By Dominique Moody, NBC Connecticut
A large fire has severely damaged a historic multi-use building in the center of New Hartford known as the New Hartford House on Tuesday morning. At least 100 firefighters responded to the fire. A large portion of those firefighters were volunteer firefighters.
Burlington Volunteer Fire Department announced that one of the firefighters suffered a medical emergency and was rushed to a nearby hospital in Farmington. According to fire officials on scene, the firefighter collapsed while on scene. The firefighter is a 26-year-old man, according to Burlington Volunteer Fire Department.
In a split second, volunteer firefighters could get called away from their families and full-time jobs to respond to a fire.
Robert Diorio is the fire chief for Southend Volunteer Fire in New Hartford and has served as a volunteer firefighter for 23 years. The role these departments play during a fire is critical according to Diorio.
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