Norwich — Bob Castronova was settling into his new routine after being hired as the city’s new purchasing agent in April — drive into the city on Route 2 from his home in Preston, stop at the gas station for coffee and make his way to City Hall.
On Thursday, June 11, that routine was disrupted after he got his coffee and looked ahead and saw billowing smoke along Route 2 in the direction he was headed. As he drove closer, and at the Palmer Street light, he saw what looked like a bonfire engulfing a house at 14 Stonington Road. Castronova stopped, saw two women already calling 911 and for a brief second, thought he wasn’t needed.
“God had his hand on my shoulder that day,” Castronova said this past week.
He yelled to the women, asking if they had checked to see if anyone was in the house. They hadn’t yet. The front porch was in flames, so Castronova ran to the side and banged on every window he could reach as he made his way to the back porch. A pit bull sat on the porch. One of the women took the dog to safety, and Castronova banged on the door.
A groggy teenage boy emerged, smoke visible behind him.
“Clearly he didn’t know what was going on,” Castronova said.
Castronova asked the boy if anyone else was in the house, and the boy at first said his father and uncle were home, before he saw that his father’s truck was gone, meaning the two adult men had gone to work.
Police and firefighters arrived and confirmed that no one else was in the house. The boy used Castronova’s phone to call his father. The boy was taken to Backus Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, and the dog was taken to the Norwich pound for safekeeping. The American Red Cross assisted the family in finding new housing.
Norwich acting Fire Chief Keith Wucik said this past week the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
“Luckily, I woke him up in time,” Castronova said. “It was only 8 in the morning. He was a little disoriented and confused. God’s hand was on my shoulder that morning. I really do think if it had been only a few more minutes ...” He didn’t finish the sentence.
Castronova then realized he would be late for work and did not remember his new boss’ phone number. He called William Hathaway, the city purchasing agent he would soon succeed and told him what happened.
When Castronova finally arrived at City Hall, he found a Superman S on his computer monitor with “Bob” written on it by his new co-workers.
During last Monday’s City Council meeting, City Manager John Salomone commended Castronova for his quick actions on the morning of June 11.
“His actions woke a teenager in the home, surely saving the boy’s life,” Salomone said. “Thank you for your heroism.”
Castronova said he didn’t feel like a hero, and said he hoped anyone would do the same.
Castronova, 63, grew up in Norwich until he was 16, when the family moved to Waterford, where he lived for the next 40 years. He worked as a draftsman at Electric Boat after graduating from Waterford High School, earned a degree in business and “got into” the logistics of contracts, purchasing and the naval supply system. He worked for the former Sound Lab in New London, which became the Naval Underwater Systems Center, which became the Naval Underwater Warfare Center and moved to Newport.
Castronova worked in Newport for seven years and tired of the commute. He got a job in contracts and purchasing at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, where he recently retired after 33 years. He also served as a track coach at New London and Griswold high schools “for quite a while.” He gave that up to concentrate on his new job as Norwich's purchasing agent.
“The spring season was canceled anyway,” he said.
He and his wife, Laurie, moved to Preston from Waterford two years ago and live with their daughter, her husband and their two children. Another adult daughter lives in Jacksonville, Fla., with the Castronovas’ new grandchild, and their adult son lives in Montville.
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New Norwich purchasing agent commended for quick action at house fire - theday.com
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