New Acting Fire Chief Named In Wallingford

Wallingford Deputy Fire Chief Samuel C. Wilson III has been named the town’s acting fire chief, Mayor Vincent Cervoni recently announced. Wilson will lead the department, which includes 83 firefighters and support staff and more than 100 volunteer firefighters, following the recent retirement of Chief Joseph Czentnar. Czentnar retired after serving 32 years with the department in a variety of roles. He started as a firefighter / EMT, and worked through the ranks from lieutenant to captain to battalion chief, deputy chief and was named chief in 2021, according to a post on the fire department’s Facebook page. As acting fire chief, Wilson also serves as Wallingford’s Acting Emergency Management Director. Wilson started with the department in 2007 as a firefighter / paramedic, and was promoted to lieutenant firefighter in 2016.
Wallingford Patch

2 people taken to hospital after condo complex fire in Danbury

Two people were taken to the hospital and several people are displaced after a fire broke out at a condominium complex in Danbury. It happened at the Park Ridge Condo complex on Rose Lane just after 4 p.m. on Monday. Fire officials said they encountered heavy fire coming from the complex. A second alarm was struck to bring in more firefighters. The blaze was brought under control within 45 minutes. Crews said four units were impacted and as a result, five adults were displaced. Two residents were hospitalized with minor injuries, officials said. The Red Cross and Salvation Army were called in. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
WVIT-TV NBC 30 New Britain

Restaurant Workers Save Person From Raging Fire In Norwalk

The incident occurred in Norwalk on Friday, April 26, in the rear of 607 Main Ave. According to Deputy Chief Jonathan Maggio of the Norwalk Fire Department, arriving firefighters found a 1,000-square-foot area of brush burning between the Norwalk River and the rear parking area. Before firefighters arrived, Maggio said staff from the local business Dave's Planet Pizza pulled the victim from the fire and up an embankment to safety. Firefighters from Rescue 2 began treatment of the burn victim while members from Engine 1 extinguished the fire. The victim was transported by Norwalk Hospital and was then airlifted to the Bridgeport Burn Center for severe burn injuries, Maggio said. The Norwalk Fire Marshal's Division, in conjunction with the Norwalk Police Department, is still investigating the fire.
Norwalk Daily Voice

East Hartford man dies in crash, vehicle fire in Hebron

PHOTOS: A man from East Hartford has died after a crash and vehicle fire in Hebron on Sunday morning. Firefighters and troopers responded to West Street around 9:47 a.m. after getting a report of a vehicle fire. State police said 20-year-old Anthony Michael Cardello, of East Hartford, was driving south on West Street when he went off of the road and hit a large tree. After the crash, troopers said Cardello's vehicle caught on fire. Cardello was pronounced dead at the scene. The Hebron Fire Marshal and Connecticut State Police are investigating. The investigation is active and ongoing.
WVIT-TV NBC 30 New Britain

Fallen North Haven firefighter to be honored at national memorial in Maryland

A North Haven firefighter who died following a 30-hour shift will be remembered at the national level next month. Anthony DeSimone, 50, collapsed last summer and later died at a hospital. An autopsy was not conducted to determine his cause of death. However, an announcement Friday from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation states that he died from a heart attack. DeSimone was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He will be one of 89 firefighters who died in 2023 who will be honored on May 4 and 5 at the 43rd National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The weekend will also honor 137 firefighters who died in previous years.
WTNH-TV ABC 8 New Haven

Family Of 4 Displaced By Fire In Stratford

Crews responded Saturday to simultaneous fires in Stratford, one of which displaced a family of four, according to officials. Authorities received multiple 911 calls around 1 p.m. about a fire on Freeman Avenue, officials said. Emergency personnel discovered flames coming from a backyard, as well as a house that was 70 percent ablaze, according to the Stratford Fire Department. Several exposed tanks had vented propane, spreading flames to fencing and starting small brush fires, authorities said, adding the blaze was brought under control in about 45 minutes. Around the same time, a porch fire was reported in the 700 block of Honeyspot Road, according to authorities, who said residents used a portable extinguisher to contain the flames with help from staff at the neighboring Stratford Guns & Ammo.
Stratford Patch