A “portable heating appliance” is being blamed for a fatal fire in Waterford early Wednesday morning, according to fire investigators.

One person died and six people were taken to the hospital after a fire that broke out around 3:45 a.m. in a building at 54 Broad St. in Waterford. There were two apartments above Bill’s Card Shaq.

The fire started in the rear bedroom of the second-story apartment. It involved a portable heating appliance, according to the Office of Fire Prevention and Control.

A GoFundMe has been started for one of the families affected by the fire.