3 families displaced by fire

WEST HAVEN — The American Red Cross said it is helping three families who were affected by a fire Tuesday at a home on New Street.

The organization said the families included 12 people – six adults and six children.

Fire officials reported no injuries during the incident.

“The firefighters did a great job, there were no injuries reported on the civilian side or the firefighters’ side, and the fire was extinguished in a timely fashion,” said Deputy Chief Bill Johnson of the West Haven Fire Department’s center district.

He said a couple of dogs that were in the building were rescued by firefighters.

Crews were called to the three-story duplex around 5:25 p.m. Johnson said the fire was in the second floor of one of the units, and extended into the third floor, which was part of the other housing unit.

Building officials ruled the building uninhabitable. One of the housing units did not have a lot of damage, other than one bedroom that was extensively damaged by the fire, Johnson said.

Crews were able to extinguish the flames through an “aggressive interior attack,” Johnson added.

The cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation.

Photos from the scene of the blaze shared on Facebook showed flames and flames emanating from the upper window of the home. A West Haven firefighters union said in a post at 5:34 p.m that personnel from all three districts had been called to the scene of a structure fire between Campbell Avenue and Washington Avenue.

The Red Cross said it provided assistance to the families, including a recovery envelope with tips on how to move forward, and comfort kits with toiletries and other items the families might need.