State Mourns Fallen Firefighter

New Haven Wednesday mourned the loss of Firefighter Ricardo Torres Jr. and prayed for the recovery of Fire Lt. Samod Rankins in the wake of a fire on Valley Street.

Both firefighters ran out of air and sent ​“Mayday” distress signals for help in the overnight fire at 190 Valley St.

Torres died. Rankins, known to friends and colleagues as ​“Nuke,” was sent to Bridgeport Hospital. He was reported to be in a medically induced coma.

Colleagues were maintaining hope he would pull through. ​“It sounds like he’s moving in a positive direction,” one firefighter said Wednesday morning.

As well-wishes poured in from around the nation and Gov. Ned Lamont order flags statewide flown at half mast, city firefighters and local and state cops filled the Grand Avenue main fire station at noon for rounds of hugs and words of support.

Fire Chief John Alston Jr., a man who has spent his life fighting fires, gave up trying to fight tears as he updated the press at the gathering.

“Members of the New Haven Fire Department are having one of the worst days of their life,” Alston said.

The department was already mourning the off-duty death last week of another member, William McMillan.

“This is a rough time,” Alston reflected. ​“Firefighters face dangers every day. We suffered a great loss today.”

The alarm came in from 190 Valley St. Wednesday at 12:45 a.m.

Firefighters arrived to find the first floor and basement of the two-family house engulfed in smoke, according to Alston. Two people were trapped, one of each floor. Firefighters got them out safely; they were treated at the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Initial reports are that there was a ​“hoarding issue” in the home.

Firefighters kept fighting the blaze until finally bringing it under control at 3:23 a.m.

It was declared a two-alarm at 1:15 a.m.

Firefighter Torres was on the second floor, amid the flames and smoke. At 1:17 a.m.,he called in the ​“Mayday” message.

A Mayday message followed two minutes later from a second firefighter, Lt. Samod Rankins.

Fellow firefighters pulled the two out of the building, according to several people familiar with the situation. They had both run out of air. Both were unconscious. Torres’s skin was ​“bright blue.”

Torres, known as ​“Rico,” was brought to the hospital and declared dead.

Torres became a firefighter on July 20, 2019. He was married with a 3‑year-old child and a second on the way.

Rankins is active in the Firebirds association. He became a firefighter in February 2018 and was already promoted to lieutenant this March. Social media Wednesday morning was filled with messages wishes him a recovery. One example: ​“We love you stay strong All my Prayer Warriors!! Let’s pray for our hero!!! He is a real New Haven Hero!!! Get well King stay strong!!!”

Two other firefighters were injured in Wednesday’s fire: Tyrone Reed and Tyler Skowlink.

Firefighters surrounded union President Patrick Cannon as he addressed the noon press gathering.

“What you’re seeing here is family. We’re all family, and we’re hurting,” Cannon said. ​“Our hearts are broken.”

Mayor Justin Elicker called Torres a hero: ​“He ran inside a building to save other people. He lost his life. His family lost him.”

He called the tragedy a reminder of ​“the sacrifices public-safety officers make on behalf of us” every day.

Before the press conference, retired Fire Chief Martin O’Connor led firefighters in prayer inside the fire station. ​“We are confounded by events,” O’Connor said. ​“Give us the strength, dear God, to find our way through it. Help us to support those who have lost their dearest loved ones. Help us support our friends and coworkers in the fire service.”