A New Year’s Day fire gutted the top floor of a two-family Ansonia home.
There were no injuries.
The fire began about 1 p.m. Jan. 1, Ansonia Fire Marshal Ralph Tingley said Monday.
Two people were inside the house — 55 Burke St. — at the time, but Tingley said neighbors alerted them to the blaze and they managed to escape.
About 40 firefighters from Ansonia and Derby responded to find the top floor of the home at the end of the dead-end street engulfed in flames.
Strong winds fanned the fire, putting them on the defensive.
“The guys had to back out because the roof collapsed fairly early on during the fire,” Tingley said.
Six people lived in the home, which is now uninhabitable, and are staying with relatives, the fire marshal said.
Tingley said the blaze began with a malfunctioning power strip in a third-floor bedroom at the front of the home.
“It basically just wiped out that entire bedroom and the roof structure in that area” before the fire was knocked down, he said.
“The guys did a great job considering the amount of fire we had,” Tingley said.
