Beacon Hose rescued 19 people and a dog from flood waters at the Brookside Inn Restaurant in Oxford and a nearby residence on Aug. 18.

Beacon Hose ambulances were responding to calls in Seymour and Oxford at about 5 p.m. The crew in BH-8 could not reach a medical call at the Spirits of 67 package store and instead staged near Brookside. While staging, BH-8 reported that the flood water was rising and there were concerns that the restaurant’s structure could be compromised with 18 people inside. Fire crews from Oxford were extraordinarily busy with emergencies throughout town, so Beacon Hose requested permission from Oxford fire officials to stage a rescue operation.

Truck 6 and Rescue 4 responded with Beacon Hose’s special operations trailer. Firefighters Cal Brennan and Christian Hotchkiss first reached the residence as the stick on Truck 6, operated by engineer Paul Brennan, breached the front window of the residence 86 feet away from where the truck was staged. Brennan and Hotchkiss helped evacuate the resident and her dog.