The cause of an early morning Park Avenue fire that sent two people to the hospital Saturday seems to be a stove in the house that was left on, the city’s fire marshal said Monday.
Fire Marshal Phil Hawks said the probe into the fire, at 127 Park Ave., is not yet complete, but that it’s “more than likely” the fire will be ruled accidental.
The two people hospitalized have since been released.
Hawks and his deputies are also looking into whether the residence had smoke detectors.
There were smoke detectors on the unoccupied second floor of the home which were not working at the time, but Hawks said that’s a “moot issue” because it was vacant. He said officials have not yet figured out whether there were working smoke detectors in the inhabited part of the house.
State law mandates smoke detectors in most residential buildings — and all multi-family homes.
The blaze sent the two people who were inside the home at the time to the hospital.
Hawks said they have since been treated and released and that he and his deputies hope to interview them Tuesday.
Fire officials regularly inspect buildings of three families and above to make sure they have smoke detectors, but not smaller dwellings.
“The only time we would go into a one- or two-family is if we got a complaint,” Hawks said.
The fire was reported just before 4 a.m. Saturday.
Arriving firefighters were greeted with heavy smoke coming from the residence and flames shooting out the first-floor side windows.
Smoke and fire damage was visible from the exterior of the house Monday.
One person escaped through a first-floor window while the other made it out through a door.
The bulk of the fire was contained to the first floor, though the damage was extensive enough to make the house uninhabitable.
Fire and EMS from Shelton responded to the scene, along with Ansonia ambulance. A Seymour ambulance was put on standby at Tri-Town Plaza in Seymour to cover any additional calls for service.
