WATERBURY, Conn. — An off-duty Connecticut firefighter is being praised for his quick thinking after he helped rescue a father and daughter from an apartment blaze over the weekend, authorities said.
According to WVIT and WFSB, the incident occurred Saturday afternoon at an apartment complex on Meriden Road in Waterbury. In a Facebook post, Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary said Greenwich firefighter Doug Howley was off-duty and heading to a birthday party when he spotted the blaze.
“Doug observed a father and daughter attempting to flee the second-floor apartment where the fire had begun,” the post read. “The father was able to lower his daughter into Doug’s waiting arms shortly before the Waterbury firefighters arrived on scene.”
O’Leary went on to thank Howley, adding, “You are a hero!”
The investigation into what caused the fire is ongoing, according to the news outlets.