Family Of 4 Leap To Safety During Fiery Blaze At Exchange St. Home: Fire Chief

NEW HAVEN, CT—On a sweltering day, New Haven firefighters responded to a working house fire on Exchange Street in Fair Haven, where the occupants, two parents and two children, were trapped just after noon Friday, Fire Chief Daniel Coughlin said.

Coughlin said en route, firefighters encountered a large amount of smoke from blocks away. Upon arrival they had heavy fire on the second floor into the third floor, he said.

"The intense heat melted the siding on the neighboring building," he said.

A second alarm was called as four people were reported trapped; two parents with their two children jumped from the structure, Coughlin said.

"The mother suffered a back injury, and the father jumped from a lower roof into a trampoline to safety with the kids," Coughlin said.

"It took over 2 hours to bring the fire under control with the heat a major issue for firefighters," he said. "Extra water and ambulances were brought in to cool them off. No firefighters were injured."

Several NHFD companies responded, including Eng 10, 4, 17 Tk 3, 1 Res 1 Eu 1 Car 33.