Jeremy Smith arrived home from work at about 8 p.m. Thursday to see flames shooting out of his attic apartment at 44 Emmett Ave.
He ran inside the house and made sure an elderly tenant got out before it was too late. He was successful. Then he tried to grab some belongings. No luck.
“I tried to go upstairs, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t make it up there. It was all on fire,” said Smith, a Derby native who moved into the apartment about a year ago.
As of 8:30 p.m., Derby fire officials said there were no injuries. The fire marshal’s office is investigating.
All of Smith’s belongings, however, were badly damaged. Firefighters hauled piles of damaged furniture and other items from the second floor.
Fire Chief James Butler said firefighters were able to quickly knock the fire down before it spread to other parts of the home. Thursday is traditionally a meeting or training night for Derby Fire Department, so plenty of firefighters were able to get inside the home in a matter of moments.
They used a ladder truck to gain access into the attic. The house is near Emmett’s intersection with Eleventh Street.
It wasn’t immediately clear what triggered the blaze.
However, Smith said fire officials believed it may have been electrical.
“I had an old fan in the window to try to keep the heat out,” Smith said.
Smith, his eyes bloodshot from smoke, was planning to stay with relatives Thursday night.
