One firefighter was killed and three others were injured while fighting a house fire on Blue Hills Avenue Tuesday night, reports the Hartford Courant.
One of the injured firefighters was burned over 10 percent of his body and was flown to the burn center at Bridgeport Hospital, but he is expected to survive, Mayor Pedro Segarra said. The other two were being treated for injuries at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center.
“Today, we lost one of our own, someone who lost his life so that others might be saved,” Segarra said at a news conference at the city’s public safety complex. “He’s a hero.”
He was the first Hartford firefighter to die battling a fire in 40 years.
The fire was reported about 6:30 p.m. at a two-story home at 598 Blue Hills Ave. Members of two families were in the home at the time, but escaped without injuries, fire Chief Carlos Huertas said at the news conference.
Segarra did not identify the firefighter “out of respect for his family,” but said he was 48 years old and had been with the department for six years. The firefighter was born and raised in the city, Segarra said.
“Our hearts are extremely heavy at this time with the knowledge that these brave men and woman risk their lives every day to protect our city,” the mayor said.
“I can tell you the suffering and grief is indescribable” for the family of the victim, Segarra said.
Read more of the story here http://cour.at/1y4iSk6
UPDATE, 10:30 A.M. ET: The fallen firefighter was identified by the Hartford Courant as Kevin Bell, 48, a member of the department for six years.
