Jan. 31--NORWALK -- Two women were hospitalized and in serious condition Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in their fourth-floor apartment next door to Norwalk Hospital.
The women were identified by neighbors as 62-year-old Judy O'Brien and her 92-year-old mother, Marjorie Johnson. Both suffered from smoke inhalation, and O'Brien suffered from burns on her face.
The fire broke out at about 4:15 a.m. in Apartment 4C of the Sheffield Ridge Condominium complex at 45 Maple St. -- next to the entrance ramp to the hospital's emergency room. Deputy Chief Ed Prescott said firefighters broke down the door to the apartment and discovered the women unconscious.
Firefighters removed the women from the building and transferred them to awaiting paramedics. Prescott said about half the building's occupants had been evacuated before firefighters arrived. After the fire was knocked down and the rest of the occupants got out of the building, firefighters searched the other nine units on the fourth floor but didn't find anyone.
Tennants remained outside in their cars while crews ventilated the building and monitored for toxic gasses, Prescott said. The tennants were allowed to re-enter the building at about 5:30 a.m.
The building had no sprinklers or standpipes, so firefighters had to carry their hoses up four flights of stairs, Prescott said.
Firefighters arrived three minutes after the alarm came in and quickly doused the fire, Prescott said. Although there were smoke alarms in apartment 4C, it appears that the women were overcome by smoke before they could act.
Twenty-eight firefighters with four engines, two trucks a rescue vehicle and command vehicle responded to the fire. The other apartments on the fourth floor were undamaged by fire or smoke. The Westport Fire Department provided an engine for coverage during the fire. Fire crews cleared the scene by 6 a.m.
Martha Pace, who lives in the building, said she'd occasionally run into O'Brien and Johnson.
"They (are) very sweet people," she said. "They were very friendly when we'd meet on the elevator or in the lobby from time to time."
Copyright 2012 - The Stamford Advocate, Conn.
