brook is a section of East Windsor.
