No one was injured in the fire, which broke out around 2 p.m. in the complex at 333 Vincellette St., in the North End.

More than half of the 19 units were gutted, said provisional Fire Chief Brian Rooney. He and residents estimated there were 160 units in the complex.

"All the upper floors have been pretty well destroyed," Rooney said.

Firefighters were surveying the lower floors Monday afternoon, but none were inhabitable because utilities had been shut off, Rooney said.

The fire may have started in a second-floor unit, Rooney said, because it was the most heavily damaged.

The cause is under investigation. Investigators declined to say whether the fire appeared suspicious.

The residents later gathered in the clubhouse of nearby Ameridge condominiums, where they told their stories.

Jon Mariani, a friend of resident Ellen Campbell, said he saw a cloud of black smoke rolling toward the condos.

"I thought it was a thunder storm rolling in," he said. "It looked like a jet plane had dropped into the complex," Campbell added.

People of all ages and races were forced from their homes, mostly ranch-style units made of brick and wood. Sacred Heart University students also lived there.

Most residents' possessions were reduced to the clothes on their backs.

"Mine's gone. There's nothing left," said Julia Meza, a resident for seven years. "No roof, some walls. I can see the frames of my patio furniture."

"My Christmas ornaments are gone. I'm a big Christmas person," she added.

She was going to stay with her daughter, Christine Reister of Milford.

Judy Provenzano sped from her job, a few minutes away from her condo, after getting a call from family.

"Just smoke and flames, that's all I saw," she said.

The fire could be seen from Stratford, said Carmen Sanchez, a teenaged resident.

"Everything's toasted from what I could see," he said.

His friend, Matt Campbell, said he was on the Route 25/8 Connector and saw the fire.

"I saw big piles of dark smoke," he said.

Ellen Campbell, who is Matt Campbell's mother and is disabled, called the experience spiritual. She said she hadn't left her home in about a month, but had a doctor's appointment shortly before the fire broke out.

When she got there, Campbell found it had been canceled and no one had notified her, she said.

When she returned home, she saw the blaze.

"I wasn't gone more than half an hour and it was fully engulfed," Campbell said.

Added Mariani: "People who were usually home at the time of the fire were gone."

One man was reportedly sleeping during the fire, when a phone call awakened him and he fled his unit.

Ralph McAden, a resident of four years and a member of the condo association, said his unit was spared.

He was glad no one was hurt.

"We all need each other now more than ever," he said. "This brings out the best in people, no question about it."

About 2 hours after the blaze, residents gathered in the clubhouse, where the Southeastern Fairfield County chapter of the American Red Cross stocked cold cuts, cheese, bread and soda, while volunteers helped displaced residents get emergency supplies.

Many found shelter with friends, Rooney said Monday evening.

Some distraught residents talked on cell phones while others tearfully consoled each other.

Mayor John M. Fabrizi, City Councilman Thomas McCarthy, D-133, and Bishop T. Walter Plummer, the Fire Department chaplain, addressed the residents.

"I haven't lost my home, but I can understand it's a very traumatic experience," Fabrizi said.

Before the meeting, Fabrizi said Coachlight Square is one of the older condo complexes in the city, built in the 1960s.

In addition to the Coachlight residents, the Red Cross helped nine residents earlier Monday when a fire erupted in the third floor of 256 Villa Ave. at 4:59 a.m.

To donate to the Southeastern Fairfield County chapter of the American Red Cross, call 576-1010.

Aaron Leo, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6222.