Archive for the ‘Fire’ Category

PHOTOS: Truck crashes into Westport building

Thursday, April 7, 2011 by:Brittany Lyte

Press release from the Westport fire department:

At 2:33 p.m. this afternoon firefighters at Fire Headquarters in Westport located at 515 Post Road East heard a loud crash outside their building. A pickup truck heading westbound on the Post Road had slammed into the corner of the building located at 489 Post Road East.

The building was occupied at the time of the incident. The truck had two male occupants, one driver and one passenger. Both occupants were treated at the scene by Fire Fighters and E.M.S. personnel and transported to Norwalk hospital for treatment of apparent non life threatening injuries.

All occupants of the building were evacuated and utilities shut down for the affected area of the building. The structural stability of the building was compromised and the building department and Fire Marshals office were notified.

Once the pick up truck was removed from the building Fire Fighters constructed and placed temporary shoring in the corner of the building to prevent further collapse. The owner of the building notified his construction company and the scene was turned over to TRECO construction at approximately 5 p.m.

The Fire Department responded with One Command Car, two Engine companies and one Rescue. The last Fire Department unit returned to service at 5:35 p.m.

Crash on Main Street damages Stratford fire department vehicle

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 by:Brittany Lyte

An SUV owned by the Stratford fire department was significantly damaged outside fire headquarters on Main Street Tuesday when it was rear-ended by another SUV.

Asst. Fire Chief Thomas Murray brought the vehicle to a halt in front of the fire house while apparatus was backing in to the bay about 11:30 a.m. when a car rammed into the back of the vehicle, said Fire Marshal Brian Lampart. Murray was not injured.

A young child and a female operating the SUV that crashed into the department’s car were hospitalized as a precautionary measure, Lampart said.

The red command car is the department’s third vehicle to be damaged in traffic since two fire engines were rear-ended in a Jan. 7 crash on Interstate 95.

Driver to appeal ticket from crash on icy I-95

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 by:Brittany Lyte

A tractor-trailer driver who was praised by firefighters for her split-second decision to steer her rig into some parked fire engines and away from a crowded accident scene on icy Interstate 95 in January has been charged with traveling too fast for conditions.

Nansey Asaro, 48, of Pennsylvania, will appeal the ticket and $127 fine April 28 at Bridgeport Superior Court.

Icy road conditions – not her speed — caused the crash, Asaro said.

The fire trucks she hit during the snowstorm had been in the process of parking in the left and center lanes of the southbound highway.

They were stopping to assist state troopers with an unrelated automobile accident. Asaro said she applied the brakes, but her trailer wouldn’t slow down. She said she was traveling about 45 mph at the time.

The accident caused damage to Asaro’s rig, another tractor-trailer and two Stratford fire engines.

State police found Asaro and the driver of the other tractor-trailer at fault; both were ticketed for driving too fast for conditions.

A graphic of the crash from a State Police report. Vehicle 4 is a tractor-trailer driven by Asaro. Vehicles 1 and 3 are Stratford fire engines. Vehicle 2 is another tractor-trailer. Vehicle 5 is a state police cruiser.

Soundview Ave. house fire kills 3 cats, 1 dog

Monday, April 4, 2011 by:John Burgeson

STRATFORD — A father and son were treated by paramedics Monday morning after a fire broke out at 362 Soundview Avenue home.

Both men were asleep when the fire started. The son smelled smoke when he woke up, then went downstairs to wake up his father. The men tried to get out of the front of the house and the back of the house, but could not, so they exited through a side window.

Stratford Fire Department Asst. Chief Brian Lampart said that four pets died in the fire, one dog and three cats. Two other pets survived, Lampart said.

Firefighters said the blaze began when an oxygen tank exploded in one of the bedrooms after a television shorted out.

Here’s a video from the scene:

Westport firefighters launch new truck into service

Friday, April 1, 2011 by:Brittany Lyte

Press release from Westport Fire Department Assistant Chief Andrew Kingsbury:

On Friday, April 1, the Westport Fire Department placed in service its new Sutphen Ladder Tower.

This Ladder replaces a 1992 Sutphen Tower that was destroyed during the severe weather event last year on March 13 and 14. The 18-year-old apparatus had already been scheduled to be refurbished by Sutphen Corporation when its boom and bucket were destroyed by a large tree while operating at an incident. The aerial apparatus, which costs more than 1 million dollars new, was replaced for just over 711,000 dollars.

After spending the last 2-1/2 weeks training and being outfitted by Firefighters, the vehicle was placed into service today. It did not take long for the vehicle to be called out to what turned out to be a relatively insignificant alarm, a sprinkler system flowing water at a commercial occupancy.

As is tradition, the Fire Department documented the new apparatus on its first alarm.

Also pictured is the last alarm the old Truck-1 responded on, a tragic fatal motor vehicle accident.

Stratford fire union agrees to concessions

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 by:Brittany Lyte

Press release from Stratford Fire Union:

After discussions with the Office of the Mayor and town officials, the Stratford Firefighters Union has come forward with $124,000 in one-time givebacks to assist the Town, in the wake of a sluggish economy and declining revenues. The firefighters’ union also agreed to concede a $1,000 annual education reimbursement per firefighter. Based on a 4-year average, this will save the town an additional $22,000 in fiscal year 2012, but could increase to as much as $95,000 if every firefighter were to take advantage of the education credit.

Mayor John A. Harkins said he is appreciative of the union’s understanding and willingness to help out in difficult economic circumstances.

“With a stagnant economy, declining tax revenues and cuts in funding from the state government, balancing a municipal budget is a challenging exercise,” said Mayor Harkins. “I thank the firefighters for stepping forward and chipping in to assist the town as we work together to move Stratford forward.”

Stratford Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 998 President Bill Hansen said his membership understands the rough economic times the town is enduring.

“The members of IAFF Local 998 are very well aware of the current state of the economy both locally and nationally. Our membership felt that due to the state of the economy, we should find a way to provide some assistance to the Town of Stratford and its taxpayers in the upcoming budget. This is the reason why the members of IAFF Local 998 decided to assist the Town of Stratford with these concessions potentially adding up to $219,000,” said Hansen.

“We hope that these concessions will help relieve some of the burden on the taxpayers of Stratford. As always, the members of the Stratford Fire Department are dedicated to assisting the residents of Stratford in their time of need. We feel that this is one more way to again show our dedication to the fine citizens of the Town of Stratford.”

PHOTOS: Fire at Davidson’s Fabrics

Friday, March 25, 2011 by:Brittany Lyte

Early morning garage fire in Stratford

Thursday, March 10, 2011 by:Tom Cleary

For the full story click here.

The Stratford Fire Department put out a garage fire at 3:50 a.m. in the area of Main Street and King’s College Place. It was a heavily involved fire on a 30 by 30 detached garage. Firefighters from engine 1, engine 5, ladder 1 and command 3 used a 2.5 inch line and a 1.75 inch line to bring the fire under control quickly.

There were no injuries in the blaze, but the garage was completely destroyed.

Photos from the Stratford Fire Union: