A faulty bathroom exhaust fan started a fire that burned through the roof of a downtown Ansonia building late Tuesday before firefighters arrived to snuff out the flames.
A resident of the building and an Ansonia firefighter sustained minor injuries in the blaze, which was reported about 11:20 p.m. Tuesday at 47 – 53 Bridge St., between Main Street and West Main Street.
The building houses two ground-floor retail spots, including “The House of God” church at 47 Bridge St, as well as two apartments on the upper floors, Fire Marshal Ralph Tingley said Wednesday.
A crew from nearby Ansonia Rescue Medical Services got three people out of two apartments before firefighters arrived to put out the flames.
Patrons were also cleared from JRB’s, a bar-restaurant, according to social media reports.
Tingley said an exhaust fan in the bathroom of one of the apartments failed and started a fire that spread through the ceiling.
“The fire actually burned through the roof,” Tingley said. “The first call we got was from a neighbor in one of the adjacent buildings who saw it on the roof.”
About 30 firefighters responded and made quick work of the flames, Tingley said — once they were able to pinpoint where the blaze began.
“We didn’t know what the extent of it was (at first),” Tingley said. “We didn’t know where the fire had actually started at that point.”
“The guys did a good job of getting in there and finding it and getting it knocked down really quick,” the fire marshal said.
The building was bought by Woodbridge developer Jerry Nocerino and his business partner, accountant Charles Smith, in July for $210,000, according to city property records.
The man who lived in the apartment where the fire began sustained a “very, very slight burn,” Tingley said, and a firefighter was taken to Griffin Hospital to get stitches for a minor cut sustained while fighting the blaze.
The residents of the apartments in the building stayed at a hotel Tuesday night, Tingley said. He said the building’s owners will have to repair damage to the apartment where the fire started to make it habitable again, as well as check the wiring and gas lines in the adjacent apartment.
The fire’s cause has been ruled accidental, he said.
Firefighters from Derby assisted.
Click here to see pictures on the Ansonia Fire Department’s Facebook page.
