Firefighters battle 2-alarm blazes

June 27, 2000

WEST HAVEN — Firefighters battled back-to-back two alarm fires early Monday, the first in a Coleman Street apartment building, the second at a Farwell Street business, officials said.

The first fire destroyed a bedroom in an apartment building at 89 Coleman St. shortly before 3 a.m., officials said. The West Haven Fire Department responded and was at the scene until 6 a.m. No one was injured, officials said. While fire damage was restricted to the bedroom, each of the building’s six units sustained smoke and water damage, officials said. The fire remains under investigation, officials said. The second fire broke out Deitsch Plastics at 14 Farwell St., just after 7:13 a.m., when a chemical air purifier caught fire, officials said. Firefighters including Lt. Mark Ordazzo happened to be at the scene of a minor car accident nearby when the fire broke out, he said. "We were just clearing the accident and I saw smoke coming off the roof," Ordazzo said. The fire was confined to the machine, which investigators believe ignited spontaneously because of improper cleaning, Ordazzo said.

©New Haven Register 2000