Heavy smoke still lingered at Delaney's Taproom and Restaurant in the Westville section of New Haven, Connecticut, Tuesday morning as firefighters continue to put out hotspots from a three-alarm electrical fire broke out early Monday evening, ravaging the building and displacing at least 10 people who lived in apartments upstairs.
Black smoke could be seen for miles after a fire broke out at about 5 p.m. The building has been deemed a total loss and it will be demolished later on Tuesday. The area is blocked off at the Whalley Avenue and Central Avenue intersection, so officials ask drivers to avoid that route.
More than 50 firefighters were quick to arrive on scene after the fire was reported, working to beat down the blaze, two of which were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
Peter Gremse, who has owned the restaurant for 14 years, said the building – located at 882 Whalley Avenue – is more than 100 years old. Gremse discovered sparks in the electrical box, pulled the fire alarm and ushered everyone outside.
He teared up as he watched it burn.
"It's going to go down in flames. It's rough," Gremse said. "Fifteen years of my life were in there."
Five apartments and an office are situated above the pub, which employs 48 workers. The entire building is a loss.
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"I was really frantic, especially because my customers where the smoke was coming out of had a small baby," said Monika Kaczmarczyk, a server who was working at the time. "So I just was really nervous. I tried to get all my customers out."
Photos show flames tearing through the siding and wires down in the roadway. Visibility was minimal on Whalley Avenue as black smoke emanated from the building, and firefighters said flames quickly spread into the walls.
"Because of the way the structure is made, [the fire] took off into the walls and we were basically chasing it all over the place," said New Haven Fire Chief Allyn Wright.
Firefighters worked from the outside and waited for the roof to collapse.
And it did.
The walls buckled and part of the second floor collapsed around 7:40 p.m., about an hour and a half after crews rushed to the scene.
"There was so much smoke out here, we couldn't even see one another, couldn't see our apparatus, so it was too much of a danger for firefighters to be in a bucket trying to extinguish the fire," Wright said.
New Haven police spokesman Officer David Hartman said they were able to get all the firefighters safely away from the building before it toppled onto Central Avenue.
Everyone inside the building made it out safely and firefighters rescued a cat named Molly from one of the upstairs apartments. Two firefighters were taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation but are expected to be all right.
The Red Cross is providing emergency housing to families living in all five apartments, including 10 adults, and is supplying them with food, clothing and personal care items.
A power line snapped outside the building, and United Illuminating cut power to a four-block area of Whalley Avenue, from West Rock Avenue to Blake Street. Authorities warned that both businesses and residents would be affected by the outage.
"Some of that grid may spur into the cross streets," explained Hartman, adding that traffic in the area, which is being detoured near Central Avenue and Fountain Street, has been an "absolute disaster."
As of 11 p.m. Monday, firefighters were still working to stamp out hot spots in the basement and walls.
Right now, Gremse is just trying to put one foot in front of the other.
"I'd love to rebuild, but I don't know," said Gremse, who is still coming to terms with the reality of the devastation.
He owns another restaurant just across the street – Stonehearth – and said he plans to report to work tomorrow.
