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If Mother Natures scorching heat barrage wasnt bad enough, Westport firefighters had to face a raging inferno in Bridgeport on Tuesday. Fire broke out on the 10th floor of the Embassy Towers on Park Avenue, while Bridgeports teams were busy fighting another blaze across town.
The call for mutual aid went out at 8:35 a.m. and Westport responded with two pieces of equipment and seven firefighters. A warehouse had caught fire on Bridgeports west end and the nature of it required a heavy response from the city's crews. The mutual aid was needed just to make sure the rest of town was properly covered.
It turns out, the help was very much needed. While the first fire continued to burn, another one broke out at the Embassy Towers.
Deputy Chief Jonathan Gottfried said in a released statement, Mutual aid units from the various communities worked well together under extreme weather conditions and a difficult fire.
Firefighters had to climb the 10 stories with all of the gear. If that was enough of a trial, 240 residents had to be evacuated. A fire like this is very trying, said Assistant Chief Robert Kepchar. You have to take all of your gear, up ten flights in the heat and with the smoke. Youre looking at 80 pounds you have to carry.
Westport, Milford, Fairfield and Trumbull all sent mutual aid to Bridgeport. To help with coverage back in Westport, additional firefighters were temporarily brought on.
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