Tom Cleary, Staff Writer
Updated 10:13 p.m., Thursday, April 21, 2011
BRIDGEPORT -- The American Red Cross is providing aid Wednesday to 23 residents -- 15 adults and 8 children -- after an early morning blaze on Arctic Street Tuesday.
The residents of a three-story apartment building awoke just before 5:30 a.m. to heavy smoke and a raging fire on the back porch, reaching from the ground floor to the sky. Although the fire destroyed the building, and damaged a neighboring house, no one was seriously injured. One resident suffered minor burns, the fire department said.
The six-family home is located at Arctic and Helen streets. Another family was displaced from a neighboring home that had its siding melted off by flames.
Red Cross spokesman Paul Shipman said the organization is providing temporary lodging and financial assistance for emergency clothing and food needs. Shipman said the displaced residents are given comfort kits, which include age and gender appropriate personal care items -- toothbrushes, deodarant and shaving supplies -- along with other items families may not have been able to grab while escaping from the blaze. Children's kits include a stuffed animal and a toy. The kits are provided with no charge through donations.
Shipman said the Red Cross responded to the fire and provided a canteen for the emergency workers and worked with the displaced families.
Bridgeport Fire Capt. Kyle Gardiner said firefighters responded to a fully involved fire at 807 Arctic St. just before 5:30 a.m. after Bridgeport police officers spotted the blaze and notified the fire department.
Gardiner said firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and fire engulfing the rear porch of the wood building from the first floor through the third floor. The detached garage was also burning.
Police officers told the arriving firefighters that the building was evacuated and Gardiner said that was confirmed. But, he said, once they began fighting the fire they were told a woman may have been in her apartment located inside the garage. Firefighters checked the garage and no one was found inside.
"Everyone was safe, no one was hurt," Gardiner said.
"The bulk of the fire was in the exterior, but the cause of the fire is under investigation."
A resident of the house described a chaotic scene as she and more than a dozen other residents fled the six-family house.
"When we was coming out the house, the flames was right there, and the old lady was trying to get out the house and people trampling over her it was ridiculous," said Monique Graves of Bridgeport.
Gardiner said the fire marshal is investigating fire's causes. But apartment residents are already coming up with theories.
"The plugs was sparking and they didn't catch it, so the outlets was sparking and I guess water was dripping from the ceiling and buckets of paint and stuff," Graves said.
The residents of the building said they lost their home and barely escaped with the clothes on their backs. Now they are trying to figure out what to do next.
"That's the real question that we all got to ask ourselves," said resident Andres Nunez.
"What are we going to do now? `Cause I've got nothing and now we definitely don't have nothing."
During the blaze, mutual aid was sent from Fairfield and Stratford to Bridgeport stations as cover for the units at Arctic Street.
Units remained on the scene past 10 a.m.
WTNH News 8's Kent Pierce contributed to this report.
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