Woman Dead, Man Critical, After Danbury House Fire

DANBURY, CT — A woman is dead and a man is in critical condition following a house fire at 29 Ninth Avenue early Sunday morning.

The Danbury Fire Department answered the call of a smoke detector activation just after midnight. The firefighters received a second report, about an odor of smoke, while on their way to the two story multi-family dwelling which sits across from Western Connecticut State University's midtown campus.

First responders found smoky conditions and a smoldering fire in an apartment on the first floor, as conditions "escalated to a working fire," according to a report on social media. Additional firefighters, Danbury police, representatives from the Fire Marshal's Office and paramedics from Danbury Hospital were summoned to the scene. Crews quickly extinguished the fire.

Firefighters conducted a search of the three apartments and rescued a man and woman in their 30s. Both were taken to Danbury Hospital. The man is in critical condition, and the woman succumbed to her injuries at the hospital, according to the report.

The cause of the fire is unknown, and is under investigation by the Fire Marshal's Office.