WaterburyBlog wishes “THE MEDIC” a very happy birthday!!

Pedestrian Struck

Waterbury Police are requesting EMS to respond to the front of 1660 East Main Street for a pedestrian struck.

|Wtby Blog Reporter 312|

Large Fight, One Stabbed

EMS is transporting one patient that was stabbed at Willo Street and West Main. A large fight broke our at around 1:00 pm, police responded to break it up, and found a male stabbed multiple times. The patient is in stable condition, Waterbury Police have one under arrest.

|Wtby Blog 200|

House fire in Bridgeport

10:40 pm:

Firefighters are laying hoses at 283 Colorado Avenue. The house, a 2 1/2 wood frame structure has a fire showing on the first floor, upon arrival of first units. Searches of the first floor shows noone inside, searches are underway on the second floor.

|The Medic |

Local women help fire victims in Danbury

DANBURY – The owner of a local cleaning business was bringing one of her employees home Friday to her 7 New St. apartment. But before Maxine Nery was able to drop her off, she noticed the road was blocked off because the apartment complex had caught on fire.

Nery went back home and she and her two roommates packed bags of jackets and warm clothes for those waiting outside the building. However, when she got back to the apartment building, she realized the tenants had all been shuttled to the War Memorial, a warming shelter. “I thought we’d get a few blankets and coats – they’d stay warm and go back into their homes – when I realized the building was lost,” Nery said. That is when Nery and her roommates decided to open their two-car garage for donations.

As of Monday afternoon, it was impossible to see the furniture in their living room.

“We’re overwhelmed with donations,” she said.

Over 500 people brought donations to the home on Westville Ave. Ext. on Sunday alone, according to Tacy Mommaerts, one of Nery’s roommates.  “Sunday was the big day – there was a traffic jam in front of our house,” Nery said. She said she had to wait in a line for 15 minutes to get into her own house. “I called the police department to ask for help, but I guess they had other things to do,” she said. Nery, Mommaerts and a few other volunteers, including Rose Robbins from Westport, Rev. Rob Ross, the chaplain at Wooster School and Randell Jones, a senior at Wooster Street school spent Monday going through the bags of donations and separating the items by categories – hygienic products, linens and clothing – and then organizing them by men, women and children.

“What we really are trying to do is give them a sense of dignity so they don’t have to take things out of (garbage) bags,” Mommaerts said.

Nery was overwhelmed by the volume of donations and the generosity of those she met. “It’s amazing to see all these people who don’t even know anyone helping them,” Nery said. “It’s really wonderful – people putting their lives aside to help these people.” She said an older man with a cane brought five bags of donations in five different trips from his car to the house. He refused help carrying them. “You see that people really care,” Nery said. In addition to collecting and organizing donations, Nery and her roommates have been caring for her employee’s child, Nicholas, and his 40-day-old cousin Ashley Silva, since Friday, when they lost their home and belongings in the fire.  But they are lucky – their family was the first one to find a new place to live.  Nery said Nicholas’s mother, Fabricia, was at a new apartment waiting for a Waterbury man, whose mother recently passed away, to bring furniture that he was donating to them.

newstimes

Family Tries To Save Dog After Boy Bit

A Waterbury family is fighting to save its dog after it bit a child.

The family claims that the bite was an isolated incident and their beloved “Bosley” is a gentle animal. “He’s just a big, playful dog,” said Bosley’s owner, Ginny Szantyr. Szantyr said a family friend and his 3-year-old son, Dominick, were visiting earlier in the month and Bosley got confused when Dominick was playing with his Scooby Doo toy.

wfsb

Federal Funds Helping Cities Fight Neighborhood Blight

NEW BRITAIN — – The city is getting $1.69 million in federal funds to demolish or fix and sell foreclosed homes that are marring neighborhoods.

The money, which will be administered through a partnership of city, state and nonprofit agencies, is New Britain’s share of a $25 million federal housing-recovery grant being distributed to seven distressed Connecticut cities. The other six are Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury and Meriden. It’s not clear how many properties can be bought, repaired and sold. City officials must file a detailed plan with state officials Tuesday, outlining what New Britain plans to do with the money.

“This is not a rescue plan in that it can’t be used to give relief to people facing foreclosure,” Ken Malinowski, director of the city’s municipal development department, said Friday. “The intent is to look at areas at a tipping point, streets in danger of sliding into blight from foreclosed buildings.”  There are 134 foreclosed properties in the city, and 72 are within four older, inner-city neighborhoods designated as neighborhood-revitalization zones, he said.

Details about how properties get chosen for repair or demolition were being worked out by the city in the proposal, to be submitted to the state Department of Economic and Community Development, which is supervising the grants.

State officials tracking troubled housing reported in December that there are 20,775 properties in those seven cities with subprime mortgages — financing with initially low-interest rates that can automatically reset to higher rates that borrowers might not be able to afford. Such properties are in danger of foreclosure because the recession and resultant credit crunch have made it nearly impossible for holders of subprime mortgages to refinance into safer loans.

Bridgeport has the most subprime mortgages, with 5,586. Waterbury is second, with 3,320; then New Haven, with 3,090; Stamford, with 2,771; Hartford, with 2,611; Meriden, with 1,700; and New Britain, with 1,697. State officials have estimated that the $25 million in federal funds — along with local funds — will allow the acquisition of 325 to 400 properties in the seven cities, according to a report published last month by the state economic development department.

Courant

West Haven: Sledding Accident

10:10 pm:

West Haven – Fire personnel are requesting EMS to 600 Jones Hill Road fo a sledding accident. The patient, a 17 year old male is in and out of consciousness.

|SG-60|

Mall evacuated in Norwich

6:25 pm:

The Norwichtown Mall at 42 Yantic Street has been evacuated due to heavy flooding. Norwich Fire Department is on the scene trying to pump the water out. The command at the scene has requested the electric to be shut down.

News Round up 01/19/08

Waterbury – EMS treated and transported a pedestrian that was struck by an auto in front of 2565 Main Street. Police are investigating.

Bridgeport – EMS treated 2 patients at the intersection of Wood Ave and Maplewood Ave after being struck by a vehicle.

West Haven – Police and EMS responded to Lamson Street for a pedestrian struck. Accident Investigation Team is on the scene as well.

Bridgeport – Firefighters extinguished a fire at 605 Capitol Avenue. Firefighters reported heavy smoke showing from the top floor of a 2 1/2 story home.

Multiple Vehicle Rollovers in Shelton

6:20 pm:

Fighterfighters in Shelton are attempting to free an occupant pinned in a vehicle. The vehicle rolled over on Armstrong Road at the Route 8 overpass.

8:00 pm:

Shelton Firefighters are putting the hurst tools to work once again today. Emergency personnel are attempting to free a pinned victim from an overturned auto at Walnut Tree Hill Road and Isinglass Road.

Priest Assualted in Waterbury

6:15 pm:

Waterbury Police are requesting EMS on a rush for a priest that is unconscious after being assualted.  The church is located at 322 Baldwin Street. Police have one female suspect in custody.

Waterbury-Ops Desk|312|

Police car involved in crash

10:25 pm:

A New Haven Police cruiser has bee involved in a motor vehicle crash. the incident occurred at the intersection of Chapel Street and James Street. A supervisor on the scene is requtesting a ‘DWI’ unit to respon as well.

Waterbury News Desk (312)

Ansonia crews battle several fires

Ansonia (WTNH) – Fire crews in Ansonia scrambled from one scene to the next after multiple fires broke out in town Saturday. At least one firefighter was injured.

Ansonia firefighters responded to as many as five calls. The most hectic scene was at 141 Howard Ave. near Grove.

When firefighters arrived they saw a chaotic scene. Flames were shooting out of the second story of the home. The fire chief told News Channel 8 they instantly had to go into a defensive mode. One firefighter was a little shaken up when his oxygen ran out, but he is okay. Ansonia’s mayor said he believes at least seven people are displaced from the Howard Street fire, and the city was going to assist those folks to make sure they have to place to stay tonight. There was another fire on North Street, on the second floor of a multi-family home. Firefighters knocked that down quickly, but there were people displaced there too.

Danbury Apartment Complex Destroyed In Fire

DANBURY – Forty-one people who lost everything when their apartment complex was destroyed Friday night were being helped with food, clothing and shelter today.

The War Memorial was open Friday and today for victims of the fire who had nowhere else to stay, Sandi Cole, director of emergency services for the American Red Cross of Western Connecticut, said today. The temporary shelter also housed several homeless residents whose shelter near the fire on New Street lost power Friday night, Cole said. The homeless residents were able to return to the permanent shelter today, she said. About 25 Red Cross volunteered to the scene and the War Memorial Friday night to help the fire victims. The 14 families displaced by the fire received food and clothing today or money to buy goods they need immediately, she said.

“We provide money, food, shelter, clothes as well as take care of their spiritual and emotional needs,” she said.

The fire in the 12-unit complex broke out Friday night as temperatures dipped into the single digits. No injuries were reported, but a pregnant tenant was taken to a hospital to be checked as a precaution. Fire officials say it took about two hours to bring the fire under control. They say it appeared to have started on the first floor near the rear of the three-story structure.

The cause remained under investigation today.

First hand report from the scene:

On January 16th at 18:10 hours, the 9-1-1 phones rang at the Fire Communications center, reporting smoke in the halls and an alarm sounding at 7 New Street in Danbury. Number 7 New Street is a large three story wood frame building which was built in 1943, and contains 12 apartments along with a now vacant bar on the first floor. What makes this occupancy interesting, is that it is directly next door to Danbury Fire Headquarters. Engines 21 and 22, along with Truck 1 and Car 30 (Asst Chief Bob Keenan) were on the scene in less than one minute. Firefighters found heavy smoke filling the place and the multiple occupants fleeing the building. Many of the these residents are non-English speaking, and the arriving Firefighters had to work quick to get them all to evacuate the premises.
Fire was already traveling in the void spaces as the last residents left the building. With fire taking hold of the building, Asst Chief Keenan began requesting resources. Career staffed Squad 23 and Engine 25 came to the scene, while Engine 26 responded to Fire Headquarters to bring Truck 2 to the scene. Danbury Volunteer units included Engine 5, Engine 8, Engine 9, and Squad 6. Realizing he was going to need alot of help, Asst Chief Keenan requested the call back of additional career personnel. Approximately 25 career members responded back to fill unmanned stations, as well as respond to the fire. Initially units conducted an interior attack, while the Truck Company opened the roof, however as the fire spread and made it’s way to the cockloft, interior units were pulled out, and strategy changed to an exterior attack. Both Truck 1 and Truck 2 utilized their ladder pipes, while other master streams were deployed on the ground. With the temperature at about 5 degrees Fahrenheit, it began to cause various problems, including some water supply problems with the hydrants. To suppliment the hydrant supply, a tanker shuttle was then ordered and was set up in the parking lot of Fire Headquarters. All five Danbury Tankers were pressed into service, along with one from the Bethel Fire Department. Danbury Volunteer Engine 12-1 (Mill Plain) was the source engine at the portable pond, while Danbury Volunteer Engine 10 (Germantown) filled tankers from a hydrant a few blocks away. The firefight continued long into the night.
Danbury EMS stood by for injuries and set up a rehab sector, assisted by the Miry Brook VFD Ladies Auxillary and their canteen truck. This rehad sector was set up inside the bays of Fire Headquarters, making it easy for the firefighters to come next door from the fire and warm up.

There were no civilian or fire service casualties, and the fire is under investigation by the fire marshals office.

Courant 1RBN

Hospital to reduce staff

In the wake of substantial losses during the past fiscal year, Waterbury Hospital has set a goal of eliminating 10 percent of its work force, or the equivalent of 160 full-time positions, by the end of September.

Though some jobs are expected to be eliminated by attrition and by not filling vacant positions, the hospital will be forced to lay off an undetermined number of workers over the next eight months, officials said Friday. “We’re not going to be able to avoid layoffs,” said John H. Tobin, the hospital’s president and chief executive officer. “It will be painful.” The exact number of people who will lose their full or part-time jobs this year has yet to be determined, Tobin said. The layoffs will take place intermittently between now and Sept. 30, and will likely affect most hospital departments, he said.

“Every department will be scrutinized,” he said.

The hospital employs about 2,000 people in the equivalent of 1,650 full-time jobs, said Colleen Scott, its chief financial officer.

The hospital reported a loss of $8.5 million for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, almost double the $4.3 million loss it reported in fiscal 2007. The hospital’s parent, the Greater Waterbury Health Network, reported a loss of $17.8 million, more than three times the $5.1 million loss it reported the previous year. The health network’s loss, which includes the $8.5 million loss sustained by the hospital, was due mostly to the collapse of the financial markets last fall, which dramatically reduced the organization’s investment income, Tobin said. The hospital has traditionally relied on the network’s investment income to help balance its books in years in which it sustained an operating loss, and as a source of funding for capital improvements, he said. “The downturn in the financial markets hit us pretty hard,” Tobin said. “We’re no more immune to what’s going on in the larger world around us than anybody else. Now we’re going to have to start operating more efficiently and more productively to help compensate for the upheavals in the market.”

Fiscal 2008 was the third straight year both the hospital and its parent reported year-end losses. The last time both finished in the black was fiscal 2005, when the hospital reported a $3 million surplus and the parent company reported a $2.5 million surplus. The hospital has already begun an exhaustive department-by-department assessment that will help it determine where personnel cuts might be made. It is being assisted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a business consulting and performance improvement firm.

The layoffs are being made in an effort to reduce the hospital’s annual operating expenses by 6 percent, or $13.7 million.

Aside from curbing costs, the hospital is also searching for opportunities to increase its revenues, said Dr. Steven Schneider, vice president of medical affairs. The consultant firm has identified a number of revenue optimizing opportunities that could help the hospital increase revenues by about 5 percent, or $11 million, he said. Those opportunities include supply chain and inventory management improvements, he said. Hospital officials said non-union employees will not receive pay raises during the current fiscal year, while union workers, who make up slightly more than 50 percent of the total work force, will receive raises in accordance with their contracts.

The hospital will consider imposing salary reductions or deferrals, but is not likely to do that because those measures tend to offer only temporary fiscal relief while the hospital is seeking to permanently reduce its cost structure, officials said

rep-am

LifeStar Requested in Deep River

4:33 pm:
Firefighters have just requested a LifeStar medivac helicopter to respond to a rollover crash. The incident is at Route 9 north between exit 5&6. Firefighters are extricating the patient, with serious injuries.

4:40 pm:
Firefighters are advising the enroute EMS crew that the patient has an amputation.

Wtby-Ops Desk (67)

One Dies in East Haven Crash

3:55 pm:

One person is dead after a fatal crash. A truck crashed into a pole near 76 Foxon Road. Police and Fire Department are on the scene with one confirmed fatality. The  body still has to be extricated from the truck.

Wtby-Ops Desk (312)

New London Bank Robbery

3:15 pm:

New London Police are reporting 2 black males robbed the Dime Bank at 351 North Frontage Road. The suspects fled the scene in a green Cadillac. No reports of how much money and if weapons were displayed.

Hit & Run in New Haven

3:10 pm:

New Haven Police are looking for a vehicle that struck a pedestrian and fled the scene. The victim was struck at the intersection of Whalley Avenune and Orchard Street. Fire and EMS personnel are preparing the patient to be transported to the hospital.

3 New England Projects Share $600K for Brownfields Environmental Job Training

Two communities in Connecticut and one in Massachusetts will share $600,000 in EPA Brownfiellds job training grants geared toward cleaning up contaminated properties and turning them into productive community assets. The three New England recipients that will be awarded $200,000 EPA Brownfields job training grants are New Bedford, Mass., Workplace Inc. of Southwest Connecticut (located in Bridgeport, Conn.), and the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, located in Waterbury, Conn. The EPA grants will help teach environmental assessment and cleanup job skills to individuals living in areas near brownfields sites. “EPA’s Brownfields Program has been a powerful economic engine helping revitalize and restore neighborhoods across New England and nationwide,” said Robert Varney, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “These grants take that success a step further, by training community members with lasting skills to convert contaminated areas back into productive uses in their communities.” The Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board (NRWIB) in Waterbury plans to train 60 students and has a goal of placing 50 graduates in environmental jobs. The training program will include environmental, health, safety and industrial training; lead and asbestos abatement training; and remediation technologies training. The NRWIB will work with the Waterbury Development Corporation, trade unions, environmental organizations and private sector remediation specialists to place graduates in environmental jobs. The Workplace Inc. (Southwestern Connecticut’s Regional Workforce Investment Board), is a nonprofit organization that provides employment and training services for a 20-town region in Fairfield County. Recent assessments have identified 26 brownfield sites within the target area. The Workplace plans to train 60 students from five towns, including Norwalk, Ansonia, Derby, Seymour and Shelton, with a goal of placing 48 in environmental jobs. The training program will include lead and asbestos abatement, 40-hour “Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard” (HAZWOPER), and environmental technician. Trainees who go beyond the basic course requirements may become certified in a number of other environmental areas with a potential for earning up to 13 college credits. Students will be recruited primarily from among the residents of the five towns targeted by this program. The Workplace, Inc., will institute an environmental jobs hotline, establish a job club, and work with members of the advisory board who are in the environmental sector to place program graduates. The City of New Bedford, Mass., has clusters of underused or abandoned textile mills, electronic manufacturing facilities and other industrial sites, many of which are located adjacent to densely populated, low-income neighborhoods. Brownfield cleanups are underway or planned for several mill, electronics, and tool sites. Students will be recruited from among the city’s unemployed and underemployed residents in brownfields-impacted neighborhoods. New Bedford plans to train a total of 60 students in two tracks, and place at least 33 graduates in environmental jobs. The environmental competency track includes 344 hours of coursework and certifications in HAZWOPER; asbestos, lead, and mold abatement; hazardous substance transportation; vapor intrusion; and alternative technologies. The higher-education track consists of 465 hours of training in site evaluation and GIS, incident management, hazardous waste management, and general chemistry. Trainees who complete the higher-education track will receive up to 25 college credit hours. The primary trainer will be Bristol Community College. New Bedford will work with the Greater New Bedford Career Center to place graduates in environmental jobs. The three New England projects competed successfully in a national grant process. They were among only thirteen communities in 12 states selected to share $2.6 million in job training grants. Since 1998, EPA has awarded more than $25 million in brownfields job training funds, and more than 4,000 people have completed training programs nationwide. More than 3,000 of these graduates have since gotten good paying jobs in the environmental field. These programs are designed to ensure that economic benefits derived from brownfields redevelopment remain in the affected communities. EPA’s brownfields program encourages redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites. Since the beginning of the program, EPA has awarded more than 1,400 assessment grants totaling approximately $337 million, 240 revolving loan fund grants totaling more than $233 million, and 530 cleanup grants totaling approximately $99 million. EPA’s brownfields assistance has attracted more than $12.7 billion in private investment and helped create more than 53,000 jobs.

yosemite.epa.gov

Shots Fired at Police, 1 Dead

11:05 pm:
Groton Police are setting up a perimeter in the area of Laurelwood Road and Poquonnock Road after gun shots were just fired at an officer. Connecticut State Police ESU is enroute to the scene. It is unclear as to why the shots were fired and as to why the police were called

Update: 6:30 am:
Early Thursday morning the SWAT Team had sorrounded a home at 1085 Poquonnock Road where the suspect was reported to be. Upon entry into the home members of the SWAT Team found the suspect deceased inside the home.

This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.

DUI charged when car rams cruiser in front of Waterbury strip club

Waterbury police cruiser and a blue Pontiac Grand Am driven by a Waterbury man were damaged Monday night when they collided head-on in front of Peek A Boos Cafe at 213 Chase Ave. The driver of the Pontiac, Cecilio Lopez, 37, of 196 Alder St., turned into the path of the police cruiser and struck it at 8:09 p.m. Lopez, who was not injured, was drunk and was charged with driving under the influence, police spokesman Lt. Christopher Corbett said. The driver of the cruiser, Officer Matthew Lemos, and his passenger, Officer Jonathon Rodriguez, were taken to Saint Mary’s Hospital with complaints of neck, head and back pain, Corbett said. They were treated and released a short time later. The cruiser landed on top of a snow bank in front of the cafe. The crash caused traffic delays in the area as police reconstructed the accident.

Rep-Am

Fully involved house fire in Ridgefield

RIDGEFIELD, CT – More than 50 firefighters from seven towns battled a fully involved house fire that destroyed a house at 3 Turtle Ridge Court in the Ridgebury section of Ridgefield.

Investigators from the state and town fire marshal’s office are now probing what little remains of the structure.

Ridgebury Road, which has been closed since late this morning, should reopen soon.

The fire, reported at about 10:45 after an apparent explosion, involved a two and a half story house at the corner of Turtle Ridge and Canterbury Lane. Emergency personnel on the scene said it was believed to be the home of John and Lorraine Brice.

Police were first on the scene and reported the second and third floors of the 6,000-square-foot house were ablaze. 

A policeman checked the ground floor of the house for occupants, and found no one. 

Officers were also hopeful no one was on the second floor. 

“There were flames coming out,” Officer John Gogola said of the house when he arrived. “We knocked in the front door and went to the upstairs and yelled ‘fire’ at the bedroom doors.”

Smoke from the fire is visible five miles south in the center of the village. 

Help in the form of extra tankers was summoned from Danbury, Georgetown, Brewster, Croton Falls, Goldens Bridge, South Salem, and North Salem. 

Firefighters set up a portable pond at the intersection of Ridgebury Road, Canterbury Lane and George Washington Highway. At least six tankers were involved in the water shuttle and pumping effort.

Because of the portable pool, Ridgebury Road was closed to traffic for a couple of hours.

1st Responder

Fire in Naugatuck Home

NAUGATUCK, Conn. — An early-morning fire damaged a Naugatuck home Wednesday. 

The fire was reported on Woodvine Street before 5 a.m. 

Fire officials were able to extinguish the blaze by 7 a.m. They said fighting the fire was difficult because of the bitter cold.

One person was treated for smoke inhalation.

[Zippy]