Roughly 80 residents have been displaced by a fire that tore through an apartment complex in Danbury, Connecticut, leaving families scrambling to find somewhere to stay and to salvage what they could from their homes. Investigators remained on the scene working to determine what caused the blaze that forced so many people out.
The scale of the loss weighed heavily on those forced out of their homes. One resident described the disorienting moment it all sank in, saying it did not fully hit her until she reached a hotel the night before. She spoke of having no clothes, of her medications being gone, and of her children's belongings still being inside the building.
In all, about 80 residents were displaced by the fire, a large number for a single complex to lose at once. With so many people suddenly without a place to live, the immediate focus turned to finding shelter and to helping families recover the essentials they had been forced to leave behind when they fled the flames and smoke.
The Red Cross, the city of Danbury, and the building's management company have been working together to help the displaced residents find housing. They have also been assisting people in retrieving valuables from the units, allowing residents back into the apartments that were deemed safe enough to re-enter after the fire.
To manage that process, officials said one member of each household at a time was being allowed back inside, accompanied by a fire marshal, to collect a bag of belongings. Residents were asked to focus on gathering their important documents and anything else they could carry out of the damaged building during those brief, escorted visits.
Three residents and three firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation in connection with the fire, according to officials. As displaced families sorted out where they would sleep, investigators stayed at the scene in Danbury, working to determine the cause of a fire that upended the lives of roughly 80 people.