SEYMOUR, Conn. — Clouds of smoke billowed into the air Wednesday afternoon as emergency crews in Seymour fought a multi-alarm structure fire that led to the destruction of four local businesses.
“A building of that age holds a lot of heat and a lot of fire, so the fire moved pretty quickly on us," Seymour Fire Chief Michael Lombardi said.
Officials said the preliminary investigation indicated the fire was the result of a store employee accidentally igniting wax while polishing merchandise.
Seymour Fire Marshal Tim Willis said that fire crews found the fire in an antique shop in the buildings.
Willis said the six area fire departments helped Seymour in dealing with the fire, totaling around 150 firefighters battling the blaze for about five hours. There were two minor injuries reported to firefighters. One other person was treated on the scene.
Willis said one apartment building was evacuated.
The fire was right next door to Seymour Train Station Pizza. Owner Dino Bomova said he called 911 and got his staff out of the building.
"We saw the smoke from the back door so then we call first responders right away. They came very fast," he said. "I don’t know if there’s any damage to my restaurant because inside there was a lot of smoke and maybe water."
Bomova said the pizza shop opened just 6 weeks ago.
"We start doing very well so I’m kind of sad because what luck I have," he said.
The fire was also down the street from the Strand Theater. The building has been around since the 1920s and was not touched by this fire.
"It took away a landmark from downtown Seymour," John Fanotto who runs the Strand Theater said.
1,400 customers were initially without power Wednesday afternoon because of the fire.
Elisha Machado is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at emachado@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Doug Stewart is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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