Cleanup continues following large fire in New Haven

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — More than 100 firefighters responded to a massive, four-alarm fire in New Haven on Wednesday.

Crews have been on River and Ferry Streets for over 15 hours putting water on flames and knocking down hot spots.

Large fire causes floor to collapse at New Haven industrial building

The chief called it one of the largest fires the city has had in the last decade.

“There were multiple tanks found in there and tanks that exploded,” New Haven Fire Chief John Alston Jr. said.

Multiple floor collapses forced an exterior attack. Alston said a center support beam was damaged, causing the second floor to fall into the first.

“It’s a stubborn fire,” Alston said. “There were multiple collapses in the center of the building so there’s a large pile of debris plus the initial fire fueled it.”

The building has five businesses including an auto repair shop, a nonprofit, an appliance store, and food truck storage.

The chief said firefighters rescued two workers at the auto shop. They had minor smoke inhalation but declined to go to the hospital.

Over 20 fire companies from New Haven, East Haven, West Haven, and Hamden were out working long hours. Wednesday night, as crews used an excavator to remove debris, additional small fires popped up and Alston said more collapses are a concern.

“This stretched our resources because we could not get into the seed of the fire, we had to fight it defensively,” Alston said. “Being on this end of the city, water supply is difficult.”

Neighbors said at its peak, they were concerned the fire would spread to their homes.

“I saw fire trucks coming from all different directions and it just got bigger and bigger. They had to be at least 200 feet,” neighbor Brian Foreman said.

“A lot of flames shooting up and thick black smoke all over this area here,” nearby business owner Gary Williams said.

Williams owns a nearby dog grooming business and said he had to close shop for the day.

“It kind of messed me up today, no power,” Williams said. “One of the firefighters I spoke to said he’s been out here since 6 a.m. That’s a long day out here, that’s a long day.”

Alston said it was too early to determine where and how this fire started.

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