Among the emergency services called to help victims of a fiery crash involving a fuel truck on the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, some of the earliest responders weren’t on the road and couldn’t see what was happening.

Town of Groton dispatcher Nate Kannas said the first 911 calls late Friday morning alerted his coworkers to a “serious crash with fire” on the southbound side of the bridge. When reports began to come in almost simultaneously for a car fire in the area, the initial team of three dispatchers had to figure out if it was the same incident or a different one. Then they started hearing about structure fires directly below the bridge.

“We’re the initial eyes,” he said. “Even though we’re not there, we’re the first responders.”

The massive black cloud of smoke billowed so thick and far that others spied it from miles away.

The dispatchers took in calls and doled out resources: Poquonnock Bridge Fire Department and New London Fire Department responded to the top of the bridge, while the Naval Submarine Base Fire Department and the City of Groton Fire Department responded below.

Incident commander and City of Groton Deputy Fire Chief Ted Sargent said Poquonnock Bridge was first on the bridge within about three minutes. That’s the same amount of time it took the sub base team to arrive below deck. Groton City arrived within five minutes because they were at another undisclosed call, according to the deputy chief.

Kannas said dispatchers in Groton fielded 27 emergency calls in the first five minutes and 62 in the first hour. Since the crash was on their side of the bridge, they were the ones charged with getting police and fire units to the scene. They also had to communicate with dispatchers in New London and at the Troop E state police barracks, where 911 calls were also coming in.

“We got through all the calls, but we had to triage what was coming in information-wise so we could also get help to the multiple locations that were requiring it,” Kannas said.

The emergency they worked to hear and process at the time has since been clarified through a Friday afternoon press conference by Gov. Ned Lamont, updates from the state Department of Transportation and a crash summary from the Connecticut State Police. Then there were the cell phone photos and videos posted by travelers on the bridge and at least one in a kayak underneath.

The fiery tragedy unfolded like this: Wallace Joseph Fauquet III, 42, of Stonington, was driving a fuel truck for McCarthy Heating Oil Service Inc. when a 2006 Toyota Avalon came to a stop in the far right lane of the southbound span after the car’s tire blew out.

Fauquet, in a 2001 Kenworth T300, collided with the back of the car driven by Reginald Collins, 58, of New London. The truck rolled over and a fire ensued, eventually engulfing both vehicles and portions of the bridge. An estimated 2,200 gallons of home heating oil spilled into the Thames River.

Fauquet was declared dead at the scene. A crowdsourcing page on Gofundme.com said the married father of four went by Wally. He delivered oil home-to-home as the family’s main provider.

Collins and passenger Chantel Butler, 35, of Groton, were rescued from the car before it caught fire by another early responder: off-duty New London Police Officer Cornelius “Neil” Rodgers. Declared a hero by New London Police Chief Brian Wright and others, Rodgers on Friday told The Day he was coming home from the gym when he came upon the crash to find smoke rising from the remains of the fuel truck and a bystander helping a woman from the passenger side of the Toyota.

Rodgers yanked Collins, who was stuck in the driver’s seat with the door jammed, out the passenger side door. Two bystanders helped Rodgers drag the man away from flames that moments later consumed the car. Collins and Butler were treated for non-life threatening injuries at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, from where a spokesman said they have been released.

‘Team effort’

Beneath the bridge along Fairview Avenue in Groton, Sargent said burning fuel rained down the bridge. It led to early calls of burning homes that turned out to be premature.

He said burning fuel ran down drain pipes on the bridge; flames went down the storm drain and under Fairview Avenue. Brush fires encompassed 300 to 400 feet; his rough guess put the number at six.

The initial concern was the proximity of homes and propane tanks, he said.

“So that’s where the first hoses went, to protect those houses and the propane tanks, make sure all the brush fires near there and the burning fuel near those structures was extinguished,” he said.

They used hoses to knock down a fire blazing across one of the bridge’s concrete pillars. He estimated it took under an hour to completely extinguish all the fires.

He said emergency preparedness on the bridge relies largely on periodic training and a system of “alarm cards” that predetermine who is going to respond where in any given municipality. On the bridge, the system dictates that City of Groton and New London fire departments will always be designated for initial response.

Sargent recognized the dispatchers for the “terrific job” they did managing the chaotic scene.

Groton Town Police Chief Louis J. Fusaro, Jr. said training – including yearly exercises as part of the Millstone Emergency Power Station preparedness zone – help promote regional efficiency in police and fire operations.

He said managing emergencies is “really a team effort.” He pointed to his close working relationship with Groton City Police Chief Erick Jenkins.

“We work well together,” he said. “That’s our job. The public expects us to do that, to collaborate, and that’s what we did.”

Fusaro acknowledged the fire service takes the lead on emergencies like this one.

“But from an emergency management and law enforcement standpoint, obviously we’re all in the fight together,” he said.

For police, that means a focus on diversionary plans and rerouting as the closed highway gradually reopened over a roughly 24 hour period.

State Department of Transportation spokesman Josh Morgan on Saturday morning said the Bridge Street on ramp has reopened as one lane after crews worked overnight to replace fencing and railings damaged by the fire.

All southbound lanes have reopened except for the far right lane serving as the acceleration lane for the Bridge Street on-ramp.

Kannas, the Groton dispatcher, acknowledged the unique governmental structure in Groton characterized by multiple and sometimes overlapping municipalities and fire districts.

“Groton is very unique, and it's known for being very unique, because you have those different jurisdictions and jurisdictional requirements,” he said. “I truly feel if you can learn to dispatch here, you can probably hold your own in most places.”

He said resolving an emergency effectively requires everyone to play their part. Callers need to call in, dispatchers need to process the information quickly and responders on the scene must work together effectively: “Us in our room, them out on the road, in order to effectuate the best outcome possible given the circumstances.”

e.regan@theday.com