A four-alarm fire in Stamford is believed to have started in a restaurant and spread to other businesses during a two-hour fire fight.
Credit: Peter Yankowski, Kalleen Rose Ozanic, Tyler Fedor, Liz Hardaway The Hour, Norwalk, Conn.
Mar. 7—STAMFORD — A “devastating” four-alarm fire tore through a stretch of four businesses on the northern end of the Bedford Street block between Broad and Spring streets early Friday, according to Mayor Caroline Simmons.
At about 4:46 a.m. the Stamford Fire Department was dispatched to Bedford Street for an activated fire alarm. At the scene, firefighters saw smoke coming from the first floor of Chez Vous Bistro, a French restaurant on that corner, said Deputy Fire Chief Paul Newman.
The Fire Department sent 52 personnel, eight engines, three trucks, one heavy rescue vehicle and two command vehicles to battle the blaze, according to Assistant Chief Mike Robles.
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries. They were treated and released from a medical evaluation, Newman said.
About five hours after the fire, dozens of police officers and firefighters milled about the corner of Bedford and Spring streets, which was cordoned off with a wide police line that spanned multiple storefronts and around the intersection’s west corner.
Many of the windows at the now-blackened Chez Vous Bistro were charred and burnt out from the structure fire, the department reported on social media. Venetian blinds hung lopsided, tattered and melted in the window frames, their glass littering the ground below, as Stamford Downtown Ambassadors, decked in orange high-visibility jackets, picked up the pieces and swept the thousands of shards that covered the sidewalk.
Broken glass littered the ground in front of Atelier Valoar Couture, a bespoke dressmaking, alteration and tailoring business; its storefront display, filled Thursday with gossamer gowns and accessories, was in disarray Friday morning. Its interior, charred and coated in soot, was visible from the across the street.
Those two businesses, as well as the Women’s Business Development Council and Shiro, a pastry and dessert shop, were affected by the fire, Simmons said.
Newman said a large amount of fire was found in the walls and ceiling of the restaurant, eventually extending to the second floor, roof and other businesses on the first floor. The fire was declared under control at 6:51 a.m.
“This is probably one of the worst, most devastating fires we’ve had in downtown Stamford affecting multiple businesses in recent years,” Simmons said in front of Hop and Vine, a nearby bar and restaurant out of which emergency services operated Friday morning. “It’s heartbreaking for these small-business owners that they woke up and everything was damaged in their small business, so we are heartbroken for them and here to provide any support we can from the city side.”
There were no injuries reported among civilians, Simmons said.
Police closed off several streets in the downtown area to traffic as firefighters battled the blaze in the 180 block of Bedford Street, Stamford Deputy Fire Chief Matt Palmer said.
By 11 a.m., the scene was still closed off as dozens of first responders and emergency services filled the area. Crews were also called in for mutual aid from Greenwich and Norwalk, Palmer said.
Several roads were closed in the area, the Stamford Police Department social media post said. Those included Bedford Street at Broad and Spring streets, Summer Street at Spring Street and Forest Street at Greyrock Place.
The road closures were to remain in place likely until noon, the post said, adding that CT Transit bus service, as well as the First Student Bus Co., had been notified.
The Stamford Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause and origin of the fire.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
