Naugatuck man rescued from roof died of heart attack

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NAUGATUCK — The man firefighters rescued from the roof of 152 Applewood Lane Feb. 1 was pronounced dead of a heart attack at Waterbury Hospital shortly thereafter, his widow said.

Alonzo Joseph Comeau, 62, was clearing snow from the roof when a neighbor came over and offered to help, said Margie Comeau, 55, the deceased’s wife of 33 years. After Alonzo said, “No, thank you,” the neighbor started to walk away.

“Something told him to turn around,” Margie Comeau said. The neighbor noticed Alonzo slumped over on the roof and called 911, Margie Comeau said.

Margie Comeau, not knowing what had happened, was in the basement doing laundry and talking to her daughter on the phone when firefighters arrived to pull her husband off the roof, she said. She had told her husband to hurry down not more than 10 minutes earlier.

“I said, ‘Scoop that down and come in the house,'” Margie Comeau said.

“Five minutes after that, five to 10 tops, everything was over.”

The police were the first to respond and perform CPR, followed by fire and emergency medical crews.

“They never left him,” Margie Comeau said. “They worked so hard to try and save his life. They never stopped. What a kind gesture of humanity it was. I know that’s their job, but they went above and beyond.”

Family members described Alonzo Comeau as a hard-working, kind-hearted man whom the community loved.

“He was 62, but he tried to act 20,” Margie Comeau said. “He just loved life. Nothing would stop this man. The snowstorm stopped him.”