HAMDEN, Conn. (AP) — A fire broke out on the third floor of an apartment building in Hamden, killing a person and displacing several dozen people.
Firefighters from three towns battled the blaze which began in an just before 9 p.m. and spread to the roof of the building at Kaye Vue Plaza.
Fire officials said they found Cherie Adamczyk, 56, in the apartment where the fire began. Adamczyk was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital and later pronounced dead.
A 21-year-old man also was pulled by firefighters from the third floor and was treated for minor smoke inhalation, authorities said.
Abdoulaye Jobe told WVIT-TV that he was in the shower when the fire broke out.
“I finally got the courage to open the door, and I heard one of the firefighters in the hallway yelling out for people, so I started yelling out for him and he said, ‘Come find me,'” Jobe told the television station. “I look around and I can’t see anything, but he had a light, and I saw the light and reached out for him. And he grabbed me, got me out of there, saved my life.”
Officials said that the fire damage was contained to the third floor and roof, but that other apartments suffered water damage and nine apartments were declared uninhabitable.
The Red Cross was assisting nearly 40 residents in finding shelter.
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