Hamden Fire Department
A thermal imaging camera helped firefighters save a man and his pets from a burning building.
The fire took place Saturday night at 2625 Dixwell Ave.
Here’s what happened, according to Fire Marshal Brian Dolan:
A couple returning to the house “heard smoke detectors sounding throughout” the two-story one-family house. Firefighters arrived there at 10:23 p.m. to find smoke on the fist and second floors.
A man went back in to try rescue the family dog and the family bird. Firefighters went in looking for him. A thermal imaging camera helped them find him. They were able to “safely remove him and the pets from the house.”
They were also able to contain the fire to the master bedroom on the second floor, where it apparently started thanks to a candle “left burning on a dresser in the bedroom.”
Battalion Chief John Spencer declared the fire under control at 10:41 p.m. The house suffered “heavy smoke damage” along with water damage. It will need repairs, during which time occupants plan to stay with relatives.
A 78-year-old woman went to the hospital “for evaluation and was released” Sunday.
