EAST LYME, CT (WFSB) -
Officials are looking into whether discarded smoking materials set off an overnight fire in an East Lyme residence that left five people without a home and sent one firefighter to the hospital.
Five people were inside the Morris Lane home when the fire began around 3 a.m.
Crews from East Lyme, Flanders, Niantic and other surrounding communities responded to reports of the fire, which may have started in the garage, and quickly spread to the rest of the home.
The mother, father, two sons and an elderly mother-in-law were all able to escape.
"My son woke us up and also the dogs started barking. There was a fire in the garage and we all left within five minutes," said Bharat Shah, who escaped the fire.
"We drove around and the house was completely in flames by the time we got here," said eyewitness Lauren Adams.
Adams and other neighbors said they heard explosions when the house caught fire. One firefighter, a 29-year veteran of the force, was injured when he fell through the floor trying to get out.
He was taken to a local hospital and is expected to fully recover.
As a result of the fire, the Connecticut chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the family that was displaced by the fire by providing temporary lodging and financial assistance for emergency clothing and food needs.
The fire remains under investigation.
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