Firefighters at the scene Wednesday (contributed photo).
SEYMOUR — A candle on the second floor of a Roosevelt Drive home is to blame for a fire Wednesday night that left the home uninhabitable, fire officials said.
No injuries were reported.
Fire Marshal Timothy Willis said firefighters from Seymour, with mutual aid from neighboring Oxford, responded to a report of a fire at a single-family home just before 5 p.m. Wednesday (April 19).
Willis said a fire broke out on the second floor of a single-family house located at 210 Roosevelt Drive.
“There was a very small fire on the second floor of the home at the top of the stairs, in a sitting area, with a desk and a chair,” Willis said. “It was an accidental fire caused by a candle that was left unattended.”
Willis said the home is occupied by two people and two pets — a cat and a dog. One of the homeowners was home at the time of the fire. The other homeowner was just arriving home at the same time firefighters converged on the scene, Willis said.
The resident and the animals were able to get out. The resident inhaled smoke, Willis said, and was evaluated by EMTs on the scene. No firefighters were injured.
Willis said it took about 15 minutes to knock out the fire. Ansonia Fire Department provided coverage to the town during the incident.
While the fire did not spread to other parts of the home, Willis said because of the extreme heat and smoke damage, the home is not habitable.
The Red Cross was on hand to assist the homeowners and helped set them up in a hotel for the time being, according to Willis.
“They will be displaced for quite some time,” Willis said.
Willis said this is the second fire in Seymour in recent months caused by a candle. A two-family home at 149 Pearl St. was left uninhabitable in February due to a candle.
The fire marshal urged residents to keep an eye on candles whenever in use — and to be careful with candles in glass that have burned to the bottom.
