One firefighter was taken to the hospital after falling through the floor while responding to a fire in Waterford on Thursday, according to responders on scene.
Multiple departments responded after a fire broke out at 32-34 Vivian Street around 11:45 a.m. Waterford Fire Marshal Peter Schlink said the fire started between the floor of the first floor and the basement. The cause is still under investigation.
Schlink said the injured firefighter was able to crawl out of the home himself and was taken by ambulance to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital for treatment. His condition was not immediately clear.
“When got here there was light smoke showing. When they got inside, there was a lot more smoke. They went in, they said it was a basement fire, they started to head that way and that’s when he went through the floor,” said Chief Todd Patton of the Goshen Fire Department in Waterford.
Liam Feldman lives in the apartment on the upper floor of the duplex and said he was the only one home when the flames broke out. He woke up to the fire alarm going off and smoke rising through the stairs of his apartment.
“If the smoke alarm not been on. I probably dead right now,” Feldman said of the situation.
Working Structure Fire #32 Vivian Street in a 2.5 story wood frame. 1 line stretched and in operation #Waterford @newspeddler @HeatherBurian @WTNH @FOX61News @thedayct
— Waterford Professional Firefighters (@Local4629) February 28, 2019
It took him a second to even process that a firefighter was being put in an ambulance.
“I saw them take stretcher out for him. I didn’t know what the hell was going on,” Feldman said. “It didn’t click with me what was going on until I saw the cat on the ground not breathing.”
Chief Patton confirmed a cat was rescued. Feldman said he saw first responders resuscitate at least one of his neighbors' two cats with an oxygen mask.
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The Red Cross was on scene. All residents needed to stay elsewhere Thursday night.
