Edwards’ brother Troy walks over the rubble inside. Gerard Edwards returned to his room in a partially condemned building on Avon Street Monday for a few essentials: his winter coat, a pair of boots, and a couple rolls of toilet paper. Edwards is one of 17 tenants to be displaced from t he six-unit rental property at 56-58 Avon St. after an early-morning fire over the weekend. “I want out of here,” he said outside the East Rock building. According to New Haven Fire Department (NHFD) Acting Chief Daniel Coughlin, city firefighters responded to the fire at 58 Avon St. at 6:05 a.m. on Saturday. Coughlin said that it took an hour and 20 minutes to put out the fire, and that there were no injuries. Saturday’s fire came a little over two years after a November 2023 fire displaced roughly two dozen people from that the same six-unit building. The property, owned by Bethany-based landlord Jianchao Xu, was the site of an October 2024 confrontation between Xu and Livable City Initiative (LCI) inspectors after a fatal fire at a different Xu-owned house at 516 Elm St. left one dead and displaced nine others. Coughlin said that the cause of Saturday’s fire at 58 Avon is still unknown. “They haven’t concluded their investigation yet,” he said. The NHFD posted on X that the fire had begun in the basement and extended to the first floor. The November 2023 fire at this same building had also begun in the basement. (The basement is also where a January 2025 fire began at a different Xu-owned house on Sheffield Avenue that displaced six tenants.) Saturday’s blaze means a total of 17 tenants at 56 and 58 Avon have been relocated. One half of the building — 58 Avon — was condemned after Saturday’s fire, according to city spokesperson Lenny Speiller. Those three units can’t be reoccupied until 58 Avon is reinspected by the city’s Building Department and cleared to have met all required state building code standards. Speiller said that, for the three units at 56 Avon St., the Building Department is requiring that a licensed contractor first verify that the wiring, electric and gas are safe before residents can reoccupy the property. Edwards said he had come home from the hospital after getting a call on Saturday to see firefighters putting out the fire. He said that it was the third fire he has experienced at a property owned by Xu, and that he has been moved between properties. He wants to leave; he’s waiting for disability housing to become available to him. “I need to get in a disability building,” Edwards said. “I’m on the list.” He said he’s also on the waiting list for Section 8. “I need all the help I can get,” he said. Edwards has lung issues and said he uses a 24-hour oxygen tank. “I’m not supposed to be in there now because of the smell,” he said. On Monday, he had left his tank in the car while he stopped by his room, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to roll it over the rubble in the house. He and his brother, Tony, stepped over pieces of wood carefully as they walked down the hallway to Edwards’ room. Tony was there supporting his brother; he said he had also lived at the Avon Street house before moving to a different Xu-owned property on Sheffield Avenue that also caught fire. Now, he lives on Fairmont Avenue. Edwards said he rents by the room on Avon Street and pays $925 per month. Small, clean, and nicely decorated, the room would stay mostly the same; he couldn’t take much with him. “Everything is ruined,” he said. “The burnt smell doesn’t leave.” His priorities were his winter coat, his boots, and a couple rolls of toilet paper. After the fires, Edwards said he hadn’t received sufficient support from Xu. “Third fire and they never did nothing,” he said. Now, like other some of his fellow relocated tenants, Edwards is staying at the Regal Inn on Amity Road. A Regal Inn employee told the Independent that they have six tenants from 56-58 Avon St. staying there. LCI Executive Director Liam Brennan said that one family was relocated to La Quinta Inn on Long Wharf and other tenants have found other accommodations. Jerry Paige and Leroy Wilson were also on site on Monday. They said they were hired by Xu to board up 56-58 Avon and its windows; they brought out a generator to cut up plywood. Paige said that he lives in one of Xu’s properties in Newhallville. “I’m supposed to just be driving the truck,” he said, laughing. Xu also visited Avon Street on Monday. As the Independent approached him to ask for comment, he entered his car and drove away. He did not respond to a follow-up request for comment. LCI’s Brennan said that some residents will be able to return to 58 Avon even while the investigation is pending, as long as the house is deemed structurally sound. He confirmed that there are no outstanding code violations and that the house did pass a licensing inspection in 2025. Brennan said that during the 2025 inspection, tenants had not consented to LCI entering their living spaces but LCI was still able to enter and inspect common areas — including the basement. “We found multiple violations which he [Xu] had to correct before receiving his license,” Brennan said. Xu received his residential rental license for 56-58 Avon on April 25, 2025. Asked whether 56-58 Avon might be an illegal rooming house, Brennan said, “It’s not a legal rooming house.” The welcome mat outside of Edwards’ room, from the kitchen. Inside Edwards’ decorated room. Edwards’ back-up oxygen tank, staying behind. 56-58 Avon. 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