Investigators have pinpointed the origin — but not the cause — of a downtown Derby fire Friday (March 22) that sent two people to the hospital.
Derby Fire Marshal Phil Hawks said Monday (March 25) morning that the fire began in an unoccupied second-floor apartment at 130 Main St., a two-story brick building with a liquor store on the ground floor.
As to what started the blaze, “It’s still under investigation at this point in time,” Hawks said.
A man who lives in another apartment on the second floor of the building was inside the residence when the fire broke out and called 911 at 7:08 p.m.
Derby police spotted the blaze about the same time.
A woman who also lives in the apartment and was across the street at the time the fire broke out was alerted by a stylist from a nearby salon.
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Police officers and firefighters were able to escort the man out of the building soon after arriving on scene. Immediately after the fire, emergency crews said they rescued two people from the building. They later noted the man was the only person in the building.
Still, the man and the woman were both sent to Griffin Hospital after escaping from the apartment. Both were conscious and alert.
Article continues after video from the scene.
Hawks said Monday that both the man and the woman had been discharged from the hospital and had made temporary living arrangements through the Red Cross.
On the building’s first floor, Imperial Liquors owner Dean Odice said his store was open Sunday after he spent Saturday cleaning up water damage and bringing in an electrician to make sure the business was safe.
Odice said firefighters responding to the blaze put a tarp over the store’s cash register and tried to funnel water they used to fight the fire through a hole they cut in the second floor toward the front of his store.
Odice said he had to replace several ceiling tiles where that water came through his ceiling, but otherwise his business was unharmed.
“There was really no smoke or fire in here,” Odice said. “It was just the water. Thank God they were able to knock the fire down quick.”
Derby Building Inspector David Kopjanski said Monday morning he was trying to get in touch with the building’s owner, William Griffin, a Bridgeport resident, and Griffin’s insurance company to determine a course of action.
Hawks and Kopjanski did a cursory inspection of the scene about 11:30 a.m. but couldn’t get inside the burned-out apartment because it was locked.
Hawks wouldn’t say much about the investigation into how Friday’s fire started — he responded to several questions about the probe with “It’s still under investigation” — but credited those who fought the blaze with keeping it from spreading.
The fire was knocked down within five to 10 minutes of crews arriving at the scene, Derby Fire Chief Thomas Lenart Jr. said Friday.
“Firefighters got there quickly and had a quick knockdown of the fire and contained it to the building,” Hawks said.
