An elderly woman and her son were taken to the hospital after fire broke out in their Ansonia home on Wednesday morning and a an off-duty fire marshal risked his own life to try and help.
Ansonia fire marshal Ralph Tingley was driving by 2 Greenfield Drive around 7:45 a.m. when a retired firefighter who lives in the neighborhood got his attention.
"I was driving by here around 7:45 (a.m.) and saw somebody in the road, jumping at waving, and I glanced to my left and saw smoke coming out of the house," Tingley said.
He alerted the fire department. Then, wearing just the plain clothes he had on, he tried can get inside the burning ranch-style home to help.
First, Tingley tried the front door, but could not get in.
"I couldn't get through that, so I went to the next door and try to make entry from that. At that point, I heard somebody yell 'She's out, she's out,'" he said.
Officials said the mother and son were transported to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire started in the kitchen. While it didn't spread, there is a lot of smoke damage to the house. It took firefighter about 15 minutes to knock the fire down.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but a kitchen appliance might have set it.
Two dogs in the house got out safely without injuries.
