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Firefighters battle 2-alarm blaze at vacant Bank Street building under renovation

Thankfully, the workers escaped out the back of the building. And the Chief applauded his team for their fire containment.

NEW LONDON, Conn. — A fire in a vacant New London building had the always-busy Bank Street shut down most of the day. But the great news is that there were no injuries.

At 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Bank Street was about to get busy for lunch.

"I was moving into my apartment above the Hygienic and I left to get another load and came back to find this excitement," said Nicki Arciolinda Bonanno of New London.

An angry fire raged on the third floor of 133 Bank Street, a vacant building being renovated. And there were reports of people trapped inside.

"Our initial crew tried to make a push-up in to the third-floor to check for those individuals that were in there," said New London Fire Chief Thomas Curcio. "They were workers. They were renovating this building into apartments."

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Thankfully, the workers escaped out the back of the building. And the Chief applauded his team for their fire containment.

"With the windy conditions that we have today and the amount of fire that was coming out of this building, they did an excellent job," Curcio added.

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They helped prevent a spread to a next-door Bank St. business once featured on FOX61's Foodie Friday: Right Path Organic Café.

"If, like, my building were the one that caught on fire I mean there's people that live in all the apartments above me and that would be my concern," said Rob Bernardo, the owner of the Right Path Organic Café.

RELATED: 8 people hospitalized following fire at Hartford multi-family home

Chief Curcio confirmed propane tanks were found on the third floor of the vacant building, where the fire is believed to have started, but the cause remains under investigation.

"The firemen did a great job," Bernardo said with an appreciative smile. "The fire and the police they were here really fast and they were right on it."

The Chief said he does not think the building is a total loss and that the redevelopment project should be able to resume at some point. 

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Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com

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