The Derby fire marshal is investigating a fire that started within the second floor of a vacant commercial building on Caroline Street.
No injuries were reported. Firefighters were on the scene for a little more than an hour.
Firefighters from Shelton and Ansonia responded in addition to Derby because the four-story building was deemed too dangerous to enter.
The building at 20 – 22 Caroline St. was formerly owned by New England Sheet Metal. It has been vacant for years and was formerly on the city’s blight list.
It is next to Calvert Safe & Lock.
Firefighters arriving there about 6:30 p.m. Monday saw smoke and fire coming from several second-story windows.
They used ladders to access the windows, then put the fire out. It did not spread beyond the room, Derby Fire Department Chief Kurt Kemmesies said.
Firefighters didn’t enter through the front door and walk up the stairs for a reason.
“We’ve looked at this building in the past. We characterize it as a no entry building because most of the floors are rotted through. It hasn’t been maintained in so long it is a hazard,” Kemmesies said.
However, while a crew put out the fire, another crew searched the building to make sure no one was inside.
Firefighters said it looked like someone was living inside the building. Trash and beer cans were found inside, along with foot marks on a kicked-in door.
“The fire was actually a pile of trash just inside a window,” Kemmesies said.
The property was purchased by the city along with neighboring properties as part of the city’s strategy for the downtown redevelopment zone, according to Mayor Anita Dugatto.
