NL fire aftermath: 'The reality hasn't sunk in'

New London - Standing in front of the Parkside West apartments early Wednesday, Shawn Hazard pointed upward to three shattered windows to indicate the remains of his apartment.

The night before, firefighters had helped Hazard climb out one of those third-floor windows and then down a ladder as a fire ravaged the 37-unit apartment complex.

"The reality hasn't even sunk in," said Hazard, who was allowed back into his apartment by mid-morning. "There's nothing left to save."

Fire investigators are focusing on one of the third-floor units in the complex as the starting point for the fire, in which three people were injured.

Fire Marshal Calvin Darrow said Wednesday that 34 of the 37 units at 283 Willetts Ave. were occupied and that all residents were evacuated safely. The building has been condemned and residents have had to find, at least temorarily, a place to live.

On Wednesday, most of the third floor of the building appeared to be gutted. Windows were smashed and some melted vinyl siding dangled from the building. A "Happy Birthday" balloon floated by a broken second-floor window.

Early Wednesday morning fire investigators could be seen in a third-floor apartment, occasionally tossing soot and ash out the window. Glass could be heard shattering.

Darrow said hallway separator doors had been closed and prevented the fire and smoke from spreading. He said all fire alarms and smoke detectors appeared to be in working order. He added, however, that in the third-floor apartment where the fire is believed to have started a weather strip prevented the door from closing, allowing smoke to spread.

Parkside West was built in the 1970s prior to current fire codes, said New London Building Official Jack Cipriano. A permit was issued in 1998 to "re-roof" the building, which Cipriano interpreted as reshingling. No additional fire safety measures would have been required, he said.

Parkside West resident Reginald McClellan said he and Anissa Mrowka, who live directly below where the fire is believed to have started, went to Stop & Shop around 9:30 p.m. to rent a movie.

As they left, McClellan said, he thought he smelled something funny but didn't think much of it. When they returned about 15 minutes later, they said flames were shooting from the kitchen window of apartment C-8.

"They wouldn't let anyone back in at that point," McClellan said. "I came back to see if I could get back in and see if I could save anything, but from the looks of it there won't be much left."

Mrowka said the Red Cross has set them up for two days at the Red Roof Inn in New London, but after that they don't know what they are going to do.

"Twelve hours ago I had somewhere to live and now I'm homeless," Mrowka said. "The flames just spread so fast."

About a dozen Red Cross volunteers were at the scene Wednesday morning, escorting tenants one at a time into the building.

McClellan and Mrowka were able to see their apartment.

"It's worse than I thought," McClellan said. "There's water damage on everything. We just bought a new couch and it's destroyed."

Helle Bockman, who was rescued from a third-floor apartment, found her two cats, Max and Kit Kat, alive but scared and soaked on Wednesday.

"I really had no hope of finding them," Bockman said. "There's nothing left to save in my apartment. The ceiling had caved in."

Not all apartments were severely damaged.

Cynthia Goins, who lives on the first floor, said her apartment was undamaged except for a few wet clothes in her closet. Her cat, Oreo, was waiting for her at the door.

"I'm going to be staying with my mom for now," Goins said. "I've got to figure things out."

Garth Brown, owner of the apartment complex, said he purchased the building about five years ago. He estimated there were about 50 tenants living in the building before the fire.

"We have good tenants," Brown said. "I'm upset with the situation and worried for them as well."

Brown said fire stops in the roof prevented the fire from spreading on one side the building. He added that it was too soon to say whether he would rebuild. He was waiting for an insurance adjuster to tell him whether the building was salvageable or a total loss.

Brown hired Servpro to help clean up and secure the building. He said security will be on hand 24 hours a day to make sure the building and the tenants' belongings are safe. He also said the locks would be changed.

The fire started just before 10 p.m. Tuesday. Firefighters said people were leaning out of windows on all sides of the building when the first crews responded.

A South East Area Transit bus was called in by city officials to transport residents to the Senior Center on Broad Street.

Sue Rochester-Bolen, senior director of emergency services for the Connecticut chapter of the American Red Cross, said the Red Cross had assisted 18 families that included 26 adults and five children.

The center closed around 3 a.m. when the last family was processed.

"We were making sure that everyone had a safe place to go," said Rochester-Bolen. "Most people were going to stay with family and friends. We're also making sure that they have food and clothes and that their medical needs are met."

The last time the Red Cross responded to a fire of this magnitude was nearly two years ago when a fire in Norwich destroyed the Peachtree apartment complex and displaced 150 people. Rochester-Bolen said the Red Cross learned valuable lessons from that experience, such as handing out numbers to people, much like a deli counter, and coordinating with fire officials and emergency management at the scene.

New London City Manager Martin Berliner, who was at the fire scene until about 2:30 a.m., said city workers and the Red Cross did exceptional jobs.

"From the police to the fire department to the recreation department to the Red Cross, everyone had a role and performed admirably,'' he said. "Obviously it was a disaster, but I'm very pleased with the way it went."

A Lawrence & Memorial Hospital spokesman said Wednesday that one Parkside West resident was treated and released and another was admitted and is in good condition. No information was available on the third person who was taken to the hospital Tuesday night.

i.laranetta@theday.com

Day staff writer Kathleen Edgecomb contributed to this report.