10 people displaced by Christmas night fire in South Norwalk

Dec. 27--NORWALK -- Ten people were displaced by a Christmas night fire on Lexington Avenue in South Norwalk.

While the exterior didn't appear severely damaged, inside it was a different story. Charred clothing, children's toys and other debris lined the floors of the house and pieces of a burnt red table cloth remained on a kitchen table.

On Wednesday morning, construction workers "winterized" the house, draining the plumbing so it wouldn't freeze while the structure remains unused. One of the front doors and the left side of the house were boarded up with pieces of wood to stabilize the house, construction workers said.

The house next door also sustained damage to its right side from flames that gushed out of 16 Lexington Ave., said Christian Rocafuerte, the owner of 18 Lexington Ave.

On Wednesday around 3:30 p.m., he showed up to check on his property for the first time and said he was surprised by the damage. It's the first piece of property he's owned and he said he was unsure about his next move.

"I don't even know what to do," he said. "Call the insurance?"

He said he first learned of the fire during a phone call late Tuesday night from one of his tenants. He said he could hear people screaming in the background.

Fire officials said heavy flames were visible from a bedroom window on Christmas as firefighters arrived at the two-story, wood-frame structure at about 10:45 p.m.

"Fire was auto exposing into the second floor bedroom above," Deputy Fire Chief Edward Prescott said early Wednesday. "The radiant heat from the fire also melted the exterior siding of the house next door. Fire crews advanced fire hoses into each floor and quickly knocked down the flames within 10 minutes, but the heat and smoke damage had already been done to each floor. The fire was placed under control within 10 minutes of arriving on scene."

Prescott said Fire Inspector Corey Gilchrest and Deputy Fire Marshal Kirk McDonald were investigating the cause of the blaze. In all, 25 firefighters responded with three engines, two trucks, a rescue unit and a command car.

Property records state the multifamily home has six bedrooms and was built in 1880.

There were no injuries, but the structure was deemed unfit for occupancy, meaning the tenants will need to find another place to live.

Florentino Espinal was one of the 10 people displaced.

He said the American Red Cross offered the affected five adults and five children food vouchers before all were asked to find somewhere safer to stay.

Red Cross caseworkers will connect with displaced residents in the coming days to work on a longer-term recovery plan, according to an email from the organization.

The Red Cross is also expected to provide comfort kits containing personal care items such as toothbrushes, deodorant, shaving supplies and other items a resident might not have been able to gather in the rush to escape the fire, according to the organization.

Espinal -- who spoke in Spanish with a tenant at 18 Lexington Ave. translating on his behalf -- was at Rocafuerte's house Wednesday afternoon seeking shelter. Standing with his hands in his pocket, he said all of his belongings were damaged in the fire.

A landscaper during the summer months, Espinal said his financial and living situations are now complicated because he's unemployed at the moment.

Espinal, who has lived at 16 Lexington Ave. for about a year, said he spent all day Wednesday looking for a temporary room to rent but found nothing. His plan is to stay at Rocafuerte's for a week and hopefully move into his own space soon.

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