ANSONIA, Conn. — FOX61 obtained exclusive Ansonia Police body camera footage of the rescue of two women trapped inside their burning home Tuesday night. And sources tell FOX61 the culprit was likely pizza.
Wednesday morning was the aftermath of what could've been a disastrous fire for a 90-year-old woman and her daughter.
And the 911 call shows how tense the situation got.
DISPATCHER: "911, What's the address of the emergency?"
CALLER: "Spring St. My house is on fire!"
DISPATCHER: "OK get out of the house."
"Then, across the radio came all units respond, reports of parties trapped inside the residence, and they couldn't get out," said Ansonia Police Sgt. Edward Magera, who was one of the responding officers.
DISPATCHER: "Why can't you get out of the house?"
CALLER: "My door is on fire!"
But, that was the back door. So, police officers were able to kick open the front door.
"The mom (90 year old) was very frantic," Magera said. "She was unable to walk. So, she had to be carried out of the residence."
Audio from Sgt. Alex Berreira's body camera gave an indication of how stressed the elderly woman was.
"The officers took her arms and her shoulders and I took her legs and we proceeded to carry her out," said Assistant Fire Chief Anthony DeLucia.
Sgt. Megara and Sgt. Barreira was both treated on scene for smoke inhalation as was the younger female resident.
"I saw my next-door neighbor (the younger woman) on my driveway with no shoes, just her little shirt on so I grabbed some sneakers and gave her a blanket," said neighbor Alexandra Cronan.
The 90-year-old woman was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.
"It was a very hectic and chaotic scene but something good came out of it," Magera said, with a smile.
While the Ansonia Fire Marshal's office says the fire remains under investigation, multiple sources tell FOX61 a pizza box caught fire inside of the home's oven and that it was tossed outside the back door. Shortly after that, the house caught fire.
DeLuca said this fire reached the point where the flames were roughly 15 feet high and began to extend to the attic.
Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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