By Wes Duplantier
The New Haven Register
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A city firefighter was hurt and the Red Cross was being called in to help displaced residents after a two-alarm fire tore through part of a New Haven apartment building.
The fire at 202 Sherman Ave. initially displaced people from 10 units. Part of Sherman Avenue was also shut down for hours as crews put out the flames, cleaned up and investigated.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at about 11:45 a.m. after someone reported heavy black smoke pouring out of the brick building near the intersection with Edgewood Avenue. As crews arrived, Sherman Avenue was shut down between Chapel and Maple streets.
Carlos Albert, who lives in the apartment next door, said that when he saw the fire, flames were shooting out of a window and he knew he to get out of the building.
“I wasn’t sure if it was going to explode or what,” he said. “I was scared. Then an air-conditioning unit fell out, and that’s when the fire really blazed up.”
Albert said the Fire Department was on the scene within a few minutes and Fire Operations Chief Matthew Marcarelli said crews were able to quickly stretch out an attack hose and knock the fire down.
Marcarelli said firefighters spent most of their time searching the building to make sure no one was trapped inside. No people were trapped, though a dog was safely taken out of the building after the fire was out. It could be heard barking as crews cleared up the scene and probed the cause of the blaze.
Crews on scene struck a second alarm in part because of the risk the heat posed to firefighters and also because of the size of the building.
He said the injured firefighter was being evaluated after becoming fatigued at the scene.
“Firefighting is a very strenuous job,” he said. “We had a lot of ladders to throw up [and] working on the truck company is very stressful work, so he was overcome by the heat.”
Marcarelli said heat-related injuries and illness are a concern as the summer months approach. The average firefighter is wearing about 100 pounds of gear and breathing apparatus before going into the flames.
“Their heart’s already beating pretty fast when they get here,” Marcarelli said. “They’re all geared up in their protective clothing, and then they have to go work once they get here.”
The cause of the apartment fire remained under investigation early Tuesday afternoon. Anyone with information about what happened can reach the fire marshal’s office at 203-946-6232.
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