Red Cross helping Danbury families after fire

DANBURY, Conn. (WTNH) -- The American Red Cross is helping ten people in Danbury affected by the fire in a family apartment building on Friday night.

There were no injuries.

The house, on 33 Maple Avenue, has heavy damage to the back of it and heavy smoke damage on the inside. There were no smoke detectors in the building.

The American Red Cross is helping 8 adults and 2 children in 5 families who live in the apartments. American Red Cross Chief Communication Officer Paul D. Shipman says they are "providing families a range of assistance for a range of needs including housing, food and clothing."

They are also supplying comfort kits that contain personal care items that family wasn't able to gather when escaping the fire. The children were given their own kits that included a toy.

Another family that also lived in the building has left the scene but will be given assistance if needed.

The fire department says the fire was caused by a mattress that was put in the backyard after it was involved in an earlier fire incident that day. Residents thought they put the fire out when they put the mattress outside. The mattress began smoldering and caught on fire.