NORWALK, CT - The City of Norwalk Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 5:35 P.M.

The fire was located at #15 Forbell Dr. in a one-and-a-half-story residential. Initial reports stated the home was filling with smoke and there was a wheelchair-bound elderly resident who could not exit.

Upon arrival, Engine 1 and Truck 1 encountered heavy smoke coming from the front door with fire venting out the kitchen windows at the rear of the structure. The Captain of Truck 1, along with his partner, entered via the front door where they found two occupants unable to exit. One was lying on the floor, the other on a couch. Both were removed and brought outside to an arriving ambulance. Two others had exited prior to the fire department's arrival.  

Simultaneously, a handline was stretched to the kitchen area where firefighters encountered and extinguished a fully-involved kitchen fire, which was starting to extend to the front of the residence. Additional firefighters made their way to the second-floor to conduct a primary search while a backup handline was being stretched, the building laddered, and the residence ventilated. The fire was extinguished in 30 minutes by a first-alarm assignment consisting of 3 Engines, 2 Ladder Trucks, 1 Heavy Rescue, and a command vehicle, for a total of 25 personnel.   

Currently, there are four occupants displaced by the fire. All four were transported to Norwalk Hospital; three with smoke inhalation, and one for an evaluation. The three with smoke inhalation were being transported to the Bridgeport Hospital Burn Unit. The status of their condition is unknown. There were no injuries to any firefighters. The Norwalk Fire Marshal Division (Fire Marshal Scully) is investigating the cause of the fire.