Pets Killed in Fire that Destroyed Stratford Home, Friends Rally to Assist Family

STRATFORD, CT — Friends are rallying around a Stratford family, whose home was destroyed in a late Wednesday night fire in which two cats were killed. The family made it out of the home safely.

A GoFundMe account was created by Antonio Tony Acevedo on Thursday to raise funds for the family.

“A very good friend of mine Richard Rousseau's house in Strafford Connecticut has burned down,” Acevedo wrote on the page. “Thank God he and his family made it out alive, but for a better lack of words, they have literally lost everything. Including his two loving cats, who died in the blaze. I just got off the phone with him recently, and he said ‘I am just lost right now.’ I am pleading with everyone to look into your hearts, and please donate to this family, who is in need just before the Christmas season.”

Two Stratford firefighters were injured while battling the “fast-moving” fire late Wednesday night at the Huntington Road home, according to fire officials.

Firefighters responded to the home, located at 472 Huntington Road, at about 10:15 p.m. and arrived to find a large volume of fire working its way through the first floor of the two-story, single family home, according to Stratford Deputy Chief / Fire Marshal Brian Lampart.

Lampart said in a press release that a lieutenant and one firefighter were “overcome by the fast-moving fire as they entered the front door causing minor injuries that resulted in them being transported to a local hospital. Both the lieutenant and firefighter were released later in the evening after being treated.”

Visit the GoFundMe page launched to assist the Rousseau family here.

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