Cause Of Fire Not Immediately Identified

A truck that caught fire in the Connecticut state police department's hangar closed down the Hartford-Brainard Airport (HFD) for about an hour Sunday.

About 10:30 am state police employees working at the hangar happened to notice a state police truck was on fire, Lt. J. Paul Vance told the Hartford Courant.

The Hartford fire department was summoned and quickly extinguished the fire, he said. Hartford police department and homeland security also responded.

There have no reports of suspected foul play.

All air traffic was diverted to Bradley International Airport until the fire was under control, Vance said.

The state-owned hangar where the truck was located houses the department's aviation equipment and aircraft as well as police ground vehicles. There was no damage to any aircraft as all were airborne when the fire erupted.

The truck is used to transport equipment to the emergency services unit and sustained an unknown amount of damage, said Vance. There is also some smoke damage to the building and perhaps some equipment as well.

A cause was not immediately identified and the state fire marshal's office will be investigating.

FMI: www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=1380&q=260082, www.ct.gov/dps