Whaler
01-03-2007, 08:42 PM
Connecticut Trooper Pulls Man from Fire
DERBY, Conn.-- A man who failed to notice his home filling with smoke as he cooked a chicken Sunday morning is lucky off-duty State Trooper Alex Horjatschun drove by after grabbing breakfast.
Dominick Teixeira's life was likely saved when he was pulled from his smoke-filled home on Marshall Lane by Horjatschun, a retired Derby fire captain.
"I saw him standing in the foyer in smoke. I don't think he realized his house was on fire," Horjatschun said.
According to Horjatschun, 20 seconds after he pulled Teixeira from the home, it flashed over in flames.
"Another 20 to 30 seconds, and he wouldn't have gotten out," Horjatschun said.
Nobody was injured in the fire, but Teixeira's 72-year-old mother, Grace Teixeira, was visibly distraught at the scene, fainted and was taken to Griffin Hospital. She arrived after the rescue of her son, while firefighters were still putting out the blaze.
Assistant Fire Marshal Charles Stankye, Jr. said the home is a total loss.
"We haven't had one like this in a long, long time," he said.
Because of the severe damage to the structure, Stankye was unable to enter the home to determine the cause of the blaze by early afternoon Sunday, but said the extensive damage was due to the time it took to discover the flames.
"It had a good start," he said.
The city has called in state fire marshals to assist in investigating the cause of the blaze. Derby's fire marshals could not be reached for comment late Sunday.
It took firefighters nearly an hour to control the blaze, and then hours more to put out isolated hot spots, Fire Chief Alan Coppolo said. Crews were on scene from around 10 a.m. until around 2 p.m., he said.
Heat from the flames radiating from the home was so high during the blaze that it melted and warped the vinyl siding of a neighboring home. Coppolo said the damage to that home was only cosmetic and the family who lived there could continue to occupy the home. The residents were evacuated into the yard during the fire as a precaution, but Coppolo said they were never in any serious danger.
The badly burned home was only three years old, said homeowner Amy Teixeira. She, her husband Alex and his brother Dominick, who was alone at the time of the fire, all live together. The Teixeiras have three older children who do not live at home, Amy Teixeira said.
The devastation to the family and their friends was palpable at the scene, as relatives and friends rushed to the tearful Teixeiras to comfort them throughout the morning.
Storm Ambulance Chief Tom Lenart said Grace Teixeira suffered from heart problems and shortness of breath, and was unresponsive at times. A Griffin Hospital spokesman said she was treated in the emergency room and later admitted. No further information on her condition was available.
"She has high blood pressure. [The fire] was a shock to her," Amy Teixeira said. "She was just coming home from church." Despite the day's trauma, she said the family will pull through.
"I've got a lot of friends and a lot of family. We'll be alright," she said. She has family nearby that has offered her a place to stay, she said.
Officials at the scene said they are unsure why Dominick Teixeira was unaware of the roaring fire burning through the home. Coppolo said smoke from the charred home could be seen from his own home two miles away around the time the dispatch call was made. Numerous people called to report the fire, officials said, but it is not believed that Dominic Teixeira himself called to report the fire.
Horjatschun hypothesized that he may have suffered shock and became disoriented, but Lenert said Dominic Teixeira was determined to be conscious, alert and oriented by emergency crews, and refused medical treatment.
Copyright New Haven Register 2007.
Republished with permission of the New Haven Register.
DERBY, Conn.-- A man who failed to notice his home filling with smoke as he cooked a chicken Sunday morning is lucky off-duty State Trooper Alex Horjatschun drove by after grabbing breakfast.
Dominick Teixeira's life was likely saved when he was pulled from his smoke-filled home on Marshall Lane by Horjatschun, a retired Derby fire captain.
"I saw him standing in the foyer in smoke. I don't think he realized his house was on fire," Horjatschun said.
According to Horjatschun, 20 seconds after he pulled Teixeira from the home, it flashed over in flames.
"Another 20 to 30 seconds, and he wouldn't have gotten out," Horjatschun said.
Nobody was injured in the fire, but Teixeira's 72-year-old mother, Grace Teixeira, was visibly distraught at the scene, fainted and was taken to Griffin Hospital. She arrived after the rescue of her son, while firefighters were still putting out the blaze.
Assistant Fire Marshal Charles Stankye, Jr. said the home is a total loss.
"We haven't had one like this in a long, long time," he said.
Because of the severe damage to the structure, Stankye was unable to enter the home to determine the cause of the blaze by early afternoon Sunday, but said the extensive damage was due to the time it took to discover the flames.
"It had a good start," he said.
The city has called in state fire marshals to assist in investigating the cause of the blaze. Derby's fire marshals could not be reached for comment late Sunday.
It took firefighters nearly an hour to control the blaze, and then hours more to put out isolated hot spots, Fire Chief Alan Coppolo said. Crews were on scene from around 10 a.m. until around 2 p.m., he said.
Heat from the flames radiating from the home was so high during the blaze that it melted and warped the vinyl siding of a neighboring home. Coppolo said the damage to that home was only cosmetic and the family who lived there could continue to occupy the home. The residents were evacuated into the yard during the fire as a precaution, but Coppolo said they were never in any serious danger.
The badly burned home was only three years old, said homeowner Amy Teixeira. She, her husband Alex and his brother Dominick, who was alone at the time of the fire, all live together. The Teixeiras have three older children who do not live at home, Amy Teixeira said.
The devastation to the family and their friends was palpable at the scene, as relatives and friends rushed to the tearful Teixeiras to comfort them throughout the morning.
Storm Ambulance Chief Tom Lenart said Grace Teixeira suffered from heart problems and shortness of breath, and was unresponsive at times. A Griffin Hospital spokesman said she was treated in the emergency room and later admitted. No further information on her condition was available.
"She has high blood pressure. [The fire] was a shock to her," Amy Teixeira said. "She was just coming home from church." Despite the day's trauma, she said the family will pull through.
"I've got a lot of friends and a lot of family. We'll be alright," she said. She has family nearby that has offered her a place to stay, she said.
Officials at the scene said they are unsure why Dominick Teixeira was unaware of the roaring fire burning through the home. Coppolo said smoke from the charred home could be seen from his own home two miles away around the time the dispatch call was made. Numerous people called to report the fire, officials said, but it is not believed that Dominic Teixeira himself called to report the fire.
Horjatschun hypothesized that he may have suffered shock and became disoriented, but Lenert said Dominic Teixeira was determined to be conscious, alert and oriented by emergency crews, and refused medical treatment.
Copyright New Haven Register 2007.
Republished with permission of the New Haven Register.