Radio to blame for Hopkinton fire

HOPKINTON, R.I. (WPRI) - Firefighters say a radio caused Monday night's fire in Hopkinton that sent over two dozen people to the hospital. Officials say the fire inside a first floor apartment at Canochet Cliffs was giving off hydrogen cyanide.

Several firefighters were overcome because they were not wearing proper breathing equipment. About 20 of them, along with eight residents and three EMTs were taken to area hospitals. Over 40 rescue vehicles from across Rhode Island responded to the apartment complex to transport those injured.

Hopkinton's fire chief explains how a radio caused this much trouble.

"The big problem is, an elderly lady had stored a radio inside of her oven and forgot about it. Then she turned her oven on, and that's what created the hazardous condition that we've got here," says Chief Frederick Stanley of the Hope Valley Fire District.

Late Monday night, firefighters told us just about everyone taken to the hospital had been treated and released. One firefighter was kept overnight as a precaution.