Connecticut Firefighter Killed Battling Blaze, Lieutenant in Critical Condition
30-year-old Ricardo Torres Jr. was killed while battling a fire early Wednesday morning. Photo courtesy New Haven Fire Department.
A 30-year-old New Haven, Connecticut, firefighter died fighting a house fire early Wednesday morning. Ricardo Torres Jr. radioed a mayday call while inside the burning house after two people had been rescued from the blaze. When fellow firefighters reached Torres, he was unresponsive. He was found with New Haven Lt. Samod Rankins, who officials say is in critical condition in a burn unit at a hospital in nearby Bridgeport.
Torres was married with one young son.
Firefighters responded to the fire soon after midnight, where a home with a basement was fully engulfed. A tenant and the 84-year-old owner were inside but quickly evacuated by Torres’ crew. The two firefighters then began attacking the fire, advancing a hose line inside. Torres put out a mayday call soon after.
New Haven mayor Justin Elicker said Torres’ mother was at the hospital where Torres was taken and she spoke about “how when he was a young boy he always wanted to be a firefighter,” Elicker said. “Firefighter Torres is a son, he’s a brother, he’s a husband and he’s a hero. He ran inside a building to save other people and lost his life.”
Torres was hired in 2019, Rankins in 2018, said New Haven Fire Chief John Alston. Rankins had been promoted in March to lieutenant.
“Our hearts are broken. Our spirits are hurting. Our faith is strong,” Patrick Cannon, president of the local firefighters union. Surrounded by local firefighters at a press conference, he said, “What you’re seeing now is family. We’re family and we’re hurting.”
Fire departments around the region and country shared messages of condolence and unity on social media with the New Haven department.
#LODD 05/12/2021
Ricardo Torres Jr.(30)
New Haven FD(CT)
While working at a residential fire,
FF Torres transmitted a mayday,
he & his Lt. were found unresponsive on the 2nd floor.
The Lt. remains in critical condition. #RIPBrother pic.twitter.com/Xaf86siEGs— FF#LODD (@FirefighterLODD) May 12, 2021
@charlottefire sending prayers & blessings to the family & the New Haven Fire Department for the loss of Firefighter Ricardo Torres Jr. (30) @NewHavenFire #neverforget pic.twitter.com/Mmz0mpj5m3
— Charlotte Fire Dept. (@charlottefire) May 12, 2021
Connecticut today is mourning the loss of @NewHavenFire Firefighter Ricardo Torres, Jr., who died early this morning in the line of duty while responding to an emergency.
In honor of this hero, I am directing flags in the state lowered to half-staff.
?https://t.co/I4CQzTtaHH pic.twitter.com/DRD3fCyePx
— Governor Ned Lamont (@GovNedLamont) May 12, 2021
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Matt White is a former senior editor for Coffee or Die Magazine. He was a pararescueman in the Air Force and the Alaska Air National Guard for eight years and has more than a decade of experience in daily and magazine journalism.
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