Fire ravaged a single-family house at 46 Ridgewood Rd Ext in Woodbury on Sunday afternoon Aug 11th 2023 as Woodbury Volunteer Fire Dept fought the blaze and also rescued a fellow firefighter who was temporarily pinned down when the second floor collapsed. “We’re withholding his name for the moment,” said Fire Chief Janet B. Morgan, “but it appears he was relatively uninjured.”

The rescued firefighter was hospitalized overnight and was set to be released Monday. Combined with his own help, it took Woodbury firefighters 23 minutes to dig him out from under the collapsed second floor. “He was calm and conscious throughout. He did everything right,” said Chief Morgan. She praised experienced firefighters Bill Hickey and Ryan Murphy for leading the rescue team of several firefighters adding, “They all did a grand job.”

With a full commitment from the Woodbury dept to fight the blaze, Chief Morgan called in mutual aid from neighboring departments in Bethlehem, Roxbury, Middlebury, Watertown and the aerial ladder truck from Southbury’s Volunteer Fire Dept. There were no injuries immediately reported in the household. The cause is under investigation, said Chief Morgan who also is Woodbury fire marshal.