Firefighters knocked down a small fire on Whitney Avenue in 10 minutes Wednesday afternoon.
The call came in at 12:40 p.m. The fire broke out in a first-floor rear apartment behind Naturegene Herb Store at 75 Whitney Ave.
People were inside the apartment at the time. None was sleeping, so they all got out safely, according to Assistant Fire Chief Ralph Black. No one was injured.
Firefighters arrived to find the apartment filled with heavy smoke, contained to one room. Black said that the fire appears to have started in a washing machine and to have been accidental.
Whitney Avenue remained blocked off between Trumbull and Audubon at 1:15 p.m. Health department and fire department investigators were on their way.