Residents Jump Out Window To Escape House Fire In Seymour

Two people had to jump out a bedroom window to escape a raging fire in their home Thursday morning.

The fire was reported at 4:20 a.m., according to Seymour Deputy Fire Marshal Timm Willis.

Heavy flames and thick smoke were seen by the first emergency units on the scene.

The house is at 6 Colony Street Ext. and is owned by the Digiovanni family.

Mike DiGiovanni said at the scene that he had gotten up to use the bathroom a few minutes before 4 a.m. and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

But minutes later, he and his wife were woken up by one of the family cats making noise, and the living room engulfed in flames.

The cat made more noise than the smoke alarm did,” DiGiovanni said.

Both my wife and I had to go out through the window,” DiGiovanni said. The hallway was just total smoke.”

They were able to jump out and land in some bushes below. Mike’s son, Bryan, who lives in a separate apartment at the house, was able to get out without injury.

It was a hell of a way to wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning,” Bryan DiGiovanni said.

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Mike DiGiovanni said the cat that alerted them to the fire died in the blaze. A second family cat is missing, he said (fire officials said earlier Thursday both cats passed away).

The fire started in the living room, but the damage was so extensive Willis said he is not able to determine a cause.

He said about five rooms in the house sustained fire, smoke and water damage.

The house in uninhabitable,” Willis said. 

Firefighters were on the scene for at least four hours.

The main body of fire was put out in about 10 minutes.

Willis estimated the damage to the house at $250,000.

This is one of the nastier fires we’ve had in awhile,” Willis said.

Oxford firefighters were called in for mutual aid.

No firefighters were injured.

Mike DiGiovanni said he has insurance on the house, which has been in his family since it was built in 1955.

He said he plans to repair the damage, which he credited Seymour firefighters with limiting.

For a volunteer fire department getting a call at four in the morning, they got here pretty quick,” DiGiovanni said.

With reporting from Ethan Fry.

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