NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The deadly May 12 New Haven house fire, that killed firefighter Ricardo Torres, Jr. and severely injured Lt. Samod Rankins, remains under investigation. This could be the case for quite some time.
The fire investigation at 190 Valley Street, which remains under the direction of the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit (FEIU), is primarily focused on how two firefighters were rendered unconscious, with one dying.
"We are in a phase right now with NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health)," said Connecticut State Police Sgt. Paul Makuc. "They have arrived on scene here in New Haven last night and they will be working throughout the week."
NIOSH investigates workplace incidents.
"They have a specialized team that investigates firefighter fatalities and line of duty deaths," Makuc said.
Makuc adds, it’s not unusual for a fire investigation to stretch for nearly 2 weeks, especially when a line of duty death has occurred. It can take months to even up to a year."
There was clutter in this home, but it’s still unclear whether that contributed to firefighter Ricardo Torres Jr.’s death.
"It’s just one aspect that we are looking at to try to determine," Makuc said.
Insurance companies are also investigating, so a restoration team was standing by Monday.
"We are called in to kind of help out with the investigation, move things around just so the investigator can do his job and make sure everything safe," said Tyler Mullen, a Crew Chief for Servicemaster.
On Sunday, there was finally some good news related to this incident.
Lt. Samod Rankins, who like Torres, was found unconscious in the home, was released Sunday from Bridgeport Hospital, though he remains unable to speak.
"I got a call at 2 in the morning," said Sameir Rankins, the brother of the injured firefighter. "I was up. I happened to be up. I woke my family up and alerted them and then it was just a continuous process from the hospital to here."
Rankins suffered significant emotional and physical damage, according to New Haven Fire Chief John Alston.
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