1 Dead, 4 Injured In Connecticut Fire After Woman Throws Flaming Sanitizer At Girlfriend

KEY POINTS

Waite, 28, threw a flaming hand sanitizer at her girlfriend
It led to a fire that spread through the five-story apartment building
1 was killed, Kyser, 50
4, two adults and two children were critically injured
Waite was charged with arson, murder and 4 counts of first-degree assault

A Connecticut woman threw a flaming hand sanitizer at her girlfriend during a fight and caused a fire which killed one person and critically injured four others on Monday.

Destiny Waite, 28, and her girlfriend were involved in a "domestic verbal and physical altercation" in their second-floor apartment where Waite threw a hand sanitizer which was lit on fire at her girlfriend and the fire that followed spread all throughout the 68-unit, five-story building, NBC News reported.

Around 1:22 AM, the Hartford Fire Department received a report to a fire in the area and Assistant Fire Chief Rodney Barco reported seeing the residents "hanging out the windows".

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The blaze was raised to a 2-alarm by 1:25 AM and was later elevated to a 3-alarm fire, prompting every company in the department to respond.

Fire officials found it difficult to repel the fire due to flames jumping from the windows, the heavy smoke, the structure and shape of the building and the occurence of another fire in the city which made the department split their resources.

Multiple people were trapped inside the building that kept burning until after 5 AM, NBC Connecticut reported.

More than 45 people were rescued and 30 of them were taken to hospitals with four people, two adults and two children, critically injured and two of them had to be airlifted to a hospital.

The injured victims all suffered from smoke inhalation but were all reported to be in stable condition on Monday.

Firefighters searched the building twice after they believed to have rescued everyone and found the body of resident, Jerome Kyser, 50, on the second floor whose death was ruled as a homicide due to smoke inhalation.

Barco reported that some firefighters suffered minor injuries such as a sprained ankle and a strained back.

Waite was charged with murder, arson and four counts of first-degree assault.

The suspect's girlfriend was not injured and cooperated with the police and gave them information for them to arrest Waite, Hartford police Lt. Paul Cicero said.

Waite appeared in court on Monday and was ordered to be held in custody on a $1 million bond.

The suspect's lawyer said that Waite wasn't present in the building when the fire started and claimed that the girlfriend was harming herself and was looking to frame Waite.