Norwalk Fire Department
Press Release - October 27, 2012

Earlier at 1651 hours, the Norwalk FD was dispatched to a car in the water with occupants inside. The location was the city docks at Vets Park . Upon arrival members of Engine 3 along with Truck 2 and Car 2 entered the water and began a search of the vehicle which was completely submerged. Our members were able to find and remove two victims from the car. CPR was initiated immediately with the help of Norwalk PD units. Several eye witness accounts to where the vehicle was helped locate it quickly. Norwalk FD had eight members in the water to assist in the rescue. An off duty Stamford firefighter was also on scene in the water prior to our arrival. Norwalk PD dive team entered to water to verify no other occupants were in the car. Norwalk and Wilton EMS were on scene. Also Wilton FD dive team was called for assistance if needed. Two firefighters had cuts from broken glass. Engine 3,1 Rescue 1, Truck 2 and Car 2 responded, in total 17 fire dept. personnel were on scene.

Deputy Chief Gino Gatto
Platoon 1

Norwallk Hour Reporting:
March 27, 2012

NORWALK-- Every on-duty firefighter in Norwalk fought to prevent a Wednesday afternoon blaze in a building at LaJoie's Scrap and Recycling from igniting thousands of gallons of diesel fuel and exploding containers of accelerants.  Deputy Fire Chief Ed Prescott said the fire tore through the 60-foot-by-60-foot, two-story sheet metal building that houses the mid-20th century, 20-cylinder diesel locomotive engine that powers a car shredder. The building contained about 9,000 gallons of diesel fuel as well as containers of acetylene and oxygen, fire officials said.  "Our main concern was that a lot of acetylene tanks and oxygen tanks were compromised and were fueling the fire," he said. "Our guys worked really hard to contain it to where it was and to make sure there was external explosions."  Fire Marshall Glenn Iannacone said a fire inspector was looking into the exact cause of the blaze.  Lawrence Street resident Thurman Wilson said he was walking home from the store when he heard "a big boom."?He thought he smelled smoke as he was walking in the door to his residence and as soon as he entered his home, his daughter asked if he had just heard an explosion.  "I came back outside and the sky was full of smoke," he said.  Fire crews responded to the scene at 1:35 p.m., and emergency personnel shut down the section of Meadow Street between Woodward Avenue and Knapp Street. Firefighters on ladder trucks attacked the blaze as flames, as they consumed the building.  A fog of grey smoke drifted into the portion of Woodward Avenue between Lowndes and Longshore avenues, and the smell of diesel fuel and burning rubber filled the air as firefighters knocked the flames down.  The Department of Environmental and Energy Protection responded to the scene to investigate the incident. Prescott said LaJoie's has a system that collects spilled oil to prevent it from entering storm drains, and the drains appeared to collect all of the spilled oil. However, a boom was placed in a nearby creek to ensure any contaminants would be absorbed and removed from the water, Prescott said.  Deputy Fire Chief Chris King said initial reports from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency indicate that the area around the facility is safe.  King said the DEEP was also checking the air quality.  Firefighters from Rowayton, New Canaan and Westport lent mutual aid to the city and fielded emergency calls while Norwalk crews fought the flames. A Stamford Fire Department ladder crew was on stand-by at the scene, but Norwalk firefighters were able to get the fire under control by 2:50 p.m.  Neighbors have reported hearing numerous explosions coming from the area of the car shredder, and nearby residents have often complained about the thick smoke drifting into their property from the facility. The Rev. Nellie Mann, who has lived in the neighborhood next to the scrap yard for three decades, said she can hear explosions coming from the scrap yard, and her house often shakes following the loud sound.  "It seems like they're covering up something, because this really should not be happening," she said.  From 2004 to 2008, the Norwalk Fire Department responded to 24 incidents at LaJoie's, including two fires in two days on Aug. 23 and 24, 2008.  Local environmentalist Diane Lauricella said her ad-hoc local environmental group Norwalk Neighbors for Environmental Justice was planning to meet with LaJoie's management this spring to discuss complaints and concerns about the facility's effect on the surrounding neighborhood. The meeting may be rescheduled to a closer date.  "We want to work with them to help them clean up their act, because it's about time," she said.

 

 

 

Norwalk Hour Article
February 29, 2012

NORWALK-- Fire tore through a downtown trophy shop Wednesday afternoon, and firefighters were forced to extinguish the blaze during inclement weather.  Three engines, two fire trucks and a command car responded to Crown Trophy, 59 Main St., next to B.J. Ryan's, shortly before 1 p.m. to find heavy smoke bellowing from the building.  Fire Chief Denis McCarthy said firefighters encountered heavy fire on the first-floor and flames extending out the rear of the building.   The fire department attacked the fire with two lines while firefighters searched the apartments upstairs for any occupants, he said.  The adjacent occupancies, including B.J. Ryan's, were evacuated while the fire department tackled the blaze. Onlookers took cover from the rain and gathered under awnings at nearby businesses.  McCarthy said no one was injured in the blaze, and it appears that Crown Trophy was unoccupied at the time of the fire. The damage was limited to Crown Trophy and the upstairs apartments. One occupant was displaced, according to the fire department. B.J. Ryan's had some minor smoke damage, as well. 

The Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the blaze.