Westport CT Fire Department Latest News

September 1.... At approximately 8:43 this evening the Westport Fire Department responded to a report of a motor vehicle into a house on Long Lots Road in the vicinity of St. Vincent’s Behavioral Health. Arriving firefighters found a 2009 Toyota Prius into a house with the driver in the vehicle. The driver suffered injuries as a result of the crash, Westport EMS and Firefighters removed the driver from the vehicle and the patient was transported to Norwalk Hospital for further medical treatment. Firefighters evaluated the structure and determined the damaged to be primarily cosmetic not affecting the structural stability of the house. Due to a minor house fire already in progress at the time of this incident, the Westport Fire Department had a relocated Engine Company from Saugatuck take the Rescue Truck from Fire Headquarters along with Greens Farms Engine Company 5 and an off duty Assistant Fire Chief to manage the scene. The cause of the accident is being investigated by the Westport Police Department, the last Fire Department unit cleared the scene at 9:29 PM.

CLOSET FIRE

September 1.... 8:06 PM this evening the Westport Fire Department responded to a reported “fire out” in a closet in a home at 349 Wilton Rd. One engine and the shift commanders vehicle responded and while en route an additional call from the homeowner stated that the fire had ignited again and the house was filling with smoke. One additional engine and the department’s ladder truck were also requested to assist. Upon arrival units found smoke coming from the front door and a number of items in the first floor closet smoldering. The homeowner was able to hold the fire in check by dousing it with water from the sink. Firefighters used two water extinguishers to extinguish the items and removed them to the exterior of the house. A large fan was used to remove smoke and thermal imaging cameras were used to make sure that the fire did not extend outside of the closet. The fire alarm system that sounded due to the smoke condition was restored and the house checked for carbon monoxide. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Westport Fire Marshal’s Office. The last fire department unit cleared the scene at 9:21 PM.

MDA BOOT DRIVE A HUGE SUCCESS

August 30.... Westport Firefighters held the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s “Fill the Boot” Campaign at Compo Beach. The weather was beautiful and Westport residents enjoyed the day at the beach, while giving tremendous financial support to the campaign. Westport Firefighters raised $3653.41 and will be sending that donation to MDA for the “Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon” which will be held Labor Day weekend. FF Nick Marsan and FF Earl Hill, event organizers from Westport Firefighter’s Local 1081, say “ thank you to the Westport Community for their overwhelming support of this event.” Westport Firefighters have been a strong supporter of MDA and other charitable organizations and will continue these efforts in the future.

WFD HOSTS WAR VETERANS

August 25.... Westport Fire Department had the honor to welcome two war veterans to Fire Headquarters for the day. Jose Rivera, an Army sniper served 2 and a half tours in Iraq receiving 3 Purple Hearts. Taras Kryzalka is a Marine who served 2 tours in Iraq and received TBI from numerous IED's. The fire department was introduced to the two soldiers during a trip to Walter Reed and Bethesda hospitals for Operation Gift Cards (www.ctveterans.org), a program that was started by the father of fire Lieutenant Brian Meadows. Monetary donations are used to purchase gift cards for wounded soldiers. The two soldiers were treated to a day of training including a vehicle extrication and rappelling from the roof of the building. Firefighters were on hand to assist the soldiers through the evolutions and to talk with the veterans about their experiences abroad.

ROLLOVER ON RIVERSIDE AVE

August 18....-A teenage driver escaped serious injury on Tuesday night when she lost control of her PT Cruiser after apparently careening off a high curb, then crossing the road and slamming through a wooden fence and into a parked Mercedes station wagon at 165 Riverside Avenue, opposite the Saugatuck Elementary School. She escaped serious injury and, according to officials, had crawled out of the vehicle before police arrived. She refused medical treatment but remained at the site for evaluation by EMS personnel. No other passengers were in the vehicle which was towed from the scene.

EXTRICATION I95

August 9....At 03:47 AM the Westport Fire Department, Westport EMS, and State Police responded to a two car motor vehicle accident with injuries and extrication required. Two engines, a rescue, and the shift commander’s vehicle responded and found a Suzuki Grand Vitara with heavy damage to the passenger side and two occupants still in the vehicle. A second vehicle had stopped further south with front end damage and fluids leaking, and the driver stating he had no injuries. Engine 5 crew deployed an 1 ½” hose line to protect the trapped occupants and provided medical care. Rescue 3 personnel used the “jaws of life” of remove both passenger side doors of the Suzuki and assisted EMS with the removal and placement of the passenger on a back board for transport to the hospital. The driver was able to get out by himself and was assisted to the ambulance. Both were transported to Norwalk Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Both vehicles were removed by Westport Service Center and the last fire department vehicle cleared the scene at 05:00 AM.

STRUCTURE FIRE - EXTENSION FROM PROPANE TANK

August 6....At 0305 the Westport Fire Department received a call for a burning in-ground propane tank in the rear of # 28 Pequot Trail. Two engines, the ladder truck and the shift commander’s car responded to the initial call. Upon arrival, units found fire visible from the left rear side of the house. Several pillars of fire 6-8 feet high were showing from drains in the walkway around the house, and the ground in the area of the 500 gallon in-ground propane tank was on fire. A plastic garbage can container was burning next to the rear of the structure and fire was extending to the rear exterior wall and under the roof soffits.

Engine 4 stretched a 1 ½” hose line to the rear and Engine 2 established water supply. The firefighters from the ladder truck ventilated the building to remove smoke and carbon monoxide, shut down the power and utilities and check for fire extension to the interior. Two additional Westport engines were requested to assist at the scene and the Fairfield Fire Department provided an engine at Fire Headquarters in the event of other emergency calls. The fire on the exterior of the house was extinguished, but the propane gas fueled fires were allowed to burn to control the escaping gas. Under the protection of a hose line, firefighters shut off the main tank valve, but this only slowed the leak. Additional firefighters checked the house for propane gas that may have seeped into the basement of the home through the ground. After consulting with Gault response personnel, it was decided to burn off the remaining 250 gallons of propane gas with a special flaring tool provided by the Fairfield County Hazmat Team. As of 0900, crews were still standing by at the house while the burning process continued for another several hours. There were no injuries reported. The homeowners were allowed to reoccupy a remote area of the house and the house is still habitable for the affected family.

LARGE TREE INTO HOUSE

August 2....at approximately 5pm the Westport Fire Department responded to check a detached garage located at 5 Sherwood Drive that was severely damaged by an uprooted tree. The tree was approximately three foot in diameter and severely damaged a detached garage at 9 Sherwood Drive. A motor vehicle in the driveway also sustained damage. No personal injuries occurred. The garage was deemed uninhabitable by Fire Fighters on scene and the area cordoned off with barricade tape. The tree also damaged fences at 1 Sherwood Drive, 190 Hillspoint Rd and 192 Hillspoint Rd. The Fire Department responded with one Engine Company and one Command vehicle.

STRUCTURE FIRE - OCCUPANT RESCUED

July 2 2009....at 6:16 AM the Westport Fire Department received a call for smoke in basement at # 35 Hiawatha Lane called in by the occupant on the first floor. Three engines, a rescue and the Shift Commander’s vehicle responded and upon arrival the first in engine reported fire visible on the stove top and a heavy smoke condition in the basement level apartment. Firefighters forced entry through the locked door and shut off the stove that had been left on and unattended by the occupant. Additional firefighters began a search of the apartment using thermal imaging cameras and located the occupant asleep on his bed. Firefighters removed the occupant to the outside of the building, administered oxygen, and summoned Westport EMS to the scene for evaluation. The occupant was transported to Norwalk Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. Ventilation of the smoke was performed using fans, and the other floors of the building were checked by additional firefighters with minimal smoke condition found. The Fire Marshal’s Office responded to investigate the fire. Fire damage was limited to the stove top and surrounding cabinets. Smoke residue was heavy throughout the apartment. The smoke detector in the apartment failed to operate and warn the occupant of the fire due to malfunction.

LIGHTNING STRIKE

July 1 2009....a Victoria Lane home owner returned to her residence just after a thunder storm passed through the area and found a smoke condition in her garage. She dialed 911 and reported the fire to the Westport Fire Department 911 dispatcher. Upon arrival responding firefighters found as reported a light smoke condition in the garage and physical damage to her electric fence system control box. Also found was the remnants of fire damaged roll of paper towels that were stored adjacent to the control box on the garage floor. Fire damage was confined to a small section of wall and the electric fence control box, along with internal damage to a home computer that was also damage by the electric surge from the lightning strike. Three Engines, Rescue 3, and the Shift Commander along with the Fire Marshals Office responded to this incident.

MVA CAR UNDER TRACTOR TRAILER

June 4 2009....at 12:15 AM today, the Westport Fire Department responded to a two vehicle accident with injuries (car under tractor trailer) on I 95 northbound, between exits 18 & 19. Arriving firefighters reported that all three occupants of the vehicle, a 328i BMW with Pennsylvania plates , were out of the vehicle. They were evaluated by firefighters and paramedics from Westport EMS and American Medical Response and were transported to Bridgeport Hospital. The car, wedged under the trailer in front of the rear wheels, had to be pulled out from under the trailer. I 95 northbound was shut down by CT State Police during the removal of the vehicle. The driver of the tractor trailer was not injured. The last Westport Fire Department unit left the scene at 1:02 AM. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

POOL HOUSE FIRE

May 24 2009....at 10:42PM the Westport Fire Department responded to a reported pool shed fire located in the rear of 15 Coleytown Rd. The first arriving firefighters reported a pool shed in the rear of the residence was fully involved. Firefighters stretched a pre-connected 1 ½” hose line and extinguished the fire. The second due engine company shut down the propane supply to the pool heater. Fire Marshal Zygmant responded to the scene to conduct the fire investigation. No one was hurt in the incident. Four engines, an aerial truck and the shift commander’s vehicle responded to the call. A Fairfield fire engine company covered fire headquarters until Westport units were released from the incident. Westport Police Department units shut down Coleytown Rd. for the duration of the incident. The last fire department unit left the scene at 12:14 AM.

MVA I95 ROLLOVER

May 13 2009....at 12:45 AM the Westport Fire Department responded with State Police and Westport EMS to I-95 Southbound on the Saugatuck River bridge just prior to exit 17 for a reported motor vehicle accident with extrication required. An engine, the rescue and the shift commanders vehicle responded and arriving units found a Honda Accord that had struck the median wall, cross all three travel lanes, struck the right side of the bridge and came to rest on the passenger’s side. Firefighters stabilized the vehicle and entered to evaluate the driver. The driver was conscious with minor injuries. The driver side door was removed using the “jaws of life” and the driver was removed from the vehicle and was evaluated by Westport EMS and refused medical treatment. Firefighters stood by until the vehicle was removed by Westport Service Center flatbed truck and a minor oil spill was absorbed with speedi-dri.

STRUCTURE FIRE

May 10 2009....approximately 10:47 PM, the Westport Fire Department responded to a report of an activated fire alarm system at a home at #48 Myrtle Avenue. The department initially responded to the call with an engine company and the shift supervisor’s command car. Upon arrival at the scene firefighters observed the homeowner attempting to douse flames at the rear of the house with a home fire extinguisher. Engine Company Firefighters employed a pre-connected attack line to extinguish fire on the exterior of the rear of the structure. A second engine company and the department’s truck company was summoned to the scene to secure a water supply, conduct overhaul to check for fire extension and to vent smoke from the house. Fire damage was limited to the exterior wood shingles at the rear, and one rear door of the home. Underlying post and beam framing was scorched but structurally undamaged. Water damage was minimal. There were not any injuries. The homeowner related that earlier in the evening, she and her family were enjoying the ambiance of their outdoor, free standing fire pit on the rear patio of the home. The family retired for the evening. Subsequently the homeowner heard her fire alarm warning signal, investigated, saw fire at the rear door and attempted to extinguish the fire with a pot of water and the kitchen extinguisher. The cause of the fire is presently under investigation by Westport’s Fire Marshal. This incident was the second in Westport in ten days where operating smoke detectors provided early warning of a fire in a residence.

EXTRICATION - DRIVER PINNED AGAINST WALL

May 5 2009....at 1:31 PM today, the Westport Fire Department responded to a 911 call for a single vehicle accident with extrication required. Westport Fire, Police and EMS responded to the call located in the driveway of 23 Sandhopper Trail. First responders found a sixty seven year old Westport resident trapped between her late model Volvo and a stone wall. She apparently stopped at her mailbox, got out of the car to get the mail, but forgot to put the car in park. The Volvo started moving down the driveway and she tried to get back into the vehicle but was pinned between the door and the frame of the car. As the car moved down the driveway, the open door started to become wedged between the vehicle frame and a stone wall on the driver’s side. She screamed for help and a couple of alert landscapers working next door jumped into the passenger side door and applied the brake, stopping the moving vehicle and preventing further injury. Westport firefighters chocked the wheels to keep the vehicle from further motion and the car was put in park. Westport EMS got into the vehicle and started emergency care while firefighters went to work, devising a rigging system to pull the car away from the wall without further injuring the patient. The system was put in place and the car was moved away from the wall, allowing emergency personnel to extricate the patient, place her on a long spine board and prepare her for transport to Norwalk hospital for further treatment. The incident went very smoothly, with firefighters using rescue rigging techniques learned within the past year when all fire personnel became certified in Vehicle and Heavy Machinery Rescue during the six day program given by the CT State Fire Academy. Westport Police are in charge of the accident investigation.

RESIDENTIAL LAUNDRY ROOM FIRE

April 30 2009....approximately 5:02 AM, the Westport Fire Department responded to a report of smoke in the house at #5 High Point Road. The department responded to the call with three engine companies, a truck company, and the shift supervisor’s command car. Upon arrival at the large, three story, single-family residence, Firefighters were directed to a second floor laundry. Firefighters entered the laundry room and extinguished burning materials located on the floor of the room. Fire damage was limited to some scorching of the exterior surface of the washing machine. Water damage was minimal. Firefighters used fans to vent smoke from the house. There were not any injuries. The homeowner related her family was awakened by activated smoke detectors. In subsequent conversation with the homeowner, it was learned that her housekeeper utilized linseed oil and rags to clean some outdoor furniture during the previous day. The rags were placed in a plastic wash bucket and set on the floor in the laundry room adjacent to the clothes washer. Prior to departure, Firefighters metered the home to assure the atmosphere was safe for occupancy. The last Fire Department apparatus cleared the scene at 5:58 AM.

MVA ROLLOVER I95

April 26 2009....at 8:57 PM, the Westport Fire Department responded to a reported motor vehicle accident, one vehicle rollover with injuries. Engine 4 from the Saugatuck Station, Rescue 3 and the Shift Commander's Car from Fire Headquarters responded to I-95 northbound, just prior to the exit 18 off ramp. Upon arrival a Ford Ranger pickup truck was found over the guardrail and on its driver side. Two female occupants were being treated for minor injuries by a passing Nelson Ambulance who provided transportation to Norwalk Hospital. Fire units remained to assist with protection of all responders from oncoming traffic and lighting of the area until the removal of the vehicle by flatbed from Westport Service Center. At times only one of traffic was permitted to pass as the vehicle was being pulled up the embankment on onto the flatbed truck. The last fire unit left the scene at 10:20 PM.

STRUCTURE FIRE

April 27 2009....at 4:29 PM the Westport Fire Department received a 911 call from the resident at 253 Greens Farms Rd. She reported that she had smoke in the stairwell to the second floor. At the same time her fire alarm sounded. Firefighters arrived and observed flames coming from the roof near the gutter in the front of the house. Fire crews went to work, opening up that area of the roof and began to extinguish the fire. Inside the house, firefighters opened up the interior wall and extinguished the fire that was traveling up the rafter bays on the interior of the roof. Firefighters continued to open up the exterior of the roof affected by the fire to make sure its’ spread was stopped. Four engines, an aerial truck and the shift commander’s vehicle responded with a total of fifteen firefighters aboard. Fire investigators from the Westport Fire Marshal’s office also responded. The homeowner stated that a roofing crew had been soldering the gutter in the area of the fire just a half hour before. Fire Marshal Zygmant is in charge of the investigation. Firefighters cleaned up the debris from the fire and turned the home over to the owners. Westport Police shut down Greens Farms Rd. in that area for the duration of the incident. The last Westport Fire unit left the scene at 6:32 PM.

SUV INTO SWAMP

April 3 2009.... a wrong turn late this evening ended up causing a little more than a delayed return home for one Westport resident. The driver of a 2004 Range Rover attempted to perform a three point turn on a narrow driveway after realizing he had made a wrong turn. Unfortunately the road was more than a little unforgiving and the vehicle slid down a steep embankment and into a shallow swamp area. Despite numerous attempts to extricate the vehicle under it's own power, the police department was alerted and a wrecker called. Westport Fire Department responded to check for hazardous fluid spills into the waterway. Fire Department units left the scene at 11:59pm.

BRUSH FIRE ON MEADOW BROOK LANE

March 27 2009.... The Westport Fire Department responded to a report of an explosion and fire in a wooded area behind Long Lots Elementary school. Alert neighbors on Meadow Brook Lane said they heard an explosion and then saw fire in a wooded area. Upon arrival Westport Fire Fighters located the fire approximately three hundred feet into the woods. The explosion heard was apparently an aerosol can exploding which had been placed in the fire. The fire was quickly extinguished by Fire Fighters on the scene. A Fire Inspector was called to the scene and more than a dozen cans of flammable fluids were found in the immediate area. Thanks to alert and concerned citizens a much larger fire was prevented. Just a few days earlier the Westport Fire Department assisted in Weston where a 6,000 square foot home and approximately 15 acres of woodland burned due to the extremely dry conditions.

WESTPORT FD RESPONDS MUTUAL AID TO WESTON.

March 24 2009....at 11:27 this morning the Westport Fire Department responded to the Town of Weston on a mutual-aid request to assist fighting a structure fire that also touched off an intensive wind driven 16 acre wild land fire. Westport initially responded with one 4-man engine company, en route the Westport engine was diverted to a 2nd residence being engulfed by flames. Firefighters contained the 2nd fire and limited damage to the buildings exterior. The wind driven wild land fire destroyed a 6000 + square foot residence on Smith Ridge Road, damaged a 2nd residence on Forest Road and required evacuation of several homes being threatened by the fire. Resources requested from Westport included 2 Engines, Chief of Department, Department Safety Officer, and a Regional Communication Vehicle. The Westport Fire Marshal office was also requested by the Town of Weston to assist in the initial investigation of the blaze. A total of 13 Westport Firefighters responded, last Westport unit cleared Weston at 4:20 this afternoon.

HOUSE FIRE ON LYONS PLAINS ROAD.

March 21 2009.... at 12:43 PM today, the Westport Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire at 5 Lyons Plains Rd. Westport and Weston firefighters arrived on scene and began firefighting operations. As firefighters began extinguishing the blaze, additional fire personnel conducted a search of the home. No occupants were home at the time of the fire, but the family dog “Cody” was brought to safety by Westport Firefighters. Crews worked to remove interior ceilings to get at fire in the roof area and the room above the garage. Fire crews worked the scene for about an hour before all hidden pockets of fire were extinguished. Damage was limited to the garage and the room above. The Westport Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire. Seventeen career Westport firefighters, four Westport Volunteer firefighters and twenty four Weston Volunteer firefighters worked the scene. Westport and Weston Police also responded to the scene, rerouted traffic from the area and worked with the Westport Fire Marshal. The last Westport Fire unit left the scene at 3:16 PM.

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