Remembering New Milford's Fatal Rhein Court Fire
A 1972 house fire on Rhein Court took the life of 26-year old patrolman Ray Woods and 45-year old Marie Cordey; firefighter Joe Costello sustained critical injuries.
Despite the span of years, and the different roles each man played that fateful morning 40 years ago, Fire Inspector Alan Silverman, Chief of Police Frank Papapietro and firefighter George Saigh recount the events of what took place with the same startling accuracy. The lines on the faces of these three men, deepening as they recall that night 40 years ago, tell the story of the gravity of what they witnessed while fighting a fatal house fire on Rhein Court that took the lives of a 26-year old police officer and a 45-year old mother, and left a veteran firefighter with critical life-altering injuries. In the early hours of a November morning in 1972, those expected to live, died; those expected to die, lived. It was a fire unlike any other…
Sean Collins
11:10 am on Saturday, January 5, 2013
As an 8 year old, I still remember the massive funeral procession for Ray Woods and the grief of the community. It was a sad time. I can also recall the many times in the following years that Lou Costello provided fire safety lectures to us kids and he wasn't shy about showing us what happened to his hands. He was an amazing character. I can still picture him steering fire trucks around the … more ›