Police rescue woman from burning Pawcatuck home
May 16—PAWCATUCK — Police officers forced their way into a burning Washington Street home early Thursday to rescue a woman trapped inside, fire officials said.
The sole occupant of the multifamily home at 5 Washington St., who is an elderly woman recovering from a recent surgery, called 911 to report the fire at 2:02 a.m.
Firefighters arrived to find flames already shooting from the roof of the three-story structure, Pawcatuck Fire Chief and Fire Marshal Kevin Burns said.
Stonington police were the first to arrive at the scene. Stonington police officers Kyle Miller and Peter Sieczkiewicz forced their way into the home to aid the woman, who could not get out on her own, Deputy Police Chief Todd Olson said. The two officers carried the woman to a waiting ambulance and joined off-duty Stonington police officer Julia Rich to evacuate surrounding homes.
The woman was taken by Westerly Ambulance to Westerly Hospital for an evaluation and later released, Burns said.
Firefighters from Pawcatuck and Westerly fought through heavy rain and windy conditions to not only extinguish the fire, but stop the blaze from spreading to the adjacent homes, Burns said. The fire was contained to the home, which sustained fire, smoke and water damage.
No injuries were reported.
Burns said the fire appears to have originated near an electrical panel in the basement and spread up through the walls to the upper floors and roof. The official cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The Red Cross said it is helping the woman with emergency needs.
Olson said police officers are often the first to arrive at the scene of an emergency. He credited both police officers and firefighters in doing "an amazing job" that prevented injuries.
Public records show the home is owned by Mary J. Evans. It's unclear when or if the building can be reoccupied because of the damage.
