(Updated 4:05 p.m.) A minor fire proved fatal early Friday for a man in his mid-fifties.
Here’s what happened, according to Acting Fire marshal Robert Doyle:
A “small fire” broke out in the living area of a studio apartment in the six-floor Winslow-Celentano senior public-housing development on Warren Street in Wooster Square.
Firefighters got the call at 2:02 a.m. Tenants met them outside the complex when they arrived and reported smoke coming from the fifth floor. The firefighters went upstairs and saw water coming out of the door of one apartment.
They gained entry to the apartment and found the man lying on the floor. The small fire had set off the sprinklers. They administered CPR and took him to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
They contained the fire to the apartment and put it out.
An investigation has begun into how the fire started and how the man died. The man was 56 years old; his name had not been publicly released by 10 a.m.
A fourth-floor tenant was treated at the hospital for smoke inhalation and anxiety. A second-floor apartment sustained water damage; the tenant there was relocated.
Later Friday, Housing Authority of New Haven (HANH) chief Karen DuBois-Walton issued the following statement:
“We are saddened by the loss of our resident. We are thankful for the quick action of residents and the response of the first responders to limit any further loss of life or damage.
“The apartment has just been released back to us from the NHFD. We are currently assessing damages. An apartment below this unit suffered water damage. That resident has been relocated to a hotel. We expect her to be able to return to her unit early next week. HANH covers the hotel expense. HANH social service staff has been on site to support the residents of this building. The building is fully equipped with fire prevention/suppression equipment and smoke detectors. Any further action will be determined once we learn more about the cause of the fire.“
