One man was taken to Griffin Hospital Thursday after a small fire in the James J. O’Donnell apartments at 63 Woodlawn Ave.
The man’s injuries — an unspecified burn — did not appear life threatening.
The fire was reported at about noon.
The Ansonia Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating the cause and origin as of 12:45 p.m., but a witness said a tenant on the third floor of the four-floor building was smoking a cigarette while wearing a breathing mask attached to an oxygen tank.
A small fire started. The man shut off his oxygen tank. A second person grabbed a fire extinguisher and used it to douse flames.
The O’Donnell apartments are home to many senior citizens with medical conditions. About 40 people live there. It is an Ansonia Housing Authority property. Residents have to be at least 62 years of age to live there.
Smoke and foam from the fire extinguisher filled the third-floor hallway. A police dispatcher received several 911 calls, including from a person who said she was trapped inside her apartment.
Ansonia Fire Department Assistant Chief Michael Eheman said Assistant Chief Ed Adamowski was the first firefighter to arrive at the apartment building.
“He made entry alone because it came in as people trapped. I believe he got one person out. Police were arriving at the same time and also retrieving individuals,” Eheman said.
Jared Heon, chief of Ansonia Rescue Medical Services, said two additional tenants were evaluated but declined to be taken to the hospital.
The tenants from the first, second and fourth apartments were allowed back into their apartments by 1 p.m.
Tenants from the third floor were in a community room within the MonsignorJohn T. Hynes Apartments across Woodlawn Avenue waiting to be allowed back into their apartments.
The fire department cleared the scene at 1:07 p.m.
Ansonia Housing Authority maintenance, along with Servepro, a company that alleviates smoke damage, were inside the building as firefighters left, presumably to make repairs and clean up.
