Norwich blaze briefly traps fire fighter

Norwich — A fire fighter was trapped briefly on the second floor of a house during an early morning fire in the Taftville section of town Friday, but escaped quickly after a team of other fire fighters rushed to his aid.

There were no injuries reported in the incident at 24 Harland Place, which was called in at 3:50 a.m. There were two residents home at the time, according to officials, who said the house is severely damaged and the family lost everything.

Fire officials have not yet determined where the fire started and its cause is under investigation.

Emergency crews arrived about eight minutes after the call to find fire showing from one corner of the house, according to Taftville Fire Chief Tim Jencks. Mutual aid from the Yantic Fire Company as well as the rapid intervention team from the Mohegan Sun Tribal department responded.

A fire fighter issued a mayday after his foot plunged through the floor up to his knee, said Jencks. Two other fire fighters held him up so he wouldn't fall through any farther, while several others rushed over to help.

A half dozen fire fighters worked to untangle wires that had dropped down from the sagging ceiling and to extricate the fire fighter from the damaged floor; the two who were holding him up also started to break through the floor, Jencks said.

A bucket truck at a nearby window helped the man out of the house after he was freed from the floor, while the other fire fighters left on foot, according to Jencks.

Jencks said fire crews had the fire under control in about an hour. The family does have pets that are unaccounted for, he said.