New Haven Man Saves Two from New Milford Condo Fire

Tweet and photos by Jay Holt of Danbury

A New Haven man ran into a burning condo complex Thursday morning and reportedly saved the lives of two women.

Emergency personnel responded to a call in New Milford about a fire around 11 a.m. at the 400 block of Danbury Road, according to WFSB.

Angelo Appi Jr., an EMT of North Haven, saw the fire and pulled over to help. He saw a woman running into the building to try to save her dog, but Appi stopped her and went in instead, according to NBC Connecticut.

Appi told NBC Connecticut he was “overcome by smoke and flames,” and he couldn’t find the dog.

But a woman on an upper level, Patricia Mendes, hadn’t been found, and Appi and another man went into the burning complex to find her, WFSB reported. The men knocked on Mendes’ door until she answered, and the three people got out not long before the fire spread.

“I don’t think I’m a hero, I think anybody would do that,” Appi told WFSB.

The fire chief told WFSB that nothing could be salvaged from the eight burned condo units and 20 to 25 people would be displaced. The deputy fire chief told NBC Connecticut one person had been hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.