New Haven Firefighter Ricardo Torres killed in overnight fire
Lt. Samod Rankins in medically induced coma
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Ken Houston & Leah Myers, WTNH-TV:
A firefighter has died and three other firefighters were injured while battling a fire at a home on the 100 block of Valley Street early Wednesday morning.
News 8 was told the fire started at a two-and-a-half-story home at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.
A total of four firefighters were injured. Two firefighters had to be pulled out of the building. City officials said one firefighter has died from injuries sustained in the fire, and one is in critical condition.
Paul Bass, New Haven Independent:
Firefighter Ricardo Torres was on the second floor, amid the flames and smoke. At 1:17 a.m.,he called in an urgent “Mayday” message, meaning he was in danger.
A Mayday message followed from a second firefighter, Lt. Samod Rankins.
Fellow firefighters pulled the two out of the building, according to several people familiar with the situation. They had both run out of air. Both were unconscious. Torres’s skin was “bright blue.”
Torres, known as “Rico,” a member of the most recent class of firefighters, was brought to the hospital. He was declared dead.
Rankins, known to friends and colleagues as “Nuke,” was sent to Bridgeport Hospital. He is reported to be in a medically induced coma.
