Troopers Carry Children, Help Adults From Burning Home

‘Right place at the right time’ never meant more to a Tolland family.

What started as an alarm at a Tolland School turned into a story of a heroic rescue. Three Connecticut State Troopers are being credited with saving a family from their burning home early Friday morning.

One of those troopers was Trooper First Class Eric Basak.  “You could see the flames and a lot of smoke about a ½ mile away,” said Trooper Basak.

Basak and two other troopers were at Tolland Middle School Friday morning responding to a call when he spotted the flames coming from a nearby neighborhood.  One of the homes on Farmbrook Drive was on fire.  The family inside was fast asleep.  “As I pulled down the road, the flames were like 20 feet above the garage outside the house,” Basak said.

Basak knew time was running out and did the first thing that came to mind.  “I parked my cruiser in front, activated my lights and siren, put my spotlight on the front door, ran up to the house and banged on the door until the homeowner, a man, answered the door,” said Basak.

Turns out that man is a Tolland Fire Department EMT and friend of Basak. Following close behind, fellow firefighters and 2 more state troopers. Trooper Scott McCarthy and Trooper John Barrows also helped get the family to safety.

“At one point it was a very hectic scene. The 2 adults were in the kitchen. We had to convince them it was time to leave. We told them the property wasn’t worth being injured,” said Basak.

The homeowner told NBC Connecticut he improperly disposed wood ash sparked the fire.

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