Overnight fire in New London displaces 13
New London – A fire that broke out around early Sunday morning at 62 Jay St. displaced 13 residents and injured one.
According to Battalion Chief Edward Sargent, firefighters responded at 1:15 a.m. to the residence, which he said was a rooming house, and the fire was under control by 2 a.m. The residents are all adults.
The battalion chief said one woman suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and treated and released.
The first and third floors of the house suffered heavy damage and the second floor suffered moderate damage, according to Sargent. He said the house will be uninhabitable "for an extended period of time."
The Naval Submarine Base New London Fire Department also assisted with the fire.
Red Cross was on scene to assist the displaced residents. Sargent said usually Red Cross would put the residents up in a hotel, but that all the hotels were booked so the city opened the senior center for them.
Sue Bolen, with the Red Cross, estimated that the residents arrived at the senior center between 4:30 and 5 a.m. and said that everybody was gone by 9:30 a.m. Sunday, having found a place to sleep Sunday night. Some were going to be staying with family members. The Red Cross assisted others in finding places to stay.
While the fire occurred less than a half mile from the two-alarm fire at 17 W. Coit St. that displaced eight people this week and was determined to be intentionally started, Sargent said the fires are "not at all" related.
The Jay Street fire is still under investigation.
j.bergman@theday.com
@JuliaSBergman
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