It appears he was stricken sometime after he began cooking his supper, said Assistant Fire Chief Robert Petrucelli.

The name of the deceased man was not available Saturday night.

It appears the man may have suffered a fatal heart attack several hours, if not a day earlier. The food had been simmering on low heat.

Some 40 firefighters and eight pieces of equipment responded to the alarm at 11:29 p.m. Friday.

The three-story building houses about 78 low-income elderly residents, according to Joseph McAleer, a spokesman for the Diocese of Bridgeport which owns the building. Inside Apartment 309, firefighters discovered the dead man. They also found a charred pot, once containing food, still simmering on the stove. A section of the wall behind the stove was charred and several nearby plastic containers melted, according to Petrucelli. The smoke set off the alarm which alerted the residents to leave their apartments, Petrucelli said. When we got there most of them were in the community room, he said. The fire also set off a sprinkler system. The resulting water caused slight damage to five apartments, McAleer said. Everything [in the building's safety system] worked as it should have, he said. Unfortunately, there was a tragedy and our condolences go out to the family. Petrucelli also credited the building's safety features which helped avert a more serious situation from occurring. McAleer said a cleaning service and an electrician worked on the damaged apartments Saturday. Hopefully everyone will be back in their homes by Monday, he said. The building is one of nine Bishop Curtis Homes in Fairfield County and one of three in Bridgeport. The nine provide about 600 apartments to low-income residents who are 62 or older. Recall for the fire was at 11:56 p.m. Friday.