WATERBURY, Conn. — A large fire broke out at a halfway home Monday morning that left one firefighter with minor injuries.
Fire officials said it happened around 10 a.m. on Fairmount Street.
Heavy flames and smoke billowed out of the three-story home and only debris remained when the fire was out.
"They was up in flames! I mean, they were sky high! I said oh my God!" said Horace Charles Jr. of Waterbury.
Charles Jr. said he took the trash out when suddenly, he noticed the large flames and smoke bursting out of the home.
Seconds later, firefighters arrived and immediately began to tackle it.
"Within like ... five minutes it was up! It was all black, dark smoke because I guess the house was so old and wood burns fast!" said Benjamin Goodman of Waterbury.
Waterbury Fire Battalion Chief Bob Stocker said this was a second alarm fire. The snow and cold luckily did not impact their job.
"Biggest challenge was one of the exposure buildings, fire was impinging on that, so we had to make sure we got liner on there, so the fire didn’t spread to that building," said Stocker of the Waterbury Fire Department.
He added the fire started on the third floor and extended to the attic. When firefighters evacuated everyone to go inside, there were holes in the floor which made the situation even more dangerous.
Osvaldo Machado was worried since he owned an apartment right next to the fire.
The witness showed FOX61 a picture of melted siding to a neighboring home.
"I see a lot of fire departments and I see a lot of smoke, a lot of fire, I could see the real fire," said Machado of Waterbury.
Waterbury Fire Commissioner John Battaglia sent a cell phone video he captured to FOX61 that showed the heavy smoke when the first initially happened.
Chief Stocker said it took crews close to one hour to put out the fire and the home is now a total loss.
The firefighter with minor injuries was treated and released.
The people evacuated from the halfway home have been told to find another place to stay for now.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.