Fire Empties Multifamily Home In City

By M. Matthew Clark    Published on 12/2/2007 New London — A fire broke out in a multifamily home on Bank Street Saturday at about 5:30 p.m. Firefighters responded to a 911 call reporting a fire at 995 Bank St. near the Waterford town line. No one was injured in the blaze. All occupants of the two-story home escaped safely. The fire was extinguished at approximately 7:30 p.m., said New London Fire Chief Ronald Samul. Samul said firefighters would monitor the building for hot spots, but that the house could not be occupied. A resident of the second floor of the house, who declined to be identified, said he had just finished cooking dinner for his family when his daughter told him there was smoke in the kitchen. He said he went into the kitchen and saw flames shooting from the back of the stove. The man said he tried to use his household fire extinguisher to no avail. From the street, flames could be seen through the windows in the front of second floor of the house and smoke was billowing from several holes in the roof. A next-door neighbor, 18-year-old Sarah Spinnato, called 911. Her mother and father, she said, both went into the burning home to make sure everybody was out. Paul Arroyo, 15, was on the first floor of the house when the fire broke out. He said he was using a computer in the back of the house listening to music when Spinnato's mother came and got him. Traffic on Route 1 had to be rerouted around the area near the fire. The American Red Cross was on scene. New London