No firefighters were injured after they helped respond to a Salem fire where a man was shot and killed by a Connecticut State Police trooper on Tuesday.
A tanker and engine from the Oakdale Fire Department assisted with firefighting efforts at 28 Witter Road in Salem after the blaze was reported at about 6:38 p.m. on Tuesday. No firefighters or troopers were hurt in an ensuing incident in which a man was shot dead.
According to a Connecticut State Police press release, the Salem Fire Department found a tractor and several other vehicles blocking the driveway to the residence. The home's three-car garage was fully engulfed in flames upon the department's arrival, and another fire was spreading inside the residence.
The department's fire marshal found signs that the fire had been intentionally set, he requested that the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit come to the scene. Soon after, two firefighters noticed a man yelling and waving a gun in a wooded area behind 10 Witter Road and informed troopers.
The Connecticut State Police release states that the man was acting "very irrationally" and began to charge at troopers while waving a "large blunt object resembling a club." A trooper shot the man after he did not comply with orders to stop and drop the weapon.
Gary Murphy, chief of the Oakdale Fire Department, posted on Facebook that troopers ordered firefighters to take cover behind fire vehicles during the incident.
The man was transported to Backus Hospital and then to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, R.I., where he was pronounced dead. His identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, and the trooper's identity is also being withheld.
An autopsy is pending, and the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit is investigating the circumstances of the fire. The State Police Central District Major Crime Squad is investigating the shooting at the request of the New London County State's Attorney's Office, which is normal procedure in police shootings.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
