Fire Breaks Out At Senior Housing Facility In Norwalk: FD

NORWALK, CT — A number of elderly residents needed to be rescued after a fire broke out Tuesday night at a senior housing facility in Norwalk, according to fire officials.

In a news release, Deputy Fire Chief Steve Shay said an apartment fire was reported around 5:30 p.m. at a Cedar Street housing facility with two buildings containing 48 apartments in total and a shared common interior hallway.

The fire began in one of the first floor apartments and quickly spread to the hallway siding, which caused heavy smoke to spread to all the apartments on the first and second floors, Shay said.

According to Shay, many elderly residents needed to be rescued from their apartments, approximately seven of which were removed from second floor windows on ladders. Others were rescued using interior stairways.

As firefighters extinguished the blaze, crews quickly searched each apartment and removed residents from the building. They also rescued several pets, Shay said.

Police also banged on doors in the building to alert residents of the fire. Two residents were taken to a hospital while other residents were treated at the scene by emergency medical service officers and released, Shay said.

The building was declared unfit for occupancy and the number of displaced residents is still being counted, according to Shay. The American Red Cross is providing housing for those affected.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Shay said.