Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.

Five firefighters were injured while fighting this two-alarm blaze in a three family house at 27 Edwards Street.  Several occupants were rescued, including a 23-year old woman who was trapped on the third floor.

According to The Hamden Chronicle, "Firefighters Wayne Lowry, Carl Backus and James Moore reached the third floor through the front staircase of the building and broke down the locked door behind which the woman, Donna Williams, was trapped."

The extreme cold and icy conditions made this an especially trecherous job for the 35 firefighters who were on the scene.  News accounts stated that near zero temperatures and very high winds brought the wind chill to minus 35 degrees.

Several inch and three-quarter lines were stretched up the front and rear stairways for an interior attack that kept flames from the unburnt portions of the building.  A master stream from the ladder pipe of Truck 2 successfully protected an adjacent building only a few feet from the fire building.  Thirteen residents were relocated through the Red Cross.