A North Haven (CT) firefighter has died after falling ill at the scene of a fire that displaced 13 residents from a multifamily home, according to reports.
The Hartford Courant reported that the 46-year-old firefighter, a 22-year veteran of the fire department, sustained serious injuries in the Monday morning fire and died later at the hospital. North Haven Chief Paul Januszewski told reporters that the member was working outside the structure. The New Haven Register identified the fallen member as Firefighter Matthias Wirtz.
One of the units in the four-family home was unoccupied at the time of the fire, the report noted.
Crews faced heavy fire coming out of the rear of the home, and firefighters contended with fire on each of the three floors of the building including the attic space.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, but Januszewski said there is no reason to suspect that it was a suspicious fire.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, on Monday, December 26, 2022, Firefighter Matthias Wirtz responded to a reported structure fire at a home on Quinnipiac Ave While working on the exterior of the home operating the engine pump, Firefighter Wirtz became ill and was immediately transported to the Yale-New Haven Medical Center, where he passed away a short time later from an apparent heart attack.
