Five-Alarm Fire at Torrington Warehouse

Thick Smoke Causes Major Problems

TORRINGTON - Over 150 firefighters from several surrounding towns spent over 13 hours bringing a stubborn warehouse fire under control. The blaze broke out just before 8:00 AM and was not contained until about 9:15 in the evening. Torrington Fire Chief Gary Brunnoli said that although the fire had been contained, he expected to be at the scene all night. The building located on Taylor Street had been owned by O&G Industries and was leased to Toce Brothers to store tires. Residents from surrounding homes were forced to be evacuated due to the heavy smoke and were not allowed back into their homes until after 8:00PM. Firefighters from Thomaston, Litchfield, Watertown, New Hartford, Winsted, Danbury, and Waterbury responded to the fire.

The Salvation Army's Emergency Disasters Services (EDS) teams also responded. The first mobile-food truck to arrive at mid-day was from Bridgeport. Captain Todd Hughes and Envoy Phil Hostetler began serving fire, police, and emergency personnel almost immediately. Captain Hughes commented, "I'm glad that we are able to serve. Whenever people are in need, we are there to help because that's what we do! It's part of our D.N.A."

The second Salvation Army EDS canteen truck, stationed in Greater Hartford, arrived at 5:30 PM to relieve the Bridgeport group. This truck was staffed with East Hartford C.E.R.T. volunteers and began serving first responders the moment that they arrived. The Greater Hartford truck was expected to be there well into the next morning.

The Salvation Army and its Emergency Disaster Services program have been around for over 100 years. From the moment of impact, until the healing is complete, you can typically count on The Salvation Army to be one of the first groups to arrive and one of the last to leave, because, as Captain Hughes said, "...that's what we do!"