Heat, Humidity Hamper Conn. Firefighters

Aug. 22--NEW MILFORD -- Angelo Appi said karma led him to drive by the Candlewood Condos on Thursday, when he saw smoke and flames coming from a building.

"There was an older woman going into the end condo," Appi said. "She was covered with soot. She was trying to save her dog."

Appi, 47, ran from his truck and pulled the woman back from her doorway. Then he got onto his stomach and crawled into the unit to try to rescue the dog.

"The smoke was so thick," Appi said. "It was hard to breathe or see, but I saw a fire in the living room by the sliding glass doors. "The smoke and heat was too much. I had to leave without the dog."

The woman Appi knew only as Cathy was taken to Danbury Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. She apparently was the only casualty of the fire, which broke out about 10 a.m., destroying an eight-unit building in the complex at 466 Danbury Road. All other residents were safely evacuated.

The fire apparently started at ground level and climbed swiftly through the second floor into the attic, said Deputy Fire Chief Todd Russell, of Water Witch Hose Co. No. 2.

"On our arrival, the building was fully involved in flames and heavy black smoke," Russell said. "Every unit suffered some fire damage. By the time we arrived, the fire was halfway through the structure. I started calling for every mutual aid company I could."

Eight fire companies answered the alarm. Two ladder trucks were needed to fight the flames through the collapsed roof.

Russell said the heat, humidity and distance to fire hydrants made firefighting difficult. Hoses were run from the Agway building on the north side of the four-lane highway, which was closed in both directions while firefighters worked.

Robin Buchanan, a house cleaner who was in a nearby building, said she smelled the smoke and ran outside.

"In the corner of that first unit, there was this small patch of smoke, then a line of fire ran up the side of the building and burst into flames on the roof," Buchanan said. "It happened so fast."

Paula Pugliese and her son and daughter were at home in Unit 4 in the same building when the fire broke out.

"My daughter said she smelled smoke," Pugliese said. "We went outside and looked. The whole roof was on fire, with the flames coming our way. The firefighters came for us."

Pugliese said it was "deja vu" for her. She and her family had moved into Candlewood Condos two weeks ago, having been homeless since their house on Pickett District Road burned down in May.

The New Milford fire marshal and deputy marshal are investigating the cause of the fire.

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