CT officials warn of blocking hydrants after firefighters smash out car windows to battle house fire

Meriden city officials are reminding residents not to park in front of fire hydrants after firefighters were forced to break through the windows of a minivan while responding to a house fire on Wednesday night.

Firefighters responded to a blaze at a multi-family home on Randolph Street just before midnight Wednesday and found that the closest fire hydrant was blocked by a parked minivan, according to the Meriden City Manager’s Office.

The department had to break the vehicle’s windows to run the hose through the van. The city said this was the second time in six months that firefighters’ access to a hydrant was blocked.

“This fire is a reminder to folks of what can happen when you decide to park in front of a fire hydrant,” the city manager’s office said in a statement Thursday.

In the state of Connecticut, it is illegal to park within 10 feet of a hydrant.

Seven people were displaced by the fire, but no one was injured, officials said.

Investigators found that the blaze was started accidentally by a pillow sitting atop an electric baseboard, officials said.