Two people were sent to Griffin Hospital after a fire in a second-story apartment at 130 Main St. Friday.
Their names and the extent of their injuries were not known, but firefighters noted both people — a man and a woman —were conscious and alert immediately after the fire.
The man is disabled and uses a wheelchair.
A nearby merchant said the couple appeared fine and that they went to the hospital as a precaution.
Penny Marganski, a hair stylist at Capelli’s Salon at 131 Main St. said she was getting ready to close up the shop about 7 p.m. when she saw smoke across the street, above Main Street Liquors Imperial Liquors.
Marganski ran to the deli next door and spotted the woman who lives in the building that was burning across the street.
“I said ‘I think your apartment is on fire.’”
The woman, shocked, ran across the street toward the smoke and into the building.
“She ran out yelling that her husband is paralyzed and he’s inside,” Marganski said.
Sam Ghalayini owns Main Street Grocery and Deli at 127 Main St.
“I dialed 911 and the fire department was here before the phone connected. That’s how fast Derby responded,” Ghalayini said.
“It looked very bad. Black smoke was coming out of that apartment, through those windows,” he said.
Story continues after the photo gallery below.
Derby Fire Chief Thomas Lenart, Jr. said his department received a 911 call at 7:08 p.m. from the man inside 130 Main St. saying he was trapped and that there was a fire and smoke in the hallway. Derby police spotted the fire at roughly the same time.
Click the play button on the audio clip below to hear an interview with Lenart.
There are three small apartments on the second story of 130 Main St. The fire was in a front apartment, which is thought to be vacant.
The man was in the apartment next door, toward the rear of the building.
Lenart said police officers and firefighters were able to escort the man and the woman out of the building.
“The fire was knocked down within five to 10 minutes,” Lenart said.
Firefighters then had to check apartments in the building next door to make sure no one else was inside and that flames had not spread through the wall or into an attic.
The liquor store on the first floor sustained some water damage, but the extent wasn’t known. A small dog made it out of the fire, too.
The Derby Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause and origin.
