08/12/2026
35 YEARS AGO — BOX 35, CAROLINE & COTTAGE
On the evening of August 12, 1991, at approximately 6:56 p.m., the Derby Fire Department was dispatched to Box 35, Caroline Street and Cottage Streets for a reported structure fire at 273 Caroline Street.
Arriving crews were confronted with heavy fire conditions in a nearly century-old, three-story, six-family rowhouse, with reports of occupants trapped.
The fire started accidentally in the building’s common basement while a family member was working on engine parts. A container containing gasoline and oil was accidentally knocked over, allowing the flammable liquid to spread across the basement floor before igniting near a gas-fired water heater.
The fire rapidly extended throughout the common basement and upward through the building. Its age and construction, along with the common basement, series of wooden rear porches and common attic, provided multiple avenues for the fire to spread. Fire quickly traveled both vertically and horizontally, eventually overtaking the upper floors and attic.
I spoke with Anthony Gianpaolo, who at the time was First Assistant Chief of Storm Engine Company and one of the chief officers operating at the incident. He recalled that the odds were stacked against firefighters almost from the beginning. A delayed alarm, challenges establishing an adequate water supply, the advanced fire conditions encountered on arrival, and the building’s construction all combined to create what he described as a “perfect storm,” allowing the fire to rapidly overtake the building.
Despite those tremendous challenges, Gianpaolo remains extremely proud of the actions of the firefighters who operated that evening. Faced with rapidly deteriorating conditions, extreme heat, a tremendous volume of fire and occupants still in danger, Derby firefighters and the surrounding mutual-aid companies worked under extraordinarily difficult circumstances in an effort to save lives and bring the fire under control.
That recollection has been echoed by several members of the Derby and Shelton Fire Departments who operated at Caroline Street. More than three decades later, they still recall the extraordinary volume of fire and intense heat inside the building, with several describing it as one of the most intense fires they encountered during their fire service careers.
As conditions continued to deteriorate, additional alarms brought firefighters and apparatus from throughout the Valley and surrounding communities. Mutual-aid companies from Ansonia, Shelton, Seymour and Orange responded to assist Derby firefighters.
Eighteen residents escaped or were rescued that night.
Tragically, the fire resulted in three fatalities: Adrienne L. Jordan, 25, and her children Alicia, 4, and Justin, 3.
Adrienne had escaped the burning building with an infant child and handed the baby to others outside. Knowing Alicia and Justin were still inside, she turned around and went back into the burning building for them.
Despite tremendous efforts by firefighters and others at the scene, Adrienne, Alicia and Justin were later found together in a second-floor bedroom. For her extraordinary courage and sacrifice while attempting to save her children, Adrienne was later posthumously recognized by the Carnegie Hero Fund.
Thirty-five years later, the Caroline Street fire remains one of the most significant and tragic incidents in the history of the Derby Fire Department. It is an opportunity to remember the Jordan family and to recognize the Derby firefighters, mutual-aid firefighters, EMS personnel, police officers and citizens who responded and worked under extraordinarily difficult conditions that evening.
Video: https://youtu.be/oHCPI7WLRXc?is=9X59_9fNP2iV8o1M
The photographs accompanying this post were taken by Ed Cotter Jr., a well-known Valley photographer and member of Storm Ambulance & Rescue Corps. Video footage of the incident was recorded by fellow Storm member Clarence Douglas Jr. Their work preserved an important piece of Derby and Valley fire service history.
BOX 35 — CAROLINE & COTTAGE
273 Caroline Street
Time of Alarm: 6:56 P.M.
August 12, 1991
Storm Engine Co./Ambulance Corps Co. 2
Echo Hose Hook & Ladder Co. 1
Valley Independent Sentinel
Derby Fire Department, Derby, CT
Ansonia Fire Department
Seymour Fire Department
Orange Volunteer Fire Department
Derby Police Department
