The fire broke out around 9:30 a.m. at a home on Dean Avenue, and was finally brought under control around 12:30 p.m. Strong winds coming off the Long Island Sound hampered the firefighting efforts.
Officials say 16 people were hurt in the blaze, including 10 civilians and six firefighters. Two of the injured are children. Luckily, none of the injuries are considered life threatening and most are described as minor.
Some were transported to area hospitals for evaluation, but most were treated at the scene.
"It was like a scene from Dante's Inferno," said one neighbor, Phil Garbarino. "The smoke and fire were billowing out, like you couldn't even breathe. So I opened the door and came downstairs, and it was worse. The wind was whipping so bad and the flames were so high that we thought it would jump to my patio."
More than 100 firefighters responded to the scene.
There is no word yet on how the fire started.
