There were no injuries reported after a fire in an apartment building on Maple Street Sunday.
Firefighters received a report of a kitchen fire at about 1:15 p.m. in a first-floor unit at 29 Maple St., the former LoPresti School building, which was sold in 2015 and converted into 42 apartments.
A woman setting up an apartment for her mother to move into left cardboard material next to a stove top, which ignited, said Fire Marshal Timm Willis. The fire triggered the sprinkler system. The fire was an accident, Willis said.
“There were combustible items near the stove, and it appears the stove was accidentally turned on,” Willis said. “The occupant found that, immediately called 911, and shut the door behind them, which is important.”
Closing the door helped contain the fire.
“When we first made entry into the first floor we had a heavy smoke condition. Obviously we also had a heavy smoke condition on the second and third floor very quickly,” said Seymour Fire Department Chief Michael Lombardi.
Firefighters entered the apartment where the reported fire was, found a fire in the kitchen and stretched a hose into the building to put water on the flames.
“Once it got hot enough, it activated the sprinkler system, which helped with fire suppression,” the chief said.
Fire damage was limited to the apartment where the fire started. Two other apartments had water damage from the sprinkler system. The smell of smoke was still very much lingering in the building as firefighters packed up their gear about an hour after arriving on scene.
The residents in the 40 apartments evacuated the building as the fire alarm sounded. One woman was relieved to hear her cat was OK. The animal hid under a bed in all the commotion.
Seymour police also relayed info to firefighters about two people with medical needs in the apartment building. Those two tenants were immediately identified and helped from the building when firefighters arrived.
The two residents were evaluated by Seymour Ambulance EMS.
Members of the Oxford Fire Department were also called to the scene to assist. There were about 35 Seymour firefighters and about 10 Oxford firefighters on scene.
The Red Cross was also contacted in case people needed temporary housing.
A firefighter was left on scene at about 3 p.m. to serve as “fire watch:” that means the firefighter walked the halls and kept an eye on the property as the sprinkler system was reset.
Willis said the building’s fire alarm and fire-suppression system worked properly.
“The fire department did a tremendous job. They were very aggressive, they went right in, they got those two occupants (with medical needs) out very quickly. It was a good job by all,” Lombardi said.
