Connecticut Post, Bridgeport
(TNS)
Aug. 19—OXFORD — Firefirghters from Beacon Falls rescued 19 people and a dog who were trapped in a restaurant by dangerous floodwaters on Sunday, official say.
Kyle Brennan, a spokesperson for Beacon Hose Co. 1, said their ambulances were responding to calls in Seymour and Oxford at 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 the 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.
"Firefighters assisted 17 people in walking up the aerial ladder, and luckily none of these people required medical attention," he said. "A final person was loaded into a Stokes basket and carried up the ladder to receive medical attention, but she was released after being checked out."
The rescue operation was complete by 7:30 p.m., Brennan said. No one was hurt despite a propane tank getting dislodged from the building and leaking and objects such as dumpsters passing underneath them in the rushing water, he said.
Brennan said Beacon Hose transported a number of people to its headquarters to be picked up.
The rescued happened just hours after floodwaters swept two people into the Little River in Oxford. They have not been found.
In other parts of town, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is working on a plan to rescue 50 campers who are stranded at Kettletown State Park after a bridge washed away in flooding, state officials said.
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