Two Women Killed in Fairfield Fire [Updated]

An early morning fire at a cape on Crane Street has claimed the life of a woman, Fairfield fire officials said.

Another woman is in the hospital with critical injuries. Both were pulled from the second floor of the house at 135 Crane St. Their identities have not been released.

Fairfield firefighters responded to the house just before 1 a.m. after receiving a 911 call from a neighbor, who said the house was on fire and the occupants were possibly still inside.

Assistant Chief George Gomola was first on the scene at 1:03 a.m. — five minutes after the 911 call — confirming heavy fire on the first and second floor at the front and right side of the two-story wood-framed cape.

Additional crews showed up moments later and a coordinated attack was immediately underway. Firefighters forced entry through a first-floor window and made it up through the intense heat and smoke to the second floor, where they located the two occupants in a bedroom. They were taken to an awaiting AMR ambulance and transported to Bridgeport Hospital.

Meanwhile, engines 1 and 4 along with Ladder 2 arrived and assisted with fire attack and ventilation, and Westport Engine 2 responded to the scene to provide a Rapid Intervention Team. 

“We encountered extremely heavy fire condition on arrival,” said Incident Commander Gomola. “Through a coordinated team effort we were able to knock down the bulk of the fire while initiating an aggressive interior search, with Firefighters Jeff DeNitto, Will Malkin and John Calandriello pushing through extreme heat as they made the second floor stairwell to gain access to the bedroom where the occupants were located."

"They went above and beyond, with their efforts made possible by Lieutenant Eannotti’s Engine 2 crew on fire attack and Lieutenant Corbo leading Company 3 on ventilation,” Gomola added. 

Fire Marshal Kessler and representatives from the State Fire Marshal’s Office remained on the scene investigating with Engine 5 as of earlier this morning.

Westport and Bridgeport Fire Departments provided mutual aid coverage to Stations 1 and 2, responding to other incidents during the fire. United Illuminated was also called to the scene to disconnect power from the street after Gomola placed a recall of alarm holding all units on scene at 1:41 a.m.

Fairfield Fire Chief Richard Felner, Deputy Chief Art Reid, Fire Marshal Bill Kessler, Inspector Hank Ference, and Safety Officer Chris Tracy all responded to the scene along with Westport Safety Officer Rob Yost to assist with RIT.