Fire Displaces Shelton Family

A Division Avenue family was displaced after a fire at their home Tuesday evening. Luckily, no one was injured in the blaze.

Fire Marshal James Tortora said Wednesday that firefighters were dispatched about 5:52 p.m. Tuesday to 221 Division Ave. on a report of a fire.

Upon arrival, Tortora said, firefighters were notified of a fire in a bedroom on the home’s third floor.

They extinguished the flames within 15 minutes, Tortora said, adding that the third floor of the house sustained extensive” smoke and heat damage, and that the home’s first and second floors sustained water damage.

The house was uninhabitable as a result of the fire, Tortora said. The Red Cross assisted the people with temporary housing.

Tortora said the cause of the blaze was traced to a power strip near a computer workstation which malfunctioned and ignited a nearby wastebasket.

The fire marshal said that three fire engines and a rescue truck, about 35 to 40 personnel, responded to the blaze. Firefighters cleared the scene about 7:30 p.m., Tortora said, and officials with the fire marshal’s office left about an hour later.

Earlier Tuesday, firefighters responded to the scene of a downed wire near the intersection of Progress and Corporate drives just before 3 p.m.

That incident, which a UI spokesperson described as a standard” downed wire, knocked out power to 48 customers, though emergency crews were only on the scene for a few minutes.

Power was lost at several of the nearby Corporate Towers. Some offices sent employees home early.

United Illuminating crews restored power to the area by about 5:30 p.m.

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