Fire displaces family

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A fire at this condo complex Monday at 833 Rubber Ave. in Naugatuck displaced a family. Nobody was injured. -CONTRIBUTED
A fire at this condo complex Monday at 833 Rubber Ave. in Naugatuck displaced a family. Nobody was injured. -CONTRIBUTED

NAUGATUCK — A family of three was displaced after a fire broke out early Monday in the condominium unit they rent and caused extensive damage.

The Naugatuck Fire Department received a call at 1:14 a.m. of a structure fire in the Orchard Hill condominium complex at 883 Rubber Ave. Upon arrival, firefighters from Naugatuck and Waterbury saw flames and heavy smoke from unit 6-A, Fire Chief Ken Hanks said.

He said Frank and Ashley Bombardier and their teenage daughter, who live in the condo, were outside the unit when firefighters arrived. Firefighters then banged on the doors of abutting units to get them out, he said. Nobody was injured.

“We had an issue with some people having a lot of smoke detectors missing, and so some people were not aware,” he said. “That’s an issue we will have to work out.”

Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames, which began as a grease fire on a stove top on the first floor at unit 6-A, Hanks said. That condo unit sustained significant smoke and fire damage and was deemed uninhabitable. Another condo unit above where the fire started that is vacant and for sale also sustained damage, Hanks said.

Hanks said an adult couple living upstairs will also have to vacate the condo they live in briefly because of smoke damage in the unit. Those displaced were receiving help from the American Red Cross on Monday, Hanks said.

Firefighters from Waterbury were called to help fight the fire. Hanks said they were called because the fire had the potential to spread quickly. Volunteer firefighters from Beacon Falls stood watch over the Naugatuck headquarters during the call.

Acting Deputy Fire Marshal William Scanlon said the fire has been classified as accidental.

Scanlon was not sure when the residents of unit 6-A would be able to return to their home because the fire damage was so extensive in the kitchen. The condo above the fire will be investigated for the amount of smoke damage it sustained before the couple living there is allowed to return, he said.

Luke Marshall contributed to this article.