Blaze That Killed Firefighter Not Criminal, Began In Basement: Police

NEW HAVEN, CT — On the one-year anniversary of New Haven firefighter Ricardo Torres' line-of-duty death, state police have released the cause, and origin, of the fatal Valley Street fire.

The Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit finished its probe into the May 12, 2021 blaze that cost one firefighter his life, and seriously injured another. Investigators said the fire started in the basement of the house, and spread to the second and third floors. They noted it caused "severe fire and collapse damage." What investigators could not find was the initial cause of the fire, due to damage so great there was no "physical evidence" to determine how it began.

From the state police report:

"It was 12:44 a.m. when the New Haven Public Safety Telecommunication Center received the first of three 911 calls reporting a fire at 190 Valley St. The New Haven Fire Department was dispatched to the working structure fire and was soon notified that there was a party entrapped within the building.

Through the heroic efforts of the responding New Haven firefighters and police officers, an
elderly female occupant was rescued from the first floor of the two family residence. Conditions
within the structure rapidly deteriorated as firefighters attacked the fire.

During the fire suppression efforts, firefighter Torres Jr. initiated radio transmissions that indicated he was under duress. An immediate rescue effort was initiated and Firefighter Torres was pulled from the second floor of the structure but was unresponsive, and later pronounced deceased after being transport by ambulance to Yale New Haven Hospital.

Lieutenant Samod Rankins was also rescued from the structure and sustained serious injuries requiring a lengthy recovery.

The fire origin and cause investigation determined that the fire originated in the basement
of the structure and spread to the first and second floors causing severe fire and collapse damage.
Due to the extent of damage and lack of physical evidence, the cause of the fire was not able to
be determined. There is no criminal aspect."

Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic line-of-duty death of the man who as a young boy, dreamed of being a firefighter.

At his home station, Dixwell Engine Company 6, Truck Company 4 and Emergency Company 3, on Goffe Street, a memorial was unveiled in honor of Torres.

It was just before 1 a.m., May 12, 2021, when firefighters were called to the two-family home at 190 Valley St. The house was "fully involved" with fire, Fire Chief John Alston said at the time. Two who had been trapped were rescued, one, the 84-year-old woman who owned the property and a male second floor tenant. In less than 30 minutes, the blaze became a two-alarm fire and soon, a mayday came in. Torres was "lost and disoriented on the second floor," Alston said at the time.
Torres, and firefighterRankins were found unconscious on the second floor.

Firefighters from various fire companies worked under "intense conditions" to get the men out of the house, Alston said then. Torres did not survive, and Rankins, seriously burned, was hospitalized.

Months later, the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said his cause of death was asphyxia due to lack of breathing gas, and the manner of death was ruled as accidental.

At the time, when Alston was asked how firefighters are coping with the loss, said, "There are no words, absolutely no words. You see all the stages of grief happening in real time."

After 12 days in the burn unit, Rankins was discharged from the Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital.

Torres, who became a New Haven firefighter in July 2019, was laid to rest May 20, 2021.