Update: Teen Rescued From House Fire Doing OK

The father of Douglas Reckamp, 17, who was pulled from the burning basement of his house at 4 Autumn Road Monday afternoon, said today that his son was not burned by the fire and is doing well.

Douglas Reckamp Sr., a U.S. Navy commanding officer and father of five children, was at the house Tuesday cleaning up from the fire that is believed to have started in the basement. He said his son is still at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London.

"He's talking and they're keeping an eye on him," the senior Reckamp said. He also indicated that there didn't appear to be major structure damage to his home.

The fire was called in Monday at 4:30 p.m. Ledyard Assistant Fire Chief Steve Daggett said when firefighters arrived on the scene, they found the 17-year-old in the basement and brought him out. Autumn Road is off Pumpkin Hill Road.

Daggett said firefighters who entered the left side of the basement encountered heavy smoke and flames. He said they could hear someone in the basement banging and calling for help. 

After knocking down the flames, Daggett said firefighters were able to reach Reckamp and extricate him from the building. He said it took about 11 minutes to bring the fire under control, although fire personnel remained at the site until around 8 p.m. 

Daggett said the fire appeared to have started in the basement of the two-story house. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Daggett said Monday's fire was the second house fire in Ledyard this year. Last year there were 14 house fires in town.

Fire companies that responded included  Ledyard, Mystic, Old Mystic, Gales Ferry, Center Groton, Poquetanuck, Mohegan Tribal, and the Sub Base FAST team. American, Ledyard and Mystic River ambulance units also responded.