Branford's Bravest Battled Late Night Interstate Vehicle Blaze

BRANFORD, CT — Among the most dangerous locations for first responders to do their heroic work are highways. And so when Branford firefighters are called to a late-night incident on Interstate 95, it's not run-of-the-mill.

Branford Fire Department Chief Tom Mahoney told Patch that Branford's bravest were summoned to a vehicle fire at around 9:30 Tuesday night on I-95 North between exits 54 and 55.

A 2002 GMC Envoy, with three people inside, caught fire, Mahoney said. The fire began in the engine compartment, he said, and was an accidental one, likely due to "some type of failure."

No one was injured, he said, thankfully.

Mahoney pointed to an Emergency Responder Safety Institute study that reveals just how deadly it can be for first responders on the nation's busy highways, with I-95 a well-known very busy roadway. In 2019, 44 "emergency responders" were killed working incidents on highways.