| Norwalk house gutted by weekend fire |
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Norwalk house gutted by weekend fire
Posted on 12/12/2010
NORWALK
Norwalk Hour Staff Report
A house off West Cedar Street is being called a total loss after a fire devastated the residential wood structure late Saturday. The house at 3 Technology Place -- just behind Swanky Franks on Connecticut Avenue -- was vacant at the time of the fire, which began at 8:22 p.m. Assistant Fire Chief Larry Reilly said that, according to the landlord, two men who lived in the small, two-story, stand-alone, wood-frame house were not home at the time of the fire, which did not spread to any other structures. Fire Marshal Glenn Iannacone said one of the residents apparently had left the house at about 7 p.m., and had left bags packed for a Christmas trip to Mexico that was supposed to begin Sunday. Those bags were destroyed in the fire, which "appears to have its point of origin" in the front bedroom, either on the first or second floor, depending on how someone approaches the house, Iannacone said. "At this point the cause of the fire is undetermined," Iannacone said. "The bulk of the damage is to that bedroom in front, and it has been posted (Sunday) as unfit for occupancy. The investigation will continue." Iannacone added that the "structure can be repaired" but beyond the gutted bedroom, the rest of the house suffered "severe smoke and water damage." Reilly said 28 firefighters on four engines, two trucks and a rescue vehicle responded to the blaze, which was visible on the hillside overlooking Connecticut Avenue, and that all units -- aside from fire investigators -- cleared the scene within two hours. Both Reilly and Iannacone confirmed that there were no injuries to firefighters or civilians.
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| Bobwhite Drive, November 27, 2010 |
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Firefighters put out blaze at home on Bobwhite Drive
Posted on 11/27/2010
NORWALK
Norwalk Hour Staff Reports
A fire that started behind a mantle over a fireplace spread through the interior of the walls of a Bobwhite Drive home, destroyed the attic and tore through the roof of the house, Norwalk fire officials said. Twenty firefighters responded to a call of a chimney fire at 5 Bobwhite Drive at 3:04 p.m., and the last firefighter left the single-family home at 5:02 p.m., according to Deputy Chief Steven Shay. Firefighters had the fire under control within 20 minutes of responding to the scene but in the process of extinguishing the fire, they had to tear out walls, fire officials said. The family cannot return home for at least one night, Shay said. "It's a mess because we have to open up the walls to get to the fire," he said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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| 7 Quintard Ave, November 26, 2010 |
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Fire leaves family homeless @
7 Quintard Avenue, S. Norwalk
Posted on 11/27/2010
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<a href="http://www.thehour.com/story/495128/">Fire leaves family homeless</a>
NORWALK
By STEVE KOBAK
Norwalk Hour Staff Writer
A family of four was displaced from their Quintard Avenue home Friday morning after a fire likely caused by an electrical malfunction damaged the third-floor and the roof of the house, fire officials said. Three of the four residents of the 7 Quintard Ave. home -- 83-year-old Beatrice Reed, her daughter Jetaun Boyd and her granddaughter Brittany Bines -- were home when the fire started, and all of them escaped the home without injuries. "Thank God I'm all right, and no one got hurt," said Reed, who has lived in the house since 1983. "I thank God that I have neighbors who will come and get me and give me a place to sit." The fire started in the walls on the third floor, and it spread to the underside of the roof, according to Norwalk Fire Department Deputy Chief Steven Shay. He said the cause of the fire was likely an electrical problem, but there was not an official ruling. Boyd, who lives on the third floor, said the electricity went out in her apartment, and she thought an electrical fuse blew. She went down to the basement and looked in the fuse box, but she could not locate the blown fuse. Boyd went back upstairs and unplugged her electrical devices. Five minutes later, Bines -- who is five-months pregnant -- began to smell smoke. A neighbor -- who did not wish to be identified -- saw smoke coming through the roof of the 7 Quintard Ave home while she was putting pies into her car, which was parked across the street from the house. She promptly alerted neighbors and called police. Two Quintard Avenue residents Rick White and Raphael Ortiz rushed into the smoke-filled house to assist the family in escaping the fire. "I'm not a hero," said White. "I'm just a neighbor." Reed said that Ortiz, who cuts grass free-of-charge for elderly and handicapped persons in the neighborhood, helped walk her down the stairs from her second-floor bedroom. "He's good to everybody," Reed said. Fire crews and police officers arrived at the scene shortly before 10 a.m. "By the time we got there, everybody was out," said Norwalk Police Sgt. James Boff. Shay said the fire was contained within a half-hour, but fire crews remained on scene to make sure the flames had not spread to other portions of the wall. Portions of the third floor were gutted, and firefighters poked a hole in the roof to battle the fire. Although the fire was contained to the third floor, the house was deemed unfit for occupancy because of the roof damage that it sustained, Shay said. Shay said broken windows were boarded up, and the electrical company shut off power to the house. The Red Cross will provide the family with hotel rooms for the next three days, according to Michele Deluca, head of the Office of Emergency Management. Neighbors offered support and assistance to the displaced family, as they watched firefighters extinguish the fire. Sandy and Klaus Schmitt, who live across the street from the family, made sure that Reed was warm and hydrated, covering her with a blanket and keeping her comfortable while she sat in their living room. "Everybody looks out for everyone else," said Sandy Schmitt. "When something like this happens, we get together." Virginia Guilfoyle, whose home is on Quintard Avenue, said she would like to see an organization like Habitat for Humanities rebuild the home for the displaced family. "When something like this happens around the holidays, it makes it even worse," she said. Those who wish to donate to the family can send gift cards from stores such as CVS, Wal-Mart, Stop and Shop, Kohl's and other local retailers to the Office of Emergency Management at 121 Connecticut Ave, Norwalk, Ct. 06854.
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| Roodner Court, Novemeber 18, 2010 |
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Fire hits Roodner Court
Posted on 11/19/2010
NORWALK
By STEVE KOBAK
Norwalk Hour Staff Writer
Eight residents of the Roodner Court housing complex were displaced and three people were hospitalized Thursday afternoon after a fire ripped through an apartment in building 23, sending heavy smoke into the second and third floors. Apartment 2E was destroyed by the fire, and smoke damaged an apartment on the third-floor and two apartments on the second floor, according to Fire Chief Denis McCarthy. Three people were taken to Norwalk Hospital to be treated for possible smoke inhalation, McCarthy said. The fire began at approximately 3:45 p.m. in apartment 2E, and fire crews remained on scene for more than three hours. Firefighters battled the heavy smoke to put out the blaze and had to force their way into apartments on the third floor to see if anyone hadn't made it out of the building, fire officials said. Monica Holley -- the tenant of apartment 2E -- lost her home and all of her belongings in the fire, and her friend Erika Lucas said she is planning a fundraiser for Holley. Anthony Williams said his sister, Erica Wiggins, his 98-year-old grandmother, Hazel Fuller, his son, Delquan Howard, and his cousin Shaquaya Fuller were inside of Hazel Fuller's second-floor apartment when the fire started. Heavy smoke flooded the apartment, trapping Hazel Fuller and Wiggins inside, Williams said. Firefighters helped Fuller get out the building via a fire escape while Wiggins was taken from the building on a stretcher, Williams said. Both women were taken to Norwalk Hospital to be treated for smoke . . inhalation. Another unidentified person was also taken to the hospital. "I'm just glad they were able to all get out safe," said Williams. "Now, we're just waiting to see what comes next." Davidson Zetrenne was sleeping in his first-floor apartment in building 23 when he heard a commotion, looked out the window and saw a large amount of black smoke near the building. He quickly grabbed his 54-year-old mother, Marie Zetrenne, and led her from the building. "I feel bad for whoever's apartment is messed up, but at least it's not worse," Zetrenne said. Manisha Laguerre, who lives on the second floor, walked through a smoke-filled hallway to make her way from the building, and she said the situation was "very scary." "I was crying," she said. The American Red Cross is putting five displaced families in a hotel, according to Deidra Davis, president of the Roodner Court Tenants Association. Davis said the Norwalk Housing Authority will have to deoderize apartments that were not damaged but where smoke is heavy in the air.
The Norwalk Fire Department is also accepting donations for the fire victims at Charles A. Volk Fire Headquarters, 121 Connecticut Ave. For more information on the donations, call (203) 854-0238.
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| Official: Fire the largest in last 5 years |
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Official: Fire the largest in last 5 years
NORWALK
By STEVE KOBAK
Norwalk Hour Staff Writer
A fire official said it could take weeks for investigators to determine the cause of the blaze that ripped through a Wall Street building early Friday morning, but investigators retrieved potentially valuable evidence at the fire scene. Deputy Fire Chief Ed Prescott said accelerant-sniffing dogs led investigators to a few pieces of evidence that are currently being evaluated at a state forensic laboratory. He cautioned that the evidence located by the dogs may just be a chemical that was used in the kitchen of one of the restaurants that burned in the fire. "We might have something that gives a false positive, but that's why we sent it to the state lab," said Prescott, who commanded the 2nd platoon of the Norwalk Fire Department while they battled the blaze. Prescott said the blaze was the largest fire in Norwalk in the past five years and one of the biggest fires of the past decade. He said the fire would have caused even more destruction if it weren't for the "exemplary work" of the firefighters in the 2nd platoon to stabilize the structure of the building. "They extended themselves to their physical capacities to make sure the building was still standing," said Prescott. "If we lost the building, we could have lost the two buildings on the sides of it." Fire officials said the fire began in an auxiliary storage unit in the rear kitchen area of Ganga's Restaurant -- a defunct restaurant formerly owned by Ganga Duleep, the building's landlord and the mother of former city councilwoman Anna Duleep. A family who owns a Peruvian restaurant in Elizabeth, N.J., currently leases the former site of Ganga's Restaurant, and the space was under renovation at the time of the blaze, Ganga Duleep said. Seven people safely escaped the building using the front exit, but three people could not access the front stairwell or the fire escape in the rear of the building. One resident shinned down a tree onto a ledge above a set of railroad tracks, but the other two residents jumped out of their window and fell 25 or more feet onto the railroad tracks, according to Norwalk Fire officials. The two persons who landed on the railroad tracks were taken to Norwalk Hospital with broken bones, according to police. Prescott commended the work of his firefighters as well as the work of the neighboring departments who helped battle the blaze and man the fire stations that were vacated by the 47 Norwalk firefighters who were fighting the Wall Street fire. Firefighters from Stamford, Westport, Wilton, Rowayton, New Canaan and Fairfield helped Norwalk fight the blaze and also manned the fire stations during the fire response and the subsequent investigation. "That's the way the fire department works. We always step up and we never run out of resources," he said. Four families were displaced by the fire, and Ganga Duleep said she is going to provide the families with apartments at additional rental properties she owns in the city. Duleep said she plans on restoring the burnt building and is awaiting word from the fire department and the insurance company before taking the next step. "Something like this has never happened to me before," she said. "I don't know what to do."
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| Norwalk Hour Coverage, August 13, 2010 |
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Residents jump for their lives to escape fire
Posted on 08/14/2010
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<a href="http://www.thehour.com/story/490283/">Residents jump for their lives to escape fire</a>
NORWALK
By STEVE KOBAK
Hour Staff Writer
A raging fire tore through a three-story Wall Street building early Friday morning, forcing some apartment tenants to leap from their windows onto nearby railroad tracks and injuring two residents and two firefighters. Eight residents escaped the fire and four families were displaced by the blaze, fire officials said. Two of the apartment building's tenants were hospitalized for broken bones, and two firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, according to fire officials. The blaze also destroyed two restaurants, both of which were under renovation. It also disrupted rail service on the Metro-North Danbury line. Norwalk Fire Chief Denis McCarthy commended the second platoon of the Norwalk Fire Department and Deputy Chief Ed Prescott for their response to the blaze and for saving the outside structure of the building. "It was very hard work for two-and-a-half hours in the early stage of the fire," said McCarthy. "Usually, these things end up being total losses." The fire was reported by Norwalk Police officer Christopher Sgritta at 4:44 a.m. Friday. Sgritta, who has been with the department since October 2009, said he was patrolling in the area of Isaacs Street when he saw thick clouds of smoke emanating from an unknown source, and he began searching for the origin of the smoke. Moments after alerting dispatch of the smoke, he spotted the burning building, and he quickly exited his vehicle to see if anyone was still inside of the building. "His alertness and diligence to his duty resulted in police being able to respond just as the fire was taking root," said Norwalk Police Sgt. Angre Velez. Sgritta said he tried to enter the building, but the smoke was overwhelming. A sergeant arrived on scene and the officers spotted two children looking out of the window of the apartment building on the second floor. "We yelled at them to get their parents and see if they could come downstairs," Sgritta said. The children and their parents evacuated their apartment through the front of building, and they were tended to by EMTs, who had arrived on scene in the meantime. None of the four residents who exited from the front of the building required hospitalization. Officers went to the back of the building to see if any more residents were in the building and by the time they arrived, they spotted three residents who had managed to escape the blaze. One resident shinned down a tree onto a ledge above a set of railroad tracks, but the other two residents had jumped out of their window and fell 25 or more feet onto the railroad tracks, according to Norwalk Fire officials. The two persons who landed on the railroad tracks were taken to Norwalk Hospital with broken bones, according to police. Five of the displaced residents were relocated to a hotel by the Red Cross. The landlord of 43-45 Wall St. is providing apartments for the displaced residents at another apartment building that he owns. Firefighters battled the blaze -- which eventually tore through the roof of the building -- for multiple hours, according to McCarthy. Ganga's Restaurant -- which is owned by Ganga Duleep, the mother of former city councilwoman Anna Duleep -- and Garibaldi Mexican Grill both suffered severe fire damage from the blaze. Firefighters from Stamford, Westport, Wilton, Rowayton, New Canaan and Fairfield helped Norwalk fight the blaze and also manned the fire stations during the fire response and the subsequent investigation. Fire Marshal Chris Hansen, the lead investigator of the Wall Street fire, said the fire originated on the first floor, but the cause of the blaze is still undetermined. Hansen said investigators still need to explore "several avenues" and "it will be some time" before fire officials conclude their investigation. "We could be here a day or so," he said. "It's going to take some time to go through the whole building,"
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| Norwalk family of 10 displaced by fire, June 6, 2010 |
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Norwalk family of 10 displaced by fire
Posted on 06/06/2010
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<a href="http://www.thehour.com/story/487423/">Norwalk family of 10 displaced by fire</a>
NORWALK
By LUCAS HAMMERMAN
Norwalk Hour Staff Writer
A family of ten has been temporarily displaced due to a fire at 424 Rowayton Ave. which destroyed a bedroom and hallway on the top floor. Bishop Michael Densmore and his family were at church when the fire broke out in their home. "Wow, I just can't believe this has happened," Densmore said. Densmore is the founder and Senior Pastor of Community Tabernacle and the Chief Prelate of the Community Churches of God Incorporated. According to Captain Edward McCabe, the Norwalk Fire Department received a call at 11:38. Station Two responded and were able to contain the fire to the bedroom and hallway. The fire was contained and extinguished within a half-hour, according to McCabe. The smell of smoldering wood and smoke lingered around the houses facade, outside of which the fire department was debriefing. Three engines, two ladder trucks and several other vehicles responded to the scene. An investigation as to the cause of the fire is currently underway.
The house was occupied at the time of the fire by workers. "There were workmen in the vicinity doing electrical work," McCabe said.
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| Major Extrication - June 5, 2010 |
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Police: Naked man 'yelling he was Jesus' caused I-95 accident
Posted on 06/05/2010
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<a href="http://www.thehour.com/story/487389/">Police: Naked man 'yelling he was Jesus' caused I-95 accident</a>
NORWALK
By STEVE KOBAK
Norwalk Hour Staff Writer
A naked man "yelling that he was Jesus" was the catalyst for a five-vehicle accident on I-95 Northbound near exit 16 early Saturday morning that injured three people, mangled a tandem tractor-trailer truck and slowed traffic to a crawl for nearly six hours, according to Darien Police Sgt. Jeremiah P. Marron Jr. Marron said Darien Police responded to a call regarding a nude male causing a disturbance on I-95 north at exit 14. When police arrived, they saw the man hop into a silver car. With assistance from Norwalk and State Police, Darien officers were able to pull the car over near exit 16. While police were responding at the scene, a distracted driver apparently stopped short near exit 16 to get a better view of the incident, causing the tractor-trailer to slam its brakes, jackknife and careen into four cars before flipping over, police said. The tractor-trailer struck a tree and turned over on its side, according to Norwalk Fire Department Deputy Chief Dave Lepus. Norwalk and Westport firefighters responded to the accident at approximately 5:30 a.m. and began what would become a three-hour extrication process to get the driver safely out of the tractor-trailer truck. "It was a tough extrication," Lepus said. "It took two crews to rescue him and a lot of time to get him out." The driver's legs, arms, hand and head were pinned in the doomed vehicle, according to Lepus. "He couldn't have done much worse but somehow he managed to stay in the void (of the truck's cab) and stay alive," he said. Westport Assistant Fire Chief Robert Yost said the firefighters used "almost every tool" to gain access to the driver. For a while, the firefighters were only able to see the victim's elbow. Paramedics were eventually able to crawl into the cab of the truck and begin treating the driver. Truck wreckers assisted in lifting the wrecked tractor-trailer so that emergency crews could start treating the driver, according to Yost. Lepus said the victim was speaking when emergency crews pulled him from the vehicle but the extent of the man's injuries is unknown. EMS trauma officials drove the victim to Norwalk Hospital. Diesel fuel leaked from one of the tractor-trailer's ruptured fuel tanks and fire crews had to clean the fuel spill. A road sign that was struck by the tractor-trailer fell on a Darien Police cruiser at the scene. The accident completely closed I-95 North from exit 14 to exit 16. Two lanes on the stretch of highway were opened shortly after 11 a.m. but the right lane remained closed. All lanes of traffic were opened at noon. The investigation is still ongoing.
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| Norwalk Fire Department quickly contains porch fire |
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Posted on 05/10/2010
Article and Photo courtesy of The Hour Newspaper
NORWALK --Fire crews prevented more serious damage to a city house Sunday night, quickly squelching a porch fire. Just before 7 p.m., crews responded to a fully involved porch fire at 6 Spicewood Road. According to Norwalk fire officals, the deck was destroyed and a couple window frames along with the siding sustained some fire damage. The interior of the single family dwelling sustained some minor smoke damage. The occupants were allowed stay in the home. The fire was under control in 15 minutes and crews remained on scene overhauling and checking for hot spots according to Norwalk fire.
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| Fatal I-95 MVA |
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Weston man killed in I-95 crash
Posted on 03/29/2010
WESTPORT
By CHASE WRIGHT
Norwalk Hour Staff Writer
State police have identified Lawrence Simonoff, 35, of Weston, as the driver killed Monday in an accident on Interstate 95 in Westport. Simonoff was traveling northbound in the left lane near exit 17 at about 10:40 a.m. when his car was sideswiped by a car from the center lane, according to state police. The wet surface and force of the impact sent both vehicles spinning out of control. Simonoff, driving a 2005 Acura TSX, crashed front-first into the median, while the second driver veered right into the guardrail, and that car was rear-ended by a third car, state police said. Simonoff's car was then struck on the driver's side by an 18-wheeled tractor trailer, police said. Fire departments from Westport and Norwalk responded on scene and used hydraulic tools to extricate Simonoff from his vehicle, said Andrew Kingsbury, assistant chief with the Westport Fire Department. Paramedics rushed Simonoff to Norwalk Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, state police said. The driver of the tractor trailer complained of an arm injury and was also transported to the hospital, according to police. A dispatcher with the trucking company, NKC Transportation, said the company was told by police it was not at fault in the accident and its driver wasn't ticketed. Interstate 95 northbound remained closed for nearly three hours Monday afternoon while state police investigated the accident. State police have not indicated if any charges will be filed.
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Page Last Updated: Nov 05, 2011 (12:33:00)
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