New London - It's not often that a fire prompts the response of 19 firefighters and the City Council, but that's exactly what happened Saturday morning.

A house fire at the corner of Elm Street and Lincoln Avenue displaced five or six tenants who lived in the multifamily clapboard-and-brick home at 119 Lincoln Ave., owned by Peter T. Millaras.

In a fortunate twist of fate, the New London Fire Department was preparing an open house at its downtown headquarters when the 911 call came in, which allowed the department to respond to the fire with 19 firefighters, according to Battalion Chief Thomas Curcio.

In another coincidence, several members of the City Council happened to be touring city-owned facilities Saturday morning and were nearby when the fire broke out.

Councilors Mike Buscetto III, Rob Pero, Adam Sprecace, Margaret Peg Curtin and Mayor Kevin Cavanagh looked on as the firefighters finished up at the scene.

At 10:52 a.m. city firefighters were called to the home for a structure fire. The blaze was extinguished quickly. None of the residents in the house were harmed, but one firefighter might have suffered a back injury. By 11:30 a.m. the fire was out, and the American Red Cross was on the scene to help those who were displaced.

We hit this thing pretty hard, Curcio said at the scene. We were able to make a real quick stop.

Always ready,Sprecace said, praising the fire department for its quick work.

The cause of the fire is unknown and was still being investigated at 4 p.m. Saturday, Curcio said.

mm.clark@theday.com