BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A 7-year-old boy was killed early Monday morning in a house fire on Highland Avenue.
The boy, who was not immediately identified, was trapped in a third-floor room engulfed by flames, firefighters said. The fire was too heavy for firefighters to tackle before putting it out with a hose, and by the time they extinguished the blaze, the boy had been killed, according to Assistant Chief Dominick Carfi.
Carfi said firefighters made an aggressive initial attack, but were pushed back by the flames.
"The fire was too intense," Carfi said.
Once firefighters got a hose up, they were able to knock down the fire. Upon searching the floor, they found the boy, lying next to his bed.
Joseph Albert, the husband of the boy's grandmother, lives on the second floor with his wife. The boy and the boy's mother live on the third floor.
Albet said he had gotten up early to go to the gym. His wife called him to say that the third floor was on fire. He arrived to find firefighters on the scene and was told that the boy was dead.
"He was a good boy," said Albert, who said the boy's name was Carl. "He always made you laugh. He loved to joke around and play. I don't know how this could have happened. He always made you happy. He made you feel like you were a million people."
A family member said one of the men in the house tried to reach the third floor, but wasn't able to get to the boy because of the smoke and flames.
The child's mother and grandmother told Carfi on arrival that the child was trapped inside, Carfi said. They told Carfi which room the child was in, but that room was where the heaviest fire was coming from.
The fire began around 5 a.m., and all those in the house were sleeping at the time, Carfi said, and were awakened by the blaze.
Carfi said the investigation is in its early stages. It was not immediately clear how the fire started. Bridgeport police detectives are investigating the fire along with the city fire marshal's office. State police and the state fire marshal are also expected to join the investigation.
The fire chaplain was called to the scene to be with the family.
"We get calls numerous times of people trapped, but most of the time the person went out a back door, or just wasn't with their loved ones," Carfi said. "This is a heartfelt loss for all of us, we did all we could."
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
