Nobody Injured in Quechee Condo Fire; Man Charged

Quechee — A 27-year-old Quechee man was arrested and cited into court on Monday after he allegedly hindered fire officials’ efforts to extinguish a fire at his residence and got into a “brief struggle” with a law enforcement officer, authorities said.

Hartford Police Sgt. Jay Pedro said Ryan Selen got into a verbal argument with a neighbor and firefighters when they responded to a two-alarm fire in the basement of his parents’ Quechee Lakes condo on Monday morning.

When Pedro tried to escort him out of the area, “we got into a brief struggle,” Pedro said on Monday.

Selen was handcuffed and processed at the Hartford Police Department before being cited into court at a later date on resisting arrest and disorderly conduct charges. A charge of impeding public officers may be forthcoming, Pedro said. 

Selen was released on his own personal recognizance.

The blaze caused smoke and fire damage to the condo unit off Murphys Road in Landmark Village, Hartford Fire Chief Scott Cooney said. 

The homeowners were home at the time of the fire and were uninjured. Their unit won’t be habitable until it can be renovated, he said.

The fire is believed to have started in the basement, but the cause remains under investigation.

Three other units have had their power shut off in the meantime.

Fire departments from Hartford, Hanover, Lebanon, Woodstock and Plainfield responded to the 911 call, which came in from a neighbor around 9:45 a.m.