New Haven Register, Conn.
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Aug. 19—OXFORD — One woman has been found dead while another remained missing Monday morning after they were swept away by severe flooding in town Sunday, Fire Chief Scott Pellitier said.
Firefighters tried to save both women who were in floodwaters on Oxford Road Sunday in separate incidents about a quarter-mile apart, Pellitier said. But the raging waters swept the women away before firefighters could pull them to safety, he said.
One of the women was found dead Monday morning around 7:40 a.m., Pellitier said. Crews are still looking for the second woman, he said.
Pellitier did not provide the identity of the woman who was found dead.
One of the women was in a vehicle that started floating away, he said. Firefighters who were trying to rescue her wound up being swept down the road clinging to rescue ropes and couldn't save her, Pellitier said.
In a second case, a woman was in vehicle in floodwaters and got out to try to walk to safety, but wound up trying to hold on to a sign until firefighters could get to her, Pellitier said. She was also swept away before the rescue could be made, he said.
In another incident, Beacon Falls firefighters rescued 19 people and a dog Sunday as they were trapped in an Oxford restaurant and a residential home by dangerous floodwaters.
Kyle Brennan, a spokesperson for Beacon Hose Co. 1, said their ambulances were responding to calls in Seymour and Oxford about 5 p.m. and ended up staging for another call near Brookside Inn.
"While staging, BH-8 reported that the floodwater was rising and there were concerns that the restaurant's structure could be compromised with 18 people inside," he said. "Fire crews from Oxford were extraordinarily busy with emergencies throughout town, so Beacon Hose requested permission from Oxford fire officials to stage a rescue operation."
Brennan said Beacon Hose firefighters used a truck to reach a nearby residence by extending its ladder over 86 feet. By doing so, they were able to rescue a woman and her dog who lived there.
A crew then extended a truck's ladder 107 feet to a patio area at the restaurant, searched the building and found 18 people who had evacuated to the upper floors of the establishment, Brennan said.
Town First Selectman George R. Temple issued a "code red" alert Sunday, asking residents to stay put since roads were flooded, emergency responders were stretched thin and even police patrol cars were submerged, according to a Facebook post.
All town buildings in Oxford were closed Monday due to the flooding and all town meetings were canceled for the week, Temple said in another post.
The town had earlier planned to open offices late on Monday, Temple said, but decided to keep the buildings closed due to the widespread damage in town.
"There will be no transportation for the Senior Center or Community Car," Temple added.
Temple asked people to remain off the roads to allow crews to assess the damage from the storm.
Business were also impacted with owners and patrons dealing with flooding throughout town.
Isabel Perez and her family were working in their restaurant La Terraza Mexican Grill at about 3 p.m. Sunday when they decided they should warn their customers to move their cars from the rear parking lot because the flooding waters from the Little River were getting close. Perez said she was also hearing a hissing noise coming from the propane tank out back. A short time later they and the customers decided it was unsafe to stay any longer.
"One customer fell and nearly got swept away," Perez said pointing to the front of the restaurant where the parking lot had been swept away. The propane tank, which had been bolted to a cement pad was also missing.
"It just got swept away," she said.
The Perez family had just opened two months ago in a former bakery. On Monday, they still had 6 feet of water in their basement.
Nearby the parking lot behind and next to the Oxford House Tavern was missing in places and buckled in others. There were also some cracks in the roadway and large areas where the earth next to the roadway.
A dark Honda sedan with a child seat in back and vegetation stuck in the grill sat abandoned in the ruined lot.
Mike Lindberg, of Ansonia, ended up spending more than 12 hours in Oxford after he and his girlfriend sought refuge at the Boars Nest Bar and Patio on Route 67 as floodwaters quickly rose.
In a video he posted on his Facebook page, Lindberg showed that rising waters were up to the window of the establishment, which also offers ax throwing for patrons.
"Now it just started coming in the bar," Lindberg said of the water on the video. "We are standing in a foot of water in the bar," he added.
Lindberg shot videos throughout the ordeal, documenting the flooded parking lot and a woman who can be seen getting out of her car and trying to wade through the raging water before finally trying to hang on to a large sign. Debris can be seen running by and the crowd in the restaurant can be heard commenting on how firefighters were working to rescue her, the video shows. It is unclear if she is one of the women who was swept away and missing.
Lindberg finally got home at 2:15 a.m., he said. "We weren't even sure if we'd be able to get out of there," he said. "The roads were buckled."
Staff writers Peter Yankowski, Steve Goode and Josh LaBella contributed to this story.
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