Significant Multiple-Fatality Fires

Montana fire kills two adults and one child

2010-01-25T09:28:00.001-05:00

In one week there were six significant, multiple fatality fires that killed 23 people across the nation. This is in addition to the many fires that each claimed the lives of one or two victims.

Significant, Multiple-Fatality Fires (three or more deaths per incident)
Incidents identified through media sources

2010 year-to-date

Fires       13
Fatalities 50
         Adults    30 (60%)
         Children 20 (40%)

Maps 2010 2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2010 2009   2008   2007

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UPDATE: Columbia Falls House Fire Kills Three; Victims Identified

By Dan Testa , 01-22-10

Three people are dead after an early morning house fire in Columbia Falls Friday. The victims were identified as James Lewis Barry IV, 63, his wife Wanda Mae Barry, 52, and their son, James Lewis Barry V, 15. Their cause of death is smoke inhalation, according to a statement from the Flathead Count Sheriff's Department.

The Columbia Falls Fire Department received a call from a neighbor of the home reporting flames at around 6 a.m., according to Fire Chief Rick Hagen. When firefighters responded to the residence, located at 1690 North Fork Road, flames were coming out of the west-facing windows of the single-level, wood-frame home.

Fifteen Columbia Falls firefighters arrived on the scene with two engines, two water-tenders, a heavy rescue vehicle and a command vehicle, Hagen said. Engines from the Badrock and Blankenship rural districts also assisted, resulting in 25 firefighters on the scene.

With information that there were possibly victims inside, firefighters searched the house and recovered the bodies of the three victims, as well as the bodies of two large dogs.

Firefighters were able to "knock down" the major flames within about 10 minutes, but extinguishing the fire completely took an hour, Hagen said.

One-third of the house suffered fire damage, and the rest suffered smoke and heat damage.

The Flathead County Arson Investigation Team and the state Fire Marshal's Office are investigating the cause and origin of the fire, but Hagen said it looked as if heat from a woodstove ignited combustible material during the night, and by the time a neighbor called the fire department, it had been burning for "a considerable period of time prior to our notification."

Walking through the home, Hagen said firefighters found one smoke detector in a bedroom that had sustained almost no damage, but the battery had been removed. In the hallway and other bedroom, the heat had melted the plastic of the other two smoke detectors, but neither had a battery either.

"Had even one of these been operational I'm pretty convinced that they would have gotten out of the structure in time," Hagen said. "With no smoke alarms, they weren't able to get that early notification."

"That's what I hope everybody gets out of this whole tragedy," he added.
--
Ed Comeau
writer-tech.com, publisher of Campus Firewatch
PO Box 1046
Belchertown, MA 01007
413-323-6002
ecomeau@writer-tech.com
www.writer-tech.com
www.campus-firewatch.com
Go Green - Read from the Screen!

Four fires in four days kill 10 adults and six children

2010-01-24T16:14:00.001-05:00

Significant, Multiple-Fatality Fires (three or more deaths per incident)
Incidents identified through media sources

2010 year-to-date

Fires       12
Fatalities 47
         Adults    28 (60%)
         Children 19 (40%)

Maps 2010 2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2010 2009   2008   2007

Subscribe to the blog at http://significantmultiplefatalityfires.blogspot.com/

4 Family Members Killed in Baltimore Rowhouse Fire

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Jan. 21: Fernando and Joan Woodson of East Baltimore say a prayer for victims in front of a burnt down rowhouse in Baltimore.

BALTIMORE — A fast-moving fire tore through a rowhouse in an impoverished section of east Baltimore, killing a 65-year-old woman, two of her granddaughters and her 2-year-old great-granddaughter, officials said.

The fire was reported around 11 p.m. Wednesday, and firefighters arrived three minutes later to find flames shooting through the windows on both floors of the home, Fire Chief Jim Clack said Thursday morning.

"We just feel terrible this morning that we couldn't do something more to avert this tragedy," Clack said.

Capt. Roman Clark, a fire department spokesman, tentatively identified the victims as Phillis Rouzer; her granddaughter Ericka Morris, 24; another granddaughter, Nesha Diggs, 14; and Morris' 2-year-old daughter, Tyrese Brown.

Police and fire investigators were investigating the cause of the blaze, which started on the first floor in the front of the home, Clark said. The victims' bodies were found in three upstairs bedrooms, he said, and the home did not appear to have working smoke detectors.

Lionel Green, Rouzer's grandson, said his family history was lost in the fire.

"She was pretty much the archive," Green said of his grandmother. "She had all the family records, from baby birth weights to ages."

On Thursday morning, a backhoe loaded the charred contents of the gutted home into a trash bin. Teddy bears were placed as a memorial on the steps of a home two doors down, and weeping neighbors, friends and relatives gathered to mourn the victims.

Many of the houses in the Oliver neighborhood are vacant, their windows covered with plywood. Anthony Brown, who lives on the next block and is not related to the victims, said the residents who remain often live in substandard conditions.

"This neighborhood here, it's like it's deserted," he said.

Twenty-five people died in fires in Baltimore in 2009, and there were 19 fire deaths the previous year, Clack said. That's down from about 60 deaths per year in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he said.

The fire department donates and installs smoke detectors to residents who can't afford them, and firefighters have made dozens of sweeps through the Oliver neighborhood, he said.

"When we come to your door, let us in. We're not checking on your housekeeping; we're not checking on what you're doing," Clack said. "We're trying to keep you safe."

Clinton Fire Claims Four Lives

Updated: Jan 23, 2010 10:45 PM

Four people are dead after a house fire in Clinton. Crews were called to 2436 Dunham Street just after 11:30 Friday night for reports of smoke coming from the two story home. They had the fire out in minutes and then discovered the bodies. A fifth person escaped without any injuries.

Firefighters say there were no working smoke detectors in the home. While the cause of the fire and the four deaths is still under investigation, the Clinton community is very much is shock of what happened.

"I can't say that I seen fire. I didn't see any fire and I didn't even see the smoke. I couldn't figure out what was going on," said next-door neighbor, Alette Olson.

From the outside there are few signs of the fire that claimed four lives at the home. There is no visible smoke damage, only caution tape and a few boarded windows indicate the tragedy.

"Kind of hard to believe. Everybody is still kind of shocked when that happens. Stuff like this doesn't happen around here too often,"said Jason Heinitz, another resident.

Jim Frederick, a neighbor down the street from the fire says, "Pretty bad, four people. I didn't know any of them though."

Authorities are not releasing the names of the four victims but neighbors say they do know that two young boys lived there with their mother and grandmother. Saturday someone set a cross on the front lawn bearing four names: Tonya, Tyler, Patrick, and Grandma Fran.

"I'd see them bring the little boy for school and the school bus would let him off and they'd come out and get him," said Olson.

While neighbors try to grasp the situation, Clinton officials are searching for answers. Fire crews arrived at the house Friday night to find light smoke and a small fire. "They were able to extinguish the fire very quickly, within ten minutes," said Lieutenant Jim Sowle with the Clinton Fire Department.

What they found beyond the four fatalities was that there was no working smoke detectors in the house, either they were wrong location or the batteries had been removed. That in mind, Lieutenant Sowle says smoke inhalation can happen very quickly and easily claim lives. "You have to check your smoke detectors it's our only way we can, the cheapest, easiest way to protect yourself or your family," added Sowle.

Sowle says the Fire Marshall's investigation so far indicates the fire was likely accidental. He recommends homeowners check smoke detectors and replace batteries once a year or more.

Five killed in Nashville duplex fire

Published: Jan. 24, 2010 at 1:45 PM

NASHVILLE, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Five people died and two children survived when a fire ravaged their Nashville duplex, officials say.

One of the children, a 7-year-old girl, escaped death early Saturday when her father, Tedarrel Brooks, 50, lifted her to safety through a broken window in the duplex, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported.

Brooks, his wife Stephanie Brooks, 32, their daughters 8-year-old T'Derrica Brooks and 4-year-old Alexis Brooks and family friend Billy Vantrice Austin, 24, all died in the fire, whose cause remained unknown, the newspaper said.

Seven-year-old Jasmine Brooks reportedly survived and ran to get help. Her 3-year old brother, Tedarrel Brooks Jr., was listed in critical condition at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University.

Nashville Fire Department spokesman Joaquin Toon told The Tennessean there were no smoke detectors in the duplex.

"I am troubled by the injuries of an entire family, and while I am proud of the heroic actions made by our firefighters and paramedics, I know that working smoke detectors make a difference when a fire strikes and may have made a difference in the outcome of this fire," Fire Chief Stephen Halford said in a release.

3 Dead In Suburban Richmond Fire

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) ― Officials say three people were killed in a house fire near Richmond International Raceway.

The bodies of two men and a woman were found Friday in the heavily damaged suburban Richmond ranch home. The names of the victims were not immediately released.

The cause of the fire is not known.

--
Ed Comeau
writer-tech.com, publisher of Campus Firewatch
PO Box 1046
Belchertown, MA 01007
413-323-6002
ecomeau@writer-tech.com
www.writer-tech.com
www.campus-firewatch.com
Go Green - Read from the Screen!

4 college students killed in motel fire

2010-01-18T10:36:00.001-05:00

Significant, Multiple-Fatality Fires (three or more deaths per incident)
Incidents identified through media sources

2010 year-to-date

Fires       8
Fatalities 31
         Adults    18 (58%)
         Children 13 (42%)

Maps 2010 2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2010 2009   2008   2007

Subscribe to the blog at http://significantmultiplefatalityfires.blogspot.com/

Ala. blaze claims 4 MUW students

Campus grieves after motel fire

From staff and wire reports • January 18, 2010

HOOVER, ALA. — A fire swept through a two-story motel in central Alabama, killing four Mississippi college students who were trapped in their room, officials said Sunday

The fire occurred about 8 p.m. Saturday at a Days Inn in Hoover, just outside Birmingham. Officials didn't immediately know what started the blaze or where it began.

The victims, all freshmen at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Miss., were among those who made 911 calls to report the fire, Hoover Fire Department spokesman Rusty Lowe said. Firefighters knew the women were trapped but couldn't get to them because of the flames.

"Half of the hotel was on fire. The fire was very hot, and it was just difficult to reach all the rooms to get to the victims," Lowe said.

Two of the victims were 18-year-old cousins. They were identified by officials and a relative as Alondan Turner and Catherine Muse, both of Cordova, Ala.

Also killed were Jasslyn Barnes, 19, of Corinth, Miss., and Jamelia Brown, 18, of Grenada, Miss.

Bronté Norah, 18, of Brook-haven, Miss., and Muse were joining a campus social club, the Highlanders.

"It's kind of unreal that one of my closest friends, one of the people that are like blood-related to me is gone," Norah said.

She said she learned of the tragedy after leaving church Sunday.

"We were always joking and laughing. I couldn't keep a straight face around her," she said.

Muse was studying theater, Norah said. "She was so dramatic about everything."

Homer Buckley, vice president of student services, at MUW, issued a statement Sunday evening.

"These young women were active on campus and important members of the university community. ... University staff have already met with on-campus residents, and counseling staff will continue to support students in this difficult time," Buckley said.

The university released a separate statement, saying all four lived in MUW's Kincannon Hall.

"These students are members of our community, and their deaths deeply impact their classmates and the entire MUW family. We all grieve with their families," the statement said.

By 9 p.m. Sunday, hundreds had joined memorial groups on Facebook for the students.

"Its terrible to lose a clsmate but its diffucult to lose a friend.... U WILL B TRULY MISSED," one poster wrote on Brown's page.

"Hey girl, i miss u already. its still hard to believe wat i am hearn. First semeser we had a blast. i barely got a chance to c u this semester but when i did. u greetd me with love. i thank u for that. Forever n always mi friend. RIP Jaslynn M," wrote a poster on Barnes' Facebook page.

The Hoover Fire Department has requested help with the probe from state and federal agencies.

"The investigation will reveal a lot more," Low said.

The deadly tragedy is the latest involving a group of female Mississippi college students.

In October, Tougaloo College students Shanna Whitt, 19, and Kiara Taylor, 18, both of Greenville, were killed in a vehicle wreck in Jackson.

In August, University of Southern Mississippi student LeJulia White, 18, of Camden was killed in a two-vehicle wreck in Hattiesbur
--
Ed Comeau
writer-tech.com, publisher of Campus Firewatch
PO Box 1046
Belchertown, MA 01007
413-323-6002
ecomeau@writer-tech.com
www.writer-tech.com
www.campus-firewatch.com
Go Green - Read from the Screen!

Mother and three children killed in mobile home fire

2010-01-13T12:27:00.001-05:00

Significant, Multiple-Fatality Fires (three or more deaths per incident)
Incidents identified through media sources

2010 year-to-date

Fires        7
Fatalities    27
         Adults    14 (52%)
         Children 13 (48%)

Maps 2010 2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2010 2009   2008   2007

Subscribe to the blog at http://significantmultiplefatalityfires.blogspot.com/

Mother and three children die in Lawrence County fire

By Ashley Smith, Daily Record

Fire aftermath

By Ashley Smith

Daily Record

Tue Jan 12, 2010, 12:42 PM CST

Print This |

Lawrenceville, Ill. -

A mother and three of her children died Monday night in a mobile home fire in northwestern Lawrence County.

According to information from the office of Lawrence County Sheriff Russell Adams, the blaze was reported at approximately 10:51 p.m. Monday.

Multiple fire-protection districts responded to the home, located east of Chauncey, to find it had completely collapsed.

"When we showed up, the house was on the ground," said Rick Leighty, fire chief with the Bridgeport Fire Protection District. "It had completely collapsed, and there was a lot of heavy smoke. The only thing we could do was to saturate it with water and get what we could out."
Rhonda Fletcher, 33, and three of her nine children were unable to escape the blaze.

"The mother was passing children through a window to safety (before it collapsed)," Adams said. "She passed her 6-month-old daughter to safety and went back for the daughter's twin brother but never returned."

Six-month-old Ryler, along with sisters Rashayla, 5, and Rashannon, 9, died at the scene. Leighty said the surviving children were out of the house by the time firefighters arrived: Rashanda, 16, Rolanda, 13, Rahaina, 10, Rhona, 6, Rylin, 4, and Rylee Ann, 6 months.

Lawrence County Coroner Shannon Steffey said a manner and cause of death are currently pending. Autopsies are scheduled for later today.

Fletcher's remaining six children were treated for minor injuries at Lawrence County Memorial Hospital.

Red Hill Community Unit School District 10 Superintendent Matt Seaton said grief counselors were at all Unit 10 schools by the end of the day.
"We called in the Southeastern Special Ed Crisis Team," he said.

"Some are here already and others will be here by the end of the day."
Grief counselors were first sent to Petty Elementary School and Bridgeport Grade School, where Rashayla and Rashannon were students.
Seaton said each school in Unit 10 had at least one of the Fletcher children in attendance.

Firefighters and other emergency personnel were at the scene until 5 a.m. today. Responding agencies included Chauncey, Christy, Bridgeport and Lawrence-Allison fire protection districts, as well as Lawrence County Ambulance Service, BlueStar Ambulance Service, Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office, Lawrence County Coroner's Office and Lawrence County Sheriff's Department.

The Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office is currently conducting an investigation into the cause of the blaze.

Donations are currently being accepted for the six surviving children who lost their mother.

They are in need of clothing, school supplies, food, diapers, toys, toiletries, female hygienic products and toilet paper. All surviving children are female.

Clothing sizes include: Rashanda, 16 years old, size 5-7 pants and medium shirts in junior sizes; Rolanda, 13 years old, size 3 in pants and small in junior sizes; Rahaina, 10 years old, size 14 pants and 14-16 shirts in girls sizes; Rhona, 6 years old, size 7 pants and 6x-7x shirts in girls sizes; Rylin, 4 years old, 4T pants and shirts; and Rylee Ann, six months old, sizes 6-18 months.

Shoes are also needed, but sizes were unavailable as of press time today. Size 2 diapers are also needed.

The following churches and businesses are currently accepting donations for the Fletcher family: Sumner United Methodist Church, New Hope Christian Church in Bridgeport, Island Free Methodist Church, Just Teezin' in Sumner, U of I Extension office in Lawrenceville, The Cutting Edge in Lawrenceville, and Lawrence County Sheriff's Department.
The Peoples State Bank of Sumner has opened an account for monetary donations.

A prayer vigil will be held at 6:30 p.m. today at Island Free Methodist Church. For more information, contact the church at 928-2287.

--
Ed Comeau
writer-tech.com, publisher of Campus Firewatch
PO Box 1046
Belchertown, MA 01007
413-323-6002
ecomeau@writer-tech.com
www.writer-tech.com
www.campus-firewatch.com
Go Green - Read from the Screen!

Mother and two children killed in fire

2010-01-13T07:30:00.001-05:00

Significant, Multiple-Fatality Fires (three or more deaths per incident)
Incidents identified through media sources

2010 year-to-date

Fires 6
Fatalities    23
         Adults    13 (57%)
         Children 10 (43%)

Maps 2010 2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2010 2009   2008   2007

Three killed in house fire

By Judy Bastien • jbastien@dailyworld.com • January 10, 2010

A young mother and her two children died in a house fire at 710 S. Academy St. about 6 p.m. Saturday.The children appeared to be about 2 and 3 years of age, Opelousas Police Chief Perry Gallow said.

Firefighters found the unconscious victims inside the house and carried them outdoors, where first responders attempted to revive them. The attempts were unsuccessful and the three were transported to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

The cause of death has not been officially established, but appears to have been smoke inhalation.

The fire, which gutted the interior of the home, was completely extinguished by about 6:30 p.m. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

The names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

Three disabled men killed in Detroit fire

2010-01-05T07:49:00.001-05:00

Significant, Multiple-Fatality Fires (three or more deaths per incident)
Incidents identified through media sources

2010 year-to-date

Fires 5
Fatalities    20
         Adults    12 (60%)
         Children 8 (40%)

Maps 2010 2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2010 2009   2008   2007

BREAKING: 3 Men Dead After Fire

All Victims Were Disabled

POSTED: Tuesday, January 5, 2010

UPDATED: 6:57 am EST January 5, 2010

DETROIT -- Three men were killed in a fire Tuesday morning at a home on Dexter Avenue in northwest Detroit.Each of the victims were disabled men, who were cared for by the nephew of two of the men, Local 4 has learned.The nephew jumped out of a second story window to get out of the burning home, witnesses said. He had minor injuries and was recovering at a neighbor's home.Investigators are looking into the cause of the fire.Police said the fire appears to be caused by an electrical problem. The home may have been rigged to an unauthorized power source, police said.The victim's identities have not been released.

Parents and two children killed in Ohio

2010-01-04T08:13:00.001-05:00

2010 year-to-date

Fires 4
Fatalities    17
         Adults    9 (53%)
         Children 8 (47%)

Maps 2010 2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2010 2009   2008   2007

Couple, two children die in Greenwich fire

By MELISSA TOPEY Monday, January 4, 2010 1:36 AM EST

GREENWICH

Two children and their parents died early Saturday morning in a trailer fire in Richland County south of Greenwich. A third child was taken to an Akron hospital.

John and Lisa Schunatz and their children, 6-year-old Jeffrey and 4-year-old Valerie, died in the fire that started at 6:28 a.m. and burned out the trailer quickly, said Franklin Fire Chief Steve Rahall. Daniel, 5, was taken out of the burning trailer by Franklin firefighters to a neighbor's trailer and transported to an Akron hospital, he said.

Hospitals in Akron reported they had no patient with Daniel's name.

"It's hard to look out and see the burnt trailer, (knowing) no one's there," neighbor Betty Hughes said. "I'm really gonna miss them. They were a real good family."

Hughes said the family moved in to Pin Oak Estates -- near the intersection of Ohio 13 and Ohio 603 in northern Richland County -- about six months after she did in 2001, and soon the families were helping each other out.

Hughes said Lisa was a stay-at-home mom and John drove semis for a living.

When Lisa needed to go to the store, the children would come over. When Hughes, who does not drive, needed to run an errand, Lisa would take her.

"They were always coming over. They look in the door and say 'Hi, Grandma,'" Hughes said.

During those times Valerie loved to play Barbies with Hughes 12-year-old granddaughter.

She said Jeffrey just started kindergarten at Crestview Elementary. He liked to be outside with Daniel, as Daniel rode the bicycle his parents gave him this summer for his birthday.

Hughes said John and Lisa would talk about moving to West Virginia.

Firefighters from two other nearby departments assisted at the scene, as well as Critical Life for Emergency Medical Service.

The fire was turned over to the state fire marshal, Rahall said. He and the fire marshals were going back out to the scene Saturday evening but a cause is not yet known, he said.

Hughes said the family had a wood-burning stove but she did not know if it could have caused the fire.

Three fires kill 13 people

2010-01-03T17:58:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2010 year-to-date

Fires 3
Fatalities    13
         Adults    7 (54%)
         Children 6 (46%)

Maps 2010 2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2010 2009   2008   2007

Mother, her 3 children and a man perish in early morning fire at Palm Springs mobile home

By Associated Press

January 2, 2010 | 11:46 a.m.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — A 30-year-old mother, her three children and a 32-year-old man were killed in a fire that engulfed a mobile home on New Year's Day.

The fire was reported at 5:15 a.m. at the Western Village Mobile Home Park in Palm Springs, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

Firefighters initially found the bodies of the two adults and later discovered the children — an 11-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy, and a 6-year-old girl.

A statement from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said the victims' names will not be released until the bodies are positively identified. The Riverside County coroner's office is expected to perform autopsies Monday.

Investigators were looking into the cause of the blaze, which did not damage any other homes. The fire was extinguished by 25 firefighters around 6:30 a.m.

Hours after the blaze was extinguished, onlookers stood at every corner and watched fire authorities interview neighbors.

"I'm still grieving from this," said Jim Bernard, the mobile home park's manager. "I was up this morning helping them put it out."

New Year's Day House Fire Kills Five In Missouri

Saturday, Jan 2, 2010 @03:12pm CST

(Braymer, MO) -- The new year started out tragically when a house fire killed five people in rural northwestern Missouri.

The "Kansas City Star" reports two eleven-year-old boys, a four-month-old girl and two adults died in Friday's blaze at the home, about eight miles east of Braymer. Another woman and a teenage girl managed to escape.

Carroll County Sheriff Troy Hofstetter says the fire started in the basement of the house and was confined to that area. Hofstetter adds that an unattended fireplace had sparked the blaze.

The state fire marshal is also conducting a probe.

(Copyright 2010 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)

Three people killed in Honea Path fire

By Titus Ledbetter III, John Staed
Posted January 3, 2010 at 1:05 p.m. , updated January 3, 2010 at 5:28 p.m.

HONEA PATH — Three members of the same family perished in a house fire in Honea Path late Saturday night.

Honea Path police discovered the fire at 5 Hammett St. about 11:35 p.m. The mobile home was fully engulfed in flames when police arrived.

Anderson County Deputy Coroner Don McCown said the victims were a mother, father and daughter. He identified them as Fred B. Jackson, 43, Maxine A. Jackson, 46, and Faith L. Jackson, 19, all of the same address. Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore also responded to the call.

Two children who lived at the home were away visiting friends in Ware Shoals at the time, according to Independent Mail coverage Partner WSPA News Channel 7.

Faith Jackson is believed to have graduated from Belton-Honea Path High School in 2009.

All three died of carbon monoxide poisoning after smoke inhalation, McCown said.

Fred Jackson's body was found in a front bedroom and Maxine and Faith Jackson's bodies were found in a rear bedroom.

A family pet, a dog named Hero, was rescued.

A neighbor who reported the fire tried to enter the structure but was pushed back by the flames, McCown said. Two Honea Path police officers also attempted to enter the structure but were unable to because of the flames, McCown said.

A preliminary investigation shows the cause of the fire was the heat source. McCown said there were space heaters in the residence, but the fire may have started near the stove in the kitchen.

"It appears the fire did start in an area of the stove," McCown said. "The family did not have central heat in the house and they were trying to heat the house with space heaters and the stove."

There did not appear to be smoke detectors in the home, he said. The house was on a lot, and not in a mobile home park.

Farrah Fuller, 32, of Honea Path, Maxine Jackson's cousin, said funeral arraignments have not yet been made. The bodies were released to Robertson Walker Funeral Home.

The family attended services at Chiquola Baptist Church in Honea Path, Fuller said.

She said that Fred Jackson had once worked at PCA Industries but was recently laid off. Fuller said that Maxine Jackson frequently babysat her kids and loved to help other people.

"Maxine was like gold," Fuller said. "She was shining all of the time."

Faith Jackson was a member of the marching band at Belton-Honea Path High School, Fuller said. She was excited about getting ready to enroll in Virginia College, Fuller said.

Fuller said many of Faith's high school and middle school teachers visited family members after the tragedy.

Tammy Gilmer, 50, lives across the street from scene of the fire. She said that she heard a pop and saw the blaze engulf the mobile home. Neighbors banged on the mobile home in an attempt to wake up the Jacksons and help them escape the fire.

Gilmer said she remembers talking to Maxine in the neighborhood.

"She was a great lady," Gilmer said. "She was friendly."

James Carrier, 35, of Honea Path said that he dropped Maxine and Faith Jackson off at their home after giving them a ride to Bi-Lo grocery on Saturday night before the fire broke out. He said members of the family were happy the last time he saw them.

Carrier said he used to live near the Jacksons a couple of year ago when they lived in a part of Honea Path in Abbeville County.

He stood outside the remains of the mobile home on Sunday afternoon as crime tape surrounded the structure. He said he remembers when the Jacksons brought food for his mom when she broke her hip.

"They were good people," Carrier said. "They would help anybody they could."

The Honea Path and Friendship Fire Departments battled the fire. Because it involved fatalities, the police department is being assisted by SLED and Anderson County Sheriff's Office in the investigation.

The house "was totally destroyed," McCown said. Investigators were on the scene until 5:15 a.m.

Three adults and six children killed in Mississippi

2009-12-28T12:00:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 77
Fatalities    276
         Adults    123 (45%)
         Children 153 (55%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet  2009   2008   2007

Nine die in Starkville apartment fire

December 28, 2009 10:10:00 AM

Tim Pratt

A fire this morning at Academy Crossing Apartments on Louisville Street resulted in nine deaths, though officials released little other information as they worked the scene.

"All I can tell you is we had a fire in one of the older apartment buildings in Starkville on Louisville Street and there are multiple fatalities," Starkville Fire Department Chief Rodger Mann said this morning. "That's about all I can say. When a fatality is involved, things move a lot slower."

State fire marshal Mike Chaney said at least six children were among the dead.

Mann did not confirm the identities of the fire victims.

Sharon Dent, a woman at the scene who said she was close friend of the families involved in the fire, identified one of the victims as Maria Castella, a mother of three children she also feared died in the fire.

Dent, who was overcome with emotion, said she occasionally watched the children, who she said were ages 4, 3 and six or seven months.

"Those kids were so sweet," Dent said. "I loved those kids. It's extremely hard for me right now."

Dent said the other victims could include a woman that she said Castella recently took in to live with her. They were "hard-working people," she said.

Mann said he planned to release additional information about the incident later today. The fire broke out at approximately 4:30 a.m., he said.

A crowd of people watched on at the apartment complex early Monday as fire officials worked the accident scene. Some gathered with Dent, weeping. Others — including residents who were not let back into their apartments until around 9:30 — chatted on their cell phones and watched as fire officials investigated.

The complex, on Louisville Street just south of Academy Road, is a large complex of six two-story buildings, each divided into eight apartments. The fire damaged Building E, with the heaviest damage to three apartments on the second floor.

Saturday incident

The incident came just two days after a woman was injured in a fire at her mobile home in western Oktibbeha County.

According to Oktibbeha County Fire Services Coordinator Kirk Rosenhan, fire broke out at 2724 Brown Road Saturday at about 6:30 a.m. The woman who lived at the home happened to be awake and smelled smoke, he said.

"She looked at the back of the trailer and it was on fire," Rosenhan said.

The woman, who Rosenhan did not identify, attempted to get her dogs out of the trailer and then ran 300-400 yards up a muddy driveway to her parents' house for help, Rosenhan said.

By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, the trailer was "pretty much on the ground," Rosenhan said. Because the driveway was so muddy, firefighters had trouble getting their trucks to the trailer.

Four dogs died at the scene and the woman suffered from burns and smoke inhalation, he said. She was treated at Oktibbeha County Hospital and released the same day, he said.

Tim Pratt is the Starkville Bureau Reporter for The Commercial Dispatch.

Three killed in New York

2009-12-23T07:23:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 77
Fatalities    270
         Adults    122 (45%)
         Children 148 (55%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet  2009   2008   2007

Cheektowaga Fire Claims Three Lives

Cheektowaga, NY ( WKBW ) Eyewitness News cameras were on the scene at Hyland near George Urban Boulevard in Cheektowaga early Wednesday morning where three people perished in an overnight fire.

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Gerald Joseph reporting that an overnight 911 call apparantly came from the home early Wednesday morning. Firefighters responding found the home, which is settled behind another property back from the road. Upon arrival, first responders found the body of a male victim, and later two other victims that were both women.

Firefighters telling Eyewitness News that thick smoke and flames moved quickly through the property. At this hour, the fire is out and investigators are looking into the cause.

Eyewitness News will continue to have more on the fire throughout the day on Channel 7 and wkbw.com

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Mother and three children killed in Arkansas

2009-12-22T09:07:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 76
Fatalities    267
         Adults    119 (45%)
         Children 148 (55%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet  2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Mother and 3 young children die in Conway house fire

By Associated Press

7:00 AM CST, December 22, 2009

CONWAY, Ark. (AP) — Conway firefighters and police say a woman and her three young children have died in a house fire.

Police Lt. Susan Wilson says Jennifer Cissel died in the blaze Monday night with her children, 5-year-old Gwennette Snodgrass, 4-year-old Chris Snodgrass and 3-year-old Arley Snodgrass. Wilson says all four were found inside the home.

Fire Chief Bart Castleberry says firefighters were called about 8:10 p.m. Monday and arrived to find flames coming from the front and both sides of the home.

He says investigators have not determined the cause of the fire.

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PO Box 1046
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ecomeau@writer-tech.com
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Four killed in fire in Wisconsin

2009-12-21T11:49:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 75
Fatalities 263
         Adults 118 (45%)
         Children 145 (55%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet  2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Four dead in Blanchardville fire
By BILL NOVAK | The Capital Times | bnovak@madison.com | Posted: Monday, December 21, 2009 8:50 am

Four people were killed early Monday morning in a fire that destroyed a tavern in Blanchardville, the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department reported.
The fire was reported at 3:20 a.m. at Harris' Silver Dollar Saloon, 301 S. Main St., the department said.
Chief Deputy John Reichling said the four fatalities were all adults. Three bodies were found on the second floor and one on the first floor.
"The building was totally destroyed," Reichling said.
Reichling added that he couldn't confirm that the second story of the building was apartments.
Five fire departments and three emergency ambulance crews responded to the scene.
A detour traffic route was set up and remained in place as of 9 a.m. Monday.
More details are expected from the sheriff's department later Monday morning.

Four fires claim 12 lives

2009-12-19T14:51:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 74
Fatalities 259
         Adults 114 (44%)
         Children 145 (56%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet  2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Fire Kills Mother And Twin Sons

Scott Noll
5:30 PM CST, December 18, 2009

FAST FACTS:
Mother and twin sons killed in house fire
Family members say 28 year old Essie Oliver and Patrick and Depatrick Davis were killed
Search for a cause of the fire continues
Scott.Noll@wreg.com

(Forrest City, AR 12/18/2009) A mother and her two young sons are dead, after an early-morning fire that destroyed their Forrest City home.

Family members say 28 year old Essie Oliver, and her 8 year old twin sons Patrick and Depatrick Davis were killed.

The family's rental home was in the 100 block of Drexel Street.

A police officer spotted the fire about 2:40 this morning.

Local and state investigators have teamed-up to try and find the cause of the fire, and to give a grieving family some answers.

"Everything about them made you smile," recalled Roxie Hardaway, fighting back tears as she held a small stack of pictures showing her nephews, Patrick and Depatrick Davis.

Smiles were hard to find outside the burned-out remains of Essie Oliver's home today.

Family members stood crying, overcome with sadness hours after the 28 year old mother and her eight year old twin sons were found dead inside the burning home.

"I'm just out of words," said Bobbie McNary, Oliver's aunt. "I don't know, it's hard. It's hard."

Relatives say Oliver was a happy person, who loved life and her kids.

News that the mother, and her sons didn't make it out of the burning home was almost more than relatives could bear.

"I dropped to my knees and said, no they ain't," said Hardaway, describing hearing the news of the deaths this morning.

Investigators think the fire started somewhere in the kitchen, and burned unnoticed for some time.

"That would have filled the house with smoke and carbon monoxide," said Anthony Renigar, Assistant Fire Chief with the Forrest City Fire Department.

Firefighters found the brothers together in a front room.

Their mother's body was found in the back of the house.

"The house at the back was blazing," explained Kimberly Hamilton, who lived across the street from the family. "All of a sudden it just flamed on up."

Family members say the season makes this tragedy even tougher to swallow.

Firefighters say they found a Christmas tree in the burned-out home.

Relatives say the twins were already sharing their wish lists with relatives.

Now, instead of celebrating, the family grieves.

Photos and thoughts of better times, all they have left to remember three lives cut tragically short.

"These are the only memories I got left and it keeps playing over and over in my head," said Hardaway crying.

The bodies of all three victims have been sent to the state crime lab for autopsies.

The assistant fire chief says investigators did not find a smoke detector inside the house.

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3 found dead after fire in Kennedale

Posted Friday, Dec. 18, 2009

BY BILL MILLER

wmiller@star-telegram.com

Firefighters found three people, including a young girl, dead in their bedrooms after flames consumed a Kennedale house early Friday, the police chief said.

The three had not been identified by 10 p.m. Friday by the Tarrant County medical examiner's office.

The victims are believed to be a man, his adult daughter and the woman's young daughter, Police Chief Tommy Williams said

A 911 call at 12:19 a.m. sent firefighters to the house at 600 Little School Road, Williams said.

"The structure, including the three bedrooms containing the victims, was heavily involved in fire," Williams said in a news release.

Firefighters from Forest Hill and Mansfield assisted, Williams said.

There were no smoke detectors in the house, he said.

The Tarrant County fire marshal will try to determine the cause of the fire. Dogs trained to detect flammable material were being used, Williams said.

Two Children, Adult Killed in City Fire

Last Update: 11:45 am
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Photo Courtesy: Democrat and Chronicle
Rochester, N.Y. - Firefighters found the bodies of two children and an adult in the rubble of an apartment house fire in northeast Rochester early Saturday morning.

The fire broke out around 12:45 a.m. at a house at East Main and N. Goodman streets. When firefighters arrived, there was heavy fire on the second floor and attic. Firefighters were able to search two of three apartments before conditions forced them to evacuate.

After the fire was brought under control, firefighters resumed their search and found the bodies of one male adult and two female children, both under the age of 10.

The fire department does not consider this fire suspicious at this time. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

13WHAM News will bring you the latest information as it becomes available.
Fatal fire linked to child playing with matches

Published: Friday, December 18, 2009 11:58 PM CST
Authorities release cause of fatal fire in Hastings

HASTINGS -- A mobile home fire that killed three people on Tuesday in Hastings was caused by a child playing with matches.

The Nebraska state fire marshal released the cause on Friday, according to a press release from Donna Fegler Daiss, Adams County attorney.

The Adams County attorney's office had previously said that Gumaro Ruiz Walters, 6, and Angelita Sanchez Walters, nearly 10 months, died in the fire at the Nebraskaland Trailer Park. Based on the investigation of the Hastings Police Department, it is believed the third victim is Jose Tovan Alcaida, 22, of Minneapolis.

The county attorney's office also reported on Friday that the mother of the children, Lotosha Walters, 27, had been released from St. Elizabeth's Regional Medical Center in Lincoln. Silvia Arrelano Walters, 3, remained hospitalized on Friday, with no new information on her condition.

Leticia Dominguez Walters, who will be 5 on Jan. 3, was treated at Mary Lanning Hospital following the fire and was then released to relatives.

The determination of the cause of the fire was the result of several days of investigation by the state fire marshal's office, the Hastings Police Department and the Nebraska State Patrol, according to the Adams County attorney.

The fire was reported at 6:36 a.m. Tuesday. Hastings Fire Chief Kent Gilbert said the mobile home was engulfed by flames when firefighters arrived, so they were unable to enter the structure.

Two of the survivors were out of the trailer when firefighters got to the scene, and a third was passed through a window, he said.

Two fires claim six lives

2009-12-18T08:41:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 72
Fatalities 253
         Adults 113 (45%)
         Children 140 (55%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Mother, boyfriend, daughter dead in Johnstown fire
By JOE MANDAK Associated Press Writer
Updated: 12/14/2009 04:22:18 PM EST

PITTSBURGH—A woman, her live-in boyfriend, and her daughter were killed in a house fire that remained under investigation Monday, a coroner said.
The fire in Johnstown killed Jeanne Hotter, 49, Hamilton Pringle, 50, and Brittany Hotter, 19, said Cambria County Coroner Dennis Kwiatkowski. The house was located on a street near Memorial Medical Center in the city about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh.

All three died of toxic smoke inhalation, with severe burns as a contributing cause in the couple's deaths, the coroner said. The couple had to be identified using dental records, he said.
Brittany Hotter sustained second-degree burns on 75 percent of her body, but was identifiable, the coroner said.

All three victims were pronounced dead when their remains were found in the house early Monday.
The fire was reported about 12:30 a.m. and Brittany Hotter's body was found less than 90 minutes later in a rear bedroom. Jeanne Hotter and her boyfriend were discovered dead about 3:15 a.m., at the bottom of a stairwell leading from the second floor to a first floor living area.

A state police fire marshal and accelerant-sniffing dog were at the scene, searching for clues about what caused the fire.
State police and fire department officials didn't immediately return calls for comment.

The coroner said Jeanne Hotter's 17-year-old son, Kirk, was taken to nearby Memorial Medical Center, but his condition was not immediately available.
The coroner will not rule on the manner of death—accidental or homicide—until investigators determine how the fire started.

Three Killed in St. Clair County Fire

Last Update: 12/15 10:47 pm

BURTCHVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) - Three people have been killed in an early morning fire in northern St. Clair County.

It happened in Burtchville Township. Police say Charles Buckland, 36, Joshua Buckland, 4, and Emma Buckland, 8 months, died when their Charles Street home caught fire just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. It appears as if Charles was trying to rescue the two young children.

Firefighters from Burtchville Township and Fort Gratiot were called to the scene to fight the blaze. Witnesses day the house was fully engulfed when they arrived on the scene.

Amanda Buckland, 27, and Alyssa Buckland, 12, were able to escape. Amanda got out using a ladder a neighbor placed against the house. Alyssa was downstairs at the time the fire started and was able to get out on her own.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. A fund for the family is being set up at Eastern Michigan Bank and will be ready for donations Wednesday morning.

Three killed in fire in Cleveland, OH

2009-11-23T09:58:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 68
Fatalities 241
         Adults 105 (44%)
         Children 136 (56%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Three die in fire on Clark Avenue on Cleveland's West Side

By Michael Sangiacomo

November 18, 2009, 11:00PM

Joshua Gunter, Plain Dealer fileA Cleveland fire truck races to a scene.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Three members of a Cleveland family died tonight after a fire ripped through their house on Clark Avenue on the city's West Side.

Four family members were in the duplex when the fire broke out: a 29-year-old man, 3-year-old twins, and a 4-week-old girl, said Assistant Fire Chief David McNeilly.

Firefighters pulled the four out of the house; the victims were taken to MetroHealth Medical Center where three were pronounced dead. The condition of the fourth was unavailable late tonight.

Fire officials were not sure which one of the four had survived.

They would not release the information because the mother, who is out of town, had not been notified of the tragedy.

The fire erupted about 7:35 p.m. in the second-floor kitchen of the 2½-story home in the 1700 block of Clark Avenue, which is near the intersection of Scranton Road, McNeilly said.

The blaze burned through one of the kitchen walls and blocked the back stairwell which was the family's only exit out of the house, McNeilly said.

Once firefighters arrived, they used ladders to break windows on the second floor and went inside where they found the man and three children. None of the four was breathing when firefighters pulled them out of the house.

A damage estimate was not immediately available, but the house appeared gutted by the blaze.

The two-family colonial is more than 80 years old and is valued at $29,400, according to the Cuyahoga County auditor's Web site.

Reporter Gabriel Baird contributed to this story

Eleven killed in three fires in NY, NM and FL

2009-11-23T08:57:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 67
Fatalities 238
         Adults 104 (44%)
         Children 134 (56%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

November 18, 2009, 4:15 PM
3 Killed in Fire in Brooklyn Apartment Building
By SEWELL CHAN

Updated, 6:06 p.m. | Two children and one man were killed on Wednesday afternoon when a fire broke out in a six-story apartment building in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

The fire, which was reported at 12:27 p.m. at 654 St. Marks Avenue, near Rogers Avenue, broke out in one of the units on the top floor, the Fire Department said. Firefighters started arriving four minutes later; a total of 70 firefighters from 12 engine and ladder companies responded. The fire was declared under control at 12:57 p.m.

The children and the adult were taken in critical condition to Kings County Hospital, where efforts to save them failed. Their names were not released pending an investigation. The authorities said the cause of the fire had not yet been determined.

Records from the city's Department of Buildings indicate that the building — a six-story brick structure with a stone facade on the ground level — has been inspected a half-dozen times this year, following complaints about the elevator being out of operation.

Updated: 3 die in mobile home fire: Window bars likely prevented escape
To contribute to a funeral fund, call Chaparral High School at 575-824-6701
By Stephanie Sanchez / El Paso Times

Posted: 11/20/2009 12:00:00 AM MST"

Click photo to enlarge

Investigators said metal bars across the windows of the home... (Sun-News photo by Shari Vialpando )

Tears of sadness stream down the face of Maria Rodriguez on Thursday as she embraces her 20-year-old daughter, Valerie Rodriguez, next to her husband, Abraham Rodriguez, as they stand across the street from the charred remains of the mobile home that caught fire late Wednesday night and claimed the lives of three people. (Photos by Shari Vialpando / Las Cruces Sun-News)

To contribute to a funeral fund, call Chaparral High School at 575-824-6701
UPDATE
CHAPARRAL, N.M. -- Autopsies released today determined that three people, including a 14-month-old girl, died of smoke inhalation during a mobile home fire in Chaparral.

Killed were Elena Diaz, 20, her daughter, Aileen Millan, and her brother, 17-year-old Rodolfo Villalba. They could not escape the room they were sleeping in, given the flames and bars on the window, Doña Ana County officials said this morning.

Fire investigators said the fire was caused by improperly spliced wires that provided power to the home. The fire occurred late Wednesday in the 2500 block of Capital.

See Saturday's print edition for more details.

Aileen Millan (Courtesy photo)
ORIGINAL STORY

CHAPARRAL, N.M. -- Valerie Rodriguez can still hear the desperate pleas. She can still smell the suffocating smoke. And she will never forget the image of her best friend holding her baby girl trapped between a fire and a barred-shut window.

The fierce fire killed 20-year-old Elena Diaz and her 14-month-old daughter, Aileen Millan. Diaz's brother, Rodolfo Villalba, 17, a Chaparral High School junior, also died.

The fire occurred in the 2500 block of Capital in Chaparral, just before 11:25 p.m. Wednesday. Diaz, Villalba and Aileen had moved into the mobile home last Friday with Rodriguez and her father, Abraham Rodriguez, 39.

Paramedics, firefighters and deputies arrived within 16 minutes of the call to
911, and found the mobile home engulfed in flames. Abraham and Valerie Rodriguez, 20, were standing outside, Doña Ana County officials said.
Bars on the windows of the mobile home and the intense fire made it impossible for firefighters to rescue the three people in a back room, officials said.
Fire investigators still do not know what caused the fire. Deputies are awaiting autopsies to determine the cause of death and confirm the identities of the three people. They did confirm the ages

Elena Diaz (Courtesy photo)
of 20, 17 and 14 months.
In an interview Thursday, Valerie Rodriguez recounted the emotional ordeal.
She said she was sleeping in her room and woke up because she couldn't breathe. She opened her door and saw heavy smoke. She yelled for her father, who was sleeping in the room next to hers.
Valerie and Abraham Rodriguez then tried to walk through the kitchen to get to the room on the opposite end, where Diaz, Villalba and Aileen were sleeping. But the flames had already formed a thick wall.
The two exited a back door. Abraham Rodriguez tried to get back into the mobile home through the front door, but couldn't.
"We went around to her window," Valerie Rodriguez said as tears streaked her face. "She kept yelling, 'Ayúdame, Valeria. Por favor (help me, Valeria. Please).' She had her baby in her arms. I told her, 'Amiga, vete al baño y prende la regadera. (Go to the bathroom and turn on the shower).' She didn't answer anymore."

Aileen's loud cries continued for a short time, then stopped. Villalba was never heard saying anything.

Firefighters and parame dics arrived soon afterward, Valerie Rodriguez said, but it was too late.

Early Thursday, fire investigators searched through the rubble. All that remained of the mobile home was half of Abraham Rodriguez's room.

Valerie Rodriguez and her family were outside what remained of the mobile home mourning the loss of their friends, who had become part of their family. Friends of Villalba were also grieving their loss at school.

"As we let our students know, there was an outpouring of support for him and his family," Chaparral Principal J.D. Diggs said. "Evidently, he was very well-liked by fellow students. They are trying to collect donations."

Diggs described Villalba as a good student who played goalie for the junior varsity soccer team.

Villalba, Valerie Rodriguez said, was a great soccer player and had many friends. She said he had a tight relationship with his sister because they lived miles from their family, who live in Juárez.

Diaz, she said, was a fun person and dedicated mother to her daughter. She said her goal was to find a good-paying job and build her family.

She said Diaz was happy earlier Wednesday because her daughter's father was being released from jail and they were going to patch their relationship.

"He told her he was ready to come back. She was happy; she wanted to have her family," she said. "She was a great mom. Aileen had learned to say 'mom,' and would call everybody 'mom.' ...

"She didn't like to give kisses. But (Wednesday), she was kissing everybody. Kind of like she knew."

To contribute to a funeral fund, call Chaparral High School at 575-824-6701.

Stephanie Sanchez may be reached at ssanchez@elpasotimes.com;546-6137.

Five Found Dead In Mobile Home Fire
Investigators Search For Cause Of Marion Co. Blaze

POSTED: Saturday, November 21, 2009
UPDATED: 10:27 am EST November 22, 2009
OCALA, Fla. -- A mother and her four young boys have been identified by relatives as the victims of a mobile home fire that broke out early Saturday morning in Marion County.

The fire was called in to emergency officials at about 6:45 a.m. after it was spotted by someone driving by.

Neighbors said they heard an explosion and then saw the fire.

Marion County firefighters arrived at the home at 11290 Northwest 20th St. in Ocala, and found the 800-square-foot single-wide mobile home in flames and the roof collapsed.

The mother has been identified as Tabetha Belanger, 25, and her four sons as 6-year-old Hunter, 4-year-old Nicolas, 2-year-old Michael and 3-month-old Aaron.

Tabetha had plans to marry next year.

The state fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of the blaze, but said that it does not appear suspicious.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

Two fires kill 7 in OH and CT

2009-11-13T08:06:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 64
Fatalities 227
         Adults 101 (44%)
         Children 126 (56%)
11/

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Mother, children die in apartment fire
Updated: Friday, 13 Nov 2009, 6:02 AM EST
Published : Friday, 13 Nov 2009, 5:24 AM EST

Bridgeport (WTNH) - A mother and her three young children were killed early Friday after a fire in their apartment in Bridgeport, authorities said.
The fire was reported around 1:00 a.m. in the P.T. Barnum housing complex on St. Stephens St.
Police said the mother, twin four-year-olds and a five-year-old, died. Their names have not been released.
It's not known yet how the fire started. The damage was contained to that one unit where the victims were found, a fire department official said.
Local and state investigators are on the scene. They are looking onto the cause of the fire, and whether smoke detectors were installed in the apartment.

Mother and 2 children killed, 2 other children injured in Dayton house fire

UPDATE 6:33 a.m.: DAYTON-- The fire in a duplex at 2822 E. First St. that killed a mother and two young children last night is still under investigation, said Dayton Fire Dispatcher Lt. Mark Roth.

The identities of those who died in the fire has not been released this morning, Friday, Nov. 13, pending notification of next of kin, according to the Montgomery County Coroner's office.
A mother and a 2-month-old infant and a 4-year-old child perished in the fire.
The condition of the two older children, who escaped the fire, one by jumping out a two-story window, is still not known. They were taken to the hospital.

EARLIER: DAYTON — A mother and two children were killed, and two other children were injured Thursday night, Nov. 12, in a fire at a duplex on East First Street, Dayton fire officials said.

The mother, a 2-month-old infant and a 4-year-old child, whose names were not immediately available, apparently were trapped in the fire in the 2800 block of East First Street, Dayton East District Fire Chief Ron Fleming said.

The cause of the fire is not immediately known, Fleming said, noting it appeared to have started in the front room of the residence.
"We don't think it was the kids," he said, adding that the initial investigation placed four children on the second floor.
Fleming could not immediately say where the mother and children were in the house when they died.
Crews were dispatched at 9:16 p.m. on a report of a fire with people trapped, and the first floor was engulfed when fire crews arrived at 9:19 p.m., Fleming said.
Tabitha Coleman, her 2-year-old son and her boyfriend, Tranel Philpot, were in their home in the other half of the duplex when they heard smoke detectors going off next door.
Philpot said he ran out front and leaned over the railing that separates the two porches. The front door to that residence was open, Philpot said. "All I could see was the whole couch in flames."
"We went out back and we heard them screaming," Philpot said.
Philpot said he tried to kick in their bathroom window but there was "too much" fire and smoke.
The Red Cross was dispatched to help that family.
"We are helping the family" by providing food, clothing and temporary lodging, said Elizabeth Long, Red Cross disaster public affairs.
Fleming said when fire crews arrived, two of the children who had escaped told firefighters that their siblings were still inside.
One of those children, whose ages he believed were 8 to 10 years old, had jumped from the second story.
All four children were taken to Children's Medical Center, where a spokesman said he could not confirm that the children had been taken there.
In the first minutes after fire crews sent the children to the hospital, the 4-year-old was said to be in "grave condition," Fleming said.
There were conflicting reports about the father, whether he was in the home at the time of the fire. Fire crews were expected to remain on the scene for much of the night.
Mark Pardue of Kettering, who identified himself as the owner of the building, said the victims moved there about six months ago.
"She was a real nice girl," Pardue said. "It breaks my heart."

Two adults and a child killed in Dallas

2009-11-13T07:40:00.000-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 62
Fatalities 220
         Adults 99 (45%)
         Children 121 (55%)
11/

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Couple, 5-year-old son die in blaze in northeast Dallas

Dan X. McGrawThe 33 News

November 12, 2009

DALLAS, TEXAS - A father, a mother and their 5-year-old son died after they were trapped in their northeast Dallas home as it was engulfed in flames, officials said.

Firefighters were called out to the home in the 9200 block of Windy Crest Drive about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday after residents of a neighboring apartment noticed flames shooting through the roof.

Romina Mulloy-Bossio, 35, Michael Levine, 47, and 5-year-old Ariel Levine were found in an upstairs bedroom by firefighters, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said.

Officials believe the parents were alerted by the fire and went upstairs to try to rescue their son, but a staircase ushered the flames quickly into the second floor and attic.

Outside, neighbors stood in pajamas as they watched firefighters furiously try to revive the family members.

"That could have been my little boy," resident Samantha Hargrave said.

By early Thursday, residents had placed two bouquets of daisies near a tree outside the family's home. Neighbors scoured the home for any salvageable mementos for the family.

Danny Mulloy, a relative, stopped by the home with his daughter.

He had heard the news early Thursday morning.

"I thought it was a fire," he said. "You go in and see some charred stuff. That was an inferno. It makes you ask why. Why would someone like that have to go through that? Why would anyone?"

Neighbors brought out a half-dozen photos of the couple and their son for Mulloy. He neatly stacked the items -- the lasting images -- in his car.

Residents remembered the 5-year-old for his beaming smile and curly dark black hair.

"He was so cute he could have passed for a girl," neighbor Lynette Hagaman said.

She said she most remembers the family for how they doted on their son.

Michael Levine was always seen walking behind his son as he cruised down the sidewalk in an electric car, she said.

"He was always there," she said. "Right behind him."

Four killed in Cleveland

2009-11-09T15:27:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 62
Fatalities 221
         Adults 99 (45%)
         Children 122 (55%)
11/

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

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1 Victim of Fatal Weekend Fire Identified

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-fatalfirewest32ndstreet,0,4549752.story

CLEVELAND - One of the victims of a fatal weekend house fire on Cleveland's west side has been identified as investigators still work to determine a cause, Fox 8 News reports.

The Cuyahoga County coroner has identified the lone female victim as Mary Spriggs, 55. Spriggs and three men died in the blaze at a home in the 1700 block of West 32nd Street on Saturday morning.

According to Larry Gray with the Cleveland Fire Department, intense flames broke out shortly before 2 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they found one person hanging out of a first-floor window. That person was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center with severe burns, but died a short time later.

The three other people were pronounced dead at the scene after they were pulled from inside the home.

According to investigators, whether the fire was an accident or arson has not been determined.

Fire officials tell Fox 8 News that the apartments next door were also badly damaged from the fire, but everyone got out thanks in part to a good Samaritan.

"It was someone on a bicycle," neighbor Margie Castro said. "I still haven't seen him, and he was pounding on all our doors. (He) woke everyone up, and when I got up, this part here was already in flames."

The identities of the male victims have not been released.

Seven killed in fires in NY and OK

2009-11-09T14:40:00.000-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 61
Fatalities 217
         Adults 95 (44%)
         Children 122 (56%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

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Basement deathtrap got OK twice
BY ERIN EINHORN, HENRICK KAROLISZYN AND JONATHAN LEMIRE
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Monday, November 9th 2009, 4:00 AM

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/11/09/2009-11-09_basement_deathtrap_got_ok_twice.html#ixzz0WOMFxryH

The Queens deathtrap where three men perished in a raging fire was twice the target of a city investigation into illegally converted apartments, officials said Sunday.
Illegal renovations blocked possible escape routes from the two-story Woodside home, dooming the Bangladeshi men inside basement rooms when flames ignited at 2:45 a.m. Saturday, officials said. No criminal charges have yet been filed, but the Queens district attorney is mulling a probe, according to law enforcement sources.

Sd Jahan, 31, Abdul Kuddus, 24, and Biswajzit Das, 25, all died before firefighters could reach them. Rescuers were briefly slowed by a 911 dispatching error that mistakenly sent firefighters to the wrong address.

"It's totally the landlord's fault," said Muhammed Hasan, Jahan's uncle, of owner Subir Barua. "The basement is not a place for the living - [Barua] played with their lives."

The two-family 65th St. home, which had been illegally converted into a five-family residence with another seven single rooms, was inspected in 2004 and 1990 after the city Buildings Department got complaints it had been illegally divided, according to officials. Inspectors found nothing wrong either time, but the Buildings Department is now reviewing those findings.

"There is no evidence of any improper work," said Buildings Department spokesman Tony Sclafani. "But as part of any department investigation, we will conduct a thorough review of the inspection history at the site."

Barua, a pharmacist who bought the property in 1996, was in critical condition yesterday with severe burns. Two other men were also being treated for burns.
After the blaze, Barua, 48, was cited for illegal occupancy, failure to provide a basement exit and conducting renovations without a permit. The cause of the fire remains under investigation but it does not appear to be arson, according to FDNY officials.

The building's smoke detectors were not operational, according to officials.
Local politicians and the dead men's relatives were outraged yesterday by the lethal conditions inside the home.
"How many more firefighters do we have to put at risk before we crack down on these illegal subdivisions?" asked City Councilman Peter Vallone (D-Astoria).

"I thought the city had learned its lesson but apparently not," said Vallone. "It's outrageous that we allow these conditions to exist in New York."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/11/09/2009-11-09_basement_deathtrap_got_ok_twice.html#ixzz0WOMDN6WN

Authorities: Oklahoma City house fire kills 4
By SEAN MURPHY (AP) – 4 hours ago
OKLAHOMA CITY — Fire tore through a home in southwest Oklahoma City early Monday, killing all four people inside, authorities said.
Firefighters arrived at the home around 5:20 a.m. and found the one-story brick building engulfed in flames, Battalion Chief Brian Jackson said. They managed to pull one victim from the house, but the rest "were too far gone," he said.

All four were pronounced dead at the scene.
"As they were on their fire attack and search and rescue, they found the victims," Deputy Chief Cecil Clay said of the firefighters. "As they were continuing their attack they were finding more victims."

Clay said two of the victims were adults.
Firefighters were still searching through the burned-out structure in the middle-class neighborhood Monday morning. Police investigators also were on the scene, police Sgt. Gary Knight said.
Jackson said it was too early to determine how or where the blaze started or if the home had working smoke detectors.
The fire comes less than a week after another blaze at a southwest Oklahoma City apartment building several miles away that killed three people. Investigators have said that fire was intentionally set.

Three killed in Ann Arbor, Michigan

2009-11-04T05:53:00.001-05:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 59
Fatalities 210
         Adults 90 (43%)
         Children 120 (57%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

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Cause unknown in Ann Arbor fire that killed 3

BY TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Flames were so intense that a cause may never be found for the fire that killed an Ann Arbor couple and their son early Sunday morning.

Demetri (Jim) and Joanna Alexandropoulos, who were in their 80s, and their son, John, in his 40s, died in the 3:03 a.m. blaze at 1701 Waverly, according to the Ann Arbor Police.

By the time a neighbor noticed the fire, their home was fully engulfed in flames.

"It was a pretty intense fire," Ann Arbor Police Detective Bill Stanford said today. "It spread quickly, and I don't know if they had smoke detectors or not because the fire consumed all the belongings in the house."

Investigators believe the fire started the basement.

"Cause is unknown," Stanford said. "We may never know. Too much damage."

Fire in West Virginia kills three

2009-10-26T08:54:00.001-04:00

NOTE: There have been 9 fires that have killed 27 people in 24 days in October making it the third-deadliest month for significant, multiple-fatality fires in 2009 with over a week left.

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 58
Fatalities 207
         Adults 87 (42%)
         Children 120 (58%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

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A Community Is In Mourning After A Fatal Fire Kills Three

A West Virginia community mourns three lives, taken by a fatal fire.
Posted: 11:08 PM Oct 25, 2009
Reporter: Sarah Sager

Email Address: Sarah.Sager@whsv.com As you come up the driveway, along route 259 in Hardy County West Virginia, you can still see cars parked in front of a charred home.

The shattered glass and blackened walls, paint a gruesome picture of Friday's fatal fire.
Chief of the Mathias Fire Department, Craig Strauderman, was on the scene of the fire.
Strauderman says, "Arrived on scene to find a structure probably 50% involved with fire. The fire was venting from the roof at that time."

The bodies of Dennis and Alaina Taylor, along with a minor, were found in the home.
Chief Strauderman says, "During the course of the fire we did locate three victims who perished in the fire."
While community members would not talk about the tragedy, Strauderman says it has been a tough weekend for the town.

"The whole community usually takes this kind of thing very rough. It's a pretty small community and everybody is pretty close", says Strauderman.
The chief says firefighters from Virginia and West Virginia are some of the most affected by the death of fellow firefighter, Dennis Taylor.

"The fire department is a close knit group. I mean, you pretty much become a family, as you experience things with each other", says Strauderman.
A West Virginia community is still left full of questions and grief, and fellow firefighters have left words of love, and sorrow, at the base of the Taylor's hill.

Officials with the fire and rescue squad say, investigators have not ruled out foul play.
Official word on the cause is expected to be released in the next few days.

Two fires in PA and TN kill 1 adult and five children

2009-10-24T11:02:00.001-04:00

NOTE: There have been 8 fires that have killed 24 people in 24 days in October making it the third-deadliest month for significant, multiple-fatality fires in 2009 with over a week left.

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             57
Fatalities      204
         Adults       85 (42%)
         Children 119 (58%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Mother, Two Sons Killed In House Fire In Giles County

PULASKI, TN - A fire in Giles County killed a mother and her two children overnight. The fire broke out around 1:34am Friday at a home on Milky Way Drive in Pulaski.

Neighbors called 911 after hearing an explosion, and by the time firefighters arrived, the mobile home and a nearby vehicle were engulfed in flames.

Once the fire was out, firefighters found three bodies inside. They have been identified as Desere Thornton, 38, Jerrod Thornton, 16, and Anthony Thornton, 9.

Giles County Fire Marshal Barry Whitt said the three were taken to Nashville for an autopsy to determine an exact cause of death.

No word yet on the cause of the fire.

Three children killed in Clairton fire

Friday, October 23, 2009

By Jim McKinnon and Eleanor Chute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette

An early morning fire in a townhouse in Clairton has claimed the lives of three children.

The fire call came in at 1:13 a.m. in the home in the 2800 block of Soltis Drive in the Century Towne Homes complex, according to Chief Deputy Fire Marshal Donald A. Brucker of the Allegheny County Fire Marshal's Office. Firefighters battled flames and heavy smoke in an attempt to rescue the children from an upstairs bedroom.

Two Clairton police officers, Tim Huschak and Keith Zenkovich, were the first to arrive at the home, Clairton fire Chief John Lattanzi said.

A large crowd of distraught people had gathered outside, and the police officers reported the apartment was engulfed in flames.

The two policemen, both experienced firefighters with knowledge that children were trapped inside, could not get past the front door of the apartment because of the heat and thick, black smoke.

Firefighters arrived within minutes, Chief Lattanzi said. The heat was too intense for them as well, and they worked instead on knocking down the flames.

With four fire companies from Clairton and nearby communities, and a fifth company on standby for emergency extractions, the blaze quickly was contained. It did not spread to the adjoining units in the row, nor did it travel through the common roof of the structure.

Two of the victims were found in a rear bedroom, one under the bed and the other on top of the bed. The third child was found on the bed in a front bedroom, Chief Lattanzi said.

The children were taken to Jefferson Hospital where they were pronounced dead.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office identified the victims as Rachel Finn, 9, Deausha Faulk, 6, and Michael Zigler, 2. Cause of death has not been determined. Chief Lattanzi said it appeared the three perished from smoke inhalation, likely before the first responders were on the scene.

Two teens reportedly had been injured, but only one, Tiarra Williams, 17, was admitted to UPMC Mercy where she is in fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. Tiarra is the older sister of Michael Zeigler.

Police said Markell Finn-Faulk, 29, escaped the blaze with her daughter, Essence, 14, and a son, Daishawn Smith, 11. Ms. Finn-Faulk's daughters Rachel and Deausha did not make it out.

Essence was not injured, police said. Daishawn was in good condition at UPMC Mercy, a hospital spokewoman said.

Daishawn is in good condition at UPMC Mercy.

Tiarra Williams, 17, also evacuated safely. She and her brother, Michael, had been visiting at the apartment.

Ms. Finn-Faulk was treated at the hospital and released.

Officials are investigating the cause of the fire.

Chief Lattanzi said it appears to have started in the first-floor kitchen. Flames spread to the second floor before they engulfed the remainder of the apartment.

Marshal Brucker said the family was new to the area. Neighbors said the newcomers moved in about six months ago.

There were smoke alarms upstairs and downstairs and they were working. It's not clear why they did not wake the family in time.

The superintendent of the Clairton School District, Lucille L. Abellonio, had the following message on the district Web site:

"We are extremely saddened by the news of the fire that occurred in Clairton and took the lives of three children. The district mourns their loss and we will have counselors available at the school today for any student or staff member who would need assistance.

"We understand that the older children are in area hospitals and we will do all that we can to support them during this difficult time. When school resumes on Monday, the crisis team will be available to speak to all students."

The children who died all attended Clairton Elementary School. There were no classes today because of an in-service program for teachers. But Deborah Marshall, principal of Clairton Elementary School, said, some students stopped by the school complex this morning.

"Kids just want to know whether it's true or false what they've heard," she said. "Many of them are coming because it's hard to believe."

She described the children from the burned apartment as well-adjusted, each with "a wonderful smile and a wonderful story to tell."

Deausha Faulk, 6, Mrs. Marshall said, was in kindergarten and doing a leaf project. "She was happy about the leaf she had selected. They had to pick a leaf and write a story about that leaf."

Rachel Finn, 9, a fourth-grader, working on a school project called, "My Family," wrote about how she fit into her family and how she could make the school and community part of their family.

This was their first year in Clairton. The family came from Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Mrs. Marshall said, "They had adjusted to the district very well. We will miss each and every one of them."

The principal said the district is close-knit with about 800 students all in the same building.

Jim McKinnon can be reached at jmckinnon@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1939.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09296/1007791-100.stm#ixzz0UrgooMEO

--
Ed Comeau
writer-tech.com, publisher of Campus Firewatch
PO Box 1046
Belchertown, MA 01007
413-323-6002
ecomeau@writer-tech.com
www.writer-tech.com
www.campus-firewatch.com
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Mother and two children killed in Virginia

2009-10-20T13:23:00.000-04:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             55
Fatalities      198
         Adults       84 (42%)
         Children 114 (58%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Mother, two children killed in Highland Springs house fire

By Joe Macenka

Published: October 20, 2009

A mother and her two young children were killed in a pre-dawn house fire in Highland Springs today.

The victims were identified by a family member as Tasha Davis, and her daughter, Jazmine Whisnant, 9; and son, Jamie Whisnant, 3.

Corey Whisnant, uncle of the children, spoke briefly to a reporter after about two dozen family members wrapped arms around each other and prayed approximately 150 feet from the home at 14 N. Battery Ave.

The mother was pronounced dead at the scene; the two children died after being taken to VCU Medical Center.

Henrico Fire Capt. Chris Buehren said the three victims were all found inside the house when firefighters arrived.

The call came at 6:07 a.m., and the first firefighters arrived on the scene five minutes later to find heavy smoke throughout the small house and heavy fire in the kitchen area, said Buehren.

Firefighters brought out one person first, then went back in and brought out two others.

He said it was too early to determine whether they died from burns or smoke inhalation.

Buehren said authorities were in the early phases of the investigation and were unsure of what caused the fire or where in the house it started

Three adults killed in fire in Ohio

2009-10-20T08:59:00.000-04:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             54
Fatalities      195
         Adults       83 (43%)
         Children 112 (57%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Three People Die In Lebanon House Fire

Last Update: 10/19 5:59 pm

LEBANON, Ohio -- Three people are dead after a fire engulfed a Lebanon home that had numerous building code violations.

City officials say they were told no one was living in the century old house.

Meanwhile, friends of the victims blame Lebanon for not working harder to prevent the deadly fire.

Lebanon Fire Chief Michael Hannigan says the bodies of three men were found inside the 110-year-old, two-story wood frame home on Walnut Street, near Miller Street.

The third victim was found in a back room or back apartment of the three-family home, after the first two victims were found in the front of the house. Chief Hannigan says it's believed the victims are not members of a single family. Neighbors say the three men lived inside the house.

The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m., bringing in firefighters from Lebanon, Clear Creek, Turtle Creek, and Union townships.

Chief Hannigan says the flames were so intense when his first units arrived, that firefighters had to battle the blaze from the outside of the home, until they were able to bring it under control.

A potential cause for the deadly fire has not been determined. Chief Hannigan says it may be difficult to figure out because so little of the house is left, and what is left is so badly burned. There's no word on whether the house had smoke detectors.

The chief says the old construction used to build the house might have contributed to the intensity of the fire.

Friends of the victims say the conditions inside were deplorable, with no electricity to some apartments and no running water in much of the old house.

The deaths literally drove Ron Collins to tears. He says it was so cold inside the house, that he gave one of the victims sheets and plastic wrapping to sleep in. He says the house had no running water and the victims got electricity by running extension cords from an upstairs apartment.

Neighbors say the men looked to be between 30 and 50-years-old and worked as day laborers, often riding bikes to their jobs.

A check of Warren County land records show the house is owned by former Lebanon Fire Chief Jerry Crisp, who directed the department from 1975 until he retired in 1982.

City officials say another building Crisp owned nearby also recently burned to the ground.

The building where the three men died on Monday was cited several years ago for not having working smoke detectors. Officials have not said whether the building had working smoke detectors prior to Monday's deadly fire.

The bodies of the victims have been taken to the Montgomery County Morgue so autopsies can be performed. The names of the victims have not been released.
The fire remains under investigation.

Stay with 9News and WCPO.com for the latest on this story.

Two adults and toddler killed in West Virginia

2009-10-19T13:22:00.000-04:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             53
Fatalities      192
         Adults       80 (42%)
         Children 112 (58%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Fatal House Fire Under Investigation

Posted: 9:40 am EDT October 19, 2009Updated: 11:36 am EDT October 19, 2009

WEIRTON, W.Va. -- A weekend house fire that killed three people including a toddler is under investigation, Weirton officials said.Three people died in the Edna Avenue fire Sunday morning: Tammy S. Reese, 44; Corvita M. Johnson, 28; and Johnson's 2-year-old son, Adrian Henry.Monday, at the site of the blaze, friends and loved ones left teddy bears, flowers and balloons in memory of the victims.Laura Jeter, a longtime friend of Reese, said the last day has been a nightmare. She and Reese used to live together and took care of each other's children over the years.Jeter said words could not describe how dear Adrian was to her heart."Saturday they were up there taking pictures and playing football with the baby, and then all of the sudden it ain't there no more," Jeter said. "(It's) torture, because usually (Reese) is out feeding the birds, the baby is out there waving at us, yelling at us."Investigators from the West Virginia State Fire Marshal's office were at the scene Monday to find the cause and origin of the blaze. The state medical examiner's office and the Weirton fire and police departments are also investigating.According to a news release, the Weirton Fire Department received a call at 6:48 a.m. Sunday from Hancock County dispatchers that there was a house fire with three people trapped inside.Fire crews were at the scene three minutes later and found smoke and flames on the first floor. One occupant had escaped through a window uninjured. Crews said they found and removed the first victim at 7:07 a.m., the second at 7:13 a.m. and the third at 7:17 a.m. The fire was contained at approximately 7:20 a.m.Stay with NEWS9 and WTOV9.com for continuing coverage.

Two adults and infant killed in fire

2009-10-12T06:05:00.001-04:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             52
Fatalities      189
         Adults       78 (41%)
         Children 111 (59%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Three killed in southside fire

11-month-old baby among victims

Jess Mancini

POSTED: October 12, 2009

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PARKERSBURG - A mother of a woman who died in a Sunday morning fire that killed three people in south Parkersburg believes her daughter's boyfriend tried to save the baby.

The fire at 423 Camden Ave. appears accidental with the likely cause being heat from an electrical heater, said Capt. Tim Flinn, chief fire inspector for the Parkersburg Fire Department. The fire was reported around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, he said.

Fire Chief Eric Chichester Sunday afternoon said identification of the three victims was being withheld pending an autopsy by the state medical examiner.

Donna McClain identified the three as her daughter, Amanda Reann McClain, Amanda's infant son, Conner James Dwayne Joy, and Jesse Hayes, Amanda's boyfriend.

McClain tearfully said she wants everyone to know her daughter died in her sleep and "Jesse tried to save Conner."

The baby turned 11 months on Saturday, McClain said as she looked toward the home.

The man was found with the baby near an exit of the home, said Wood County Coroner Mike St. Clair. The preliminary cause of death of the three is smoke inhalation. St. Clair said.

"It's a terrible, terrible tragedy," St. Clair said.

Neighbors said the three moved into the home only three days earlier. A large group of people helped them move into the house, said residents gathering by the home Sunday afternoon.

"I didn't think they were going to move in that fast," said Michael Rogers, the owner of the home.

Rogers was cleaning debris around the house Sunday afternoon. The house is located near the intersection of Victoria Avenue about 100 feet from the road.

The fire was reported by a passerby who saw flames, Chichester said. The house apparently had been burning for a while before it was discovered, he said.

"We found no evidence of a smoke detector anywhere in the house," Flinn said.

The department has programs available for qualifying residents for free detectors and in some circumstances will aid with the installation, Flinn said.

A dozen firefighters were on the scene, most of the shift, from Engine Cos. 3, 5 and 6, Rescue 1, Tower 1, and Allegheny Power, the state fire marshal, the code department and the medical examiner, he said.

The fatalities raise the total of deaths due to fires in the region to at least four in the past two months.

Barry Ward, a handicapped man from New Matamoras, died last week when he couldn't escape from his home.

Investigators initially believed Donald L. Barron, 84, 2503 Broad St., died of smoke inhalation from a fire at his home on Aug. 30, however, the medical examiner later ruled he died of natural causes.

Three killed in North Carolina

2009-10-05T15:10:00.000-04:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             51
Fatalities      186
         Adults       76 (41%)
         Children 110 (59%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

3 die in early morning fire in Union County

Eleven people slept in home that investigators say was without a working smoke detector. Three taken to hospital for injuries.

Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
cwootson@charlotteobserver.com

Posted: Sunday, Oct. 04, 2009

MONROE Edna Starnes became a surrogate mother of sorts to neighbor Robert Griffin after his own parents died when he was 21. Griffin said it was her way to open doors to friends and family members who'd fallen on hard times.

Starnes and two others died Saturday in an early morning fire that gutted a southern Union County home with 11 people sleeping inside. Three more went to a hospital with injuries. Investigators say the deaths might have been prevented if the home had had a single working smoke detector.

Griffin, 42, who lived in an outbuilding on the property, said he was awakened by screams and the smell of smoke Saturday morning. He described grabbing an ax and running toward the house, barefoot and in night clothes.

"I tried to get in that way," he said, pointing to a side door, "but the fire was too strong." He says he raced around the outside of the house. He pushed an air conditioner through a window and heavy smoke billowed out. Ultimately, he broke a sliding glass window with the axe and ventured inside. By then, most of the people had gotten out and he could hear sirens in the distance.

Authorities had not released the names of the victims by late Saturday. But Griffin said Edna Starnes, the home's owner, and her daughter Belinda Starnes perished, along with a child who was sleeping on a couch.

Investigators suspect the three died of smoke inhalation, but are waiting for the Union County medical examiner to make a final determination.

Three more people being treated at a local hospital for smoke inhalation don't have life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

A quick-moving fire gutted the house on Plyler Mills Road south of Monroe, a rural and ranching area about a dozen miles from the S.C. line.

The fire started in a trash can in the kitchen, possibly from a cigarette left inside or nearby, said Union County Assistant Fire Marshal Zeb Mullis.

Someone called 911 just after 5 a.m. Firefighters had the blaze extinguished 27 minutes later, at 5:34 a.m.

"By the time (the people in the house) noticed the fire, the smoke had already filled up the house," Mullis said.

Another boy sleeping on a couch was the first to wake up, Mullis said. "Why he woke up, we don't know," he said. "I call it divine intervention."

The boy tried to rouse family members, and his screams alerted Griffin.

Griffin stayed at the remains of the house for most of Saturday in clothes blackened by the ashes. He said he was standing sentry in case thieves decided to pick through what was left.

There wasn't much. The brick house seemed almost untouched from the outside. A charred statue of an angel and a child's stuffed animal, smelling of smoke, gave a hint of what was inside - little more than charred ashes, blackened walls and fallen beams.

Griffin walked through part of the house beside a melted moped, taking a drag of a cigarette and seeing if there was anything worth salvaging.

"I'm just trying to get my composure back together," he said. "This ain't what I wanted to wake up to."

Cleve R. Wootson Jr.: 704-358-5046

Three killed in Bangor, MI

2009-10-01T17:41:00.001-04:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             50
Fatalities      183
         Adults       75 (41%)
         Children 108 (59%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

David and Cindy Hoaglin, and their daughter Chelsea, 15, killed in Bangor house fire

By Rex Hall Jr. | Kalamazoo Gazette

October 01, 2009, 4:00PM

Three people were killed Thursday morning in a house fire in this home on Center St. in downtown Bangor. Bangor firefighters and firefighters from four other departments responded to the blaze at 2:30 a.m. in the 100 block of North Center Street after receiving a report of a house fire with people still inside the residence, Bangor Fire Chief Derek Babcock said.

BANGOR — A husband and wife and their 15-year-old daughter were killed this morning in a house fire near downtown Bangor.

Cindy Hoaglin, along with her husband David and their 15-year-old daughter, Chelsea, were killed in the fire that took place in their home near Bangor.Their son, Jestin, is stationed in Iraq in the military. He has been notified and efforts are in the works to bring him home, neighbors and friends said.

Grief counselors were on hand Thursday at Bangor High School, Principal Jeff Melvin said..

Firefighters from Bangor and four other departments responded at 2:30 a.m. to the blaze at 111 N. Center St. after receiving a report of a house fire with people still inside, Bangor Fire Chief Derek Babcock said.

Neighbor Peter Gent, 67, said he called 911.

"When I came to the door the heat from the fire almost knocked me back. It was that hot," Gent said.

Babcock said the rear of the two-story house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

He said it took firefighters about 45 minutes to bring the blaze under control and that rescue efforts were performed as firefighters worked to douse the fire.

"We had plenty of people on scene and were doing both activities at the same time," Babcock said.

Babcock declined Thursday to release the genders and ages of the three people killed in the fire, pending the conclusion of an investigation by the Van Buren County Medical Examiner's Office. The chief also declined to say where in the house firefighters found the three victims.

He said two of the people were pronounced dead at the scene of the fire and a third was pronounced dead at South Haven Community Hospital.

Babcock said it appears the fire began in the rear of the house. The cause of the blaze was being investigated Thursday by a Michigan State Police fire investigator.

Babcock said firefighters cleared the scene at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

Four killed in Utica and three children killed in Huguenot, NY

2009-09-28T15:08:00.000-04:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             49
Fatalities      180
         Adults       73 (41%)
         Children 107 (59%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Deadly Utica apartment fire ruled accidental

Last Update: 9/24 3:47 pm

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September 24, 2009:

Utica (WSYR-TV) - Utica fire investigators say Sunday's deadly apartment fire was an accident.

Officials say the fire started from a cooking appliance in the kitchen of a first floor apartment and quickly spread to the second and third floors as well as the attic; soon after, it burned the entire roof.

Investigators say the fire burned for over 13 hours until crews had it under control by approximately 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

The fire left four people dead and 16 others homeless.

Investigators say the fire alarm system in the building was not working.

September 21, 2009:
Alarms not working during Utica fire that killed four

UTICA, N.Y. (AP / WSYR-TV) - The fire alarm system was not working inside a three-story apartment building that went up in flames, killing four people and leaving 16 others homeless, investigators said Monday.

The fire began just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday in the kitchen of a first-floor apartment and spread along plumbing chases and exterior partitions to the attic. It wasn't declared under control until about 4 p.m. Sunday, more than 13 hours later.

The building had a hard-wired fire alarm system, but it didn't appear to be working during the fire, Utica Fire Marshal Raymond Beck said. Most of the battery-operated smoke detectors were missing batteries, and the sprinkler system in the stairwells didn't work to full capacity, Beck said.

Tenants who lived in the apartment building noted the unlit hallways, broken windows and faulty appliances.

Scott Margarum, who lived on the first floor, was awakened early Sunday by loud music coming from a neighbor's apartment. When he went into the hall to tell his neighbor to turn it down, he was met with blistering heat from a raging fire.

"The smoke and the heat that came out of there was crazy," Margarum said.

According to Beck, landlord Timothy Klotz failed to register the building as required by the city's 2006 Rental Dwellings Inspections Law. He was fined $100 in May 2008 and ordered by a local court to register within 10 days, but he never did, Beck said.

Beck said it's too early in the investigation to say what roles the lack of inspection or codes violations played in the fire.

City officials said it was troubling that Klotz's property was not in compliance with the law. His case raises doubts about whether current penalties are severe enough to make landlords take the law seriously, they said.

"It's really unfortunate that somebody has to die to get some attention on this matter, but I think now you'll see some tougher rules, and maybe some judges will now see violations of codes as a major problem," City Councilman Bill Phillips, who represents the district where Sunday's fire happened, told The Utica Observer-Dispatch.

The names of the victims remained withheld Monday. The three men and one woman each died in different apartments.

Klotz's whereabouts could not be determined Monday, and he could not be reached for comment.

NewsChannel 9 also learned Monday that Klotz owns several other properties in Utica, and since 2005, four of those properties have been damaged or destroyed by fire. NewsChannel 9 has also called Klotz for comment, and he has yet to return our call.

It was Utica's second quadruple fatal fire in the past 18 months. On April 1, 2008, four people died in a boarding house fire. That fire was intentionally set, but no arrests have been made.

Police: 3 Children Killed in Upstate N.Y. House Fire

Monday, September 28, 2009

HUGUENOT, N.Y. — Police say three children have been killed in an upstate New York house fire.

State Police Capt. Wayne Olson says two other people escaped from the home in the Orange County community of Huguenot. The victims' names and ages have not been released.

The fire was reported in a 911 call just before 8 a.m. Monday.

Fire kills mother and two children

2009-08-13T13:52:00.002-04:00

NOTE: This summary contains corrections that are being made due to a formula error I made on the spreadsheet. The number of fires and deaths have been revised downward (which is a good thing). My apologies. Ed Comeau

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires 48
Fatalities 173
Adults 69 (40%)
Children 104 (60%)

Maps 2009 2008 2007 Spreadsheet 2009 2008 2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Three killed in Grant County house fire

An overnight house fire in Mattawa, Wash., has killed a woman and two children.

The fire, which occurred late Wednesday in the 200 block of East Fourth Street, is being investigated, according to the Grant County Department of Emergency Management.

Crews found the bodies of the three victims, believed to be a woman and her children who lived there, inside the home during firefighting efforts.

The family was living in a single-wide manufactured home that had been converted into a duplex at a mobile home park in Mattawa, according to Kyle Foreman, communications manager for the county’s emergency services department.

The coroner’s office will identify the victims and schedule autopsies.

Neighbors called 911 at 11:37 p.m., and a crew from Grant County Fire District 8 arrived at 11:54 p.m. to find the structure and two vehicles fully ablaze, Foreman said in a press release.

The Grant County fire marshal is investigating.

Fire kills two adults and three children in Louisville, KY

2009-07-06T08:07:00.001-04:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             59
Fatalities      191
         Adults       76 (40%)
         Children 115 (60%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Coroner: 5th victim dies after Louisville fire
July 06, 2009 05:41 EDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- The Jefferson County's coroner's office says a 10-month-old boy is the fifth victim of a weekend house fire in Louisville that killed two other children and two adults.

Jack Arnold, a deputy coroner, told the Courier-Journal that Ashton Seargeant was pronounced dead Sunday evening at Kosair Children's Hospital.

Arnold said the boy died from complications from smoke inhalation.

The newspaper reported that two other children who were in the house when it caught fire Saturday morning remain hospitalized. One is in critical condition, the other child's condition has been upgraded to fair.

Those killed were two cousins, 5-year-old Amarion Seargent and 3-year-old Anton Seargent, and Gabrial Johnson, 21, of Louisville, said Jim Wesley, a Jefferson County deputy coroner. The fourth victim, a male, has not yet been positively identified.

Fire kills one adult and two children in Texas

2009-05-18T13:51:00.001-04:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             55
Fatalities      176
         Adults       70 (40%)
         Children 106 (60%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Family of 3 killed in Bonham apartment fire

May 18, 2009, 7:54AM

BONHAM, Texas — A family of three — a mother and her two children — are dead after flames swept through an apartment complex in the Northeast Texas town of Bonham.

Witnesses to the late Sunday afternoon fire say the three victims apparently were trapped when fast-moving flames enveloped a stairwell that provided their only escape route.

Neighbors identified the dead mother as Brandy Chesser. Witnesses say they saw her beating on a window of her apartment, crying for help, until she lost consciousness.

The American Red Cross says 30 to 40 other people were left homeless by the fire at the Bonham Village Apartments.

Two fires claim eight in Indiana and Missouri

2009-05-18T13:47:00.000-04:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             54
Fatalities      173
         Adults       69 (40%)
         Children 104 (60%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Five killed in Stone County home fire

Baby, two toddlers among the victims of blaze in mobile home.

Gregory Trotter • News-Leader • May 17, 2009

Five people -- two adults and three children -- were killed in an early Saturday morning mobile home fire in Shell Knob, said Central Crossing Fire District Chief Rusty Rickard.

The tragedy marked the first time in at least 20 years there has been a fire-related death in Shell Knob, Rickard said.

A seven-month-old baby, a 2-year-old, a 3-year-old, a 20-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man were already dead when firefighters responded to the fire in Turkey Mountain II Estates, a subdivision off Stone County YY, at 4:30 a.m., Rickard said.

No further information about the victims had been released by police or fire officials at press time.

Though some of the firefighters responded from less than a quarter-mile away, the single-wide trailer home on North Keystone Road was completely engulfed by the time firefighters responded, he said.

"We made entry into the structure and did everything we could to rescue them, but every person we found was already dead at that point," said Rickard, who has been with the fire district for nine years.

Though the official cause of death is undetermined, it appeared the five victims died in the fire while sleeping, he said.

Firefighters worked for hours containing the blaze, preventing it from spreading to nearby homes.

The Central Crossing Fire District covers 130 square miles but is based in Shell Knob, he said.

Detectives from the Stone County Sheriff's Department and investigators from the Office of the State Fire Marshal were called to the scene because of the fatalities, he said.

But it would be difficult to determine the nature of the blaze because of the fire's total devastation of the home.

"Those old trailer homes go up fast," Rickard said. "Because of the massive amount of damage, it's going to be difficult to put all the pieces together."

The investigation is ongoing, said Deputy Chief State Fire Marshall Bill Zieres.

"That's the problem with these mobile homes, when they become so consumed with fire, it's near impossible to determine the cause," Zieres said.

State Fire Marshal Randy Cole said the investigators would wait for the toxicology reports and X-rays of the victims before determining official causes of death.

About six months ago, Shell Knob firefighters responded to the same mobile home and contained a minor electrical fire, Rickard said.

"I don't have the report right here in front of me but I believe it was the same family," he said.

Fire kills mom, 2 children in rural home

Associated Press

5:29 PM CDT, May 16, 2009

FLORA, Ind. - A distraught man drove through his garage door to summon help as a fire raced through his rural home, killing his wife and two young children, authorities said Saturday.

The fire outside Flora killed Leah Wagoner, 40, and the couple's children, 4-year-old Sophia and 7-year-old Harrison, the Carroll County Sheriff's Department said.

The father, Brian Wagoner, awoke to his home filling with smoke shortly before midnight Friday. After finding the front door blocked, he ran to the garage, where the garage door opener wouldn't work, so he drove through the lowered door. He went to a neighbor's house to call for help, deputies said.

Cody Harter, who lives next door, said he heard a loud crack and found Brian Wagoner at his door a few minutes later.

"I came out the back door and looked over, and the whole backside was completely engulfed in flames," Harter said.

Flora police Officer Josh Disinger, the first emergency responder on the scene, broke out a bedroom window to remove Sophia and passed her to medics, but they were unable to save her life.

Leah Wagoner was found on the kitchen floor and Harrison was found in his bed.

Investigators preliminarily determined the cause for the fire was electrical, said John Erickson, a spokesman for the state fire marshal.

Flora Fire Chief Scott Sisson said a similar fire in nearby Bringhurst also killed a woman and two of her children.

"It's kind of one of those reruns you don't want to watch," Sisson said.

It was the second deadly fire in Flora within six weeks, after a fatal mobile home fire on April 9.

Flora is about 60 miles north of Indianapolis.

Fire kills three in Florida; fifth person dies in Michigan fire

2009-05-05T08:05:00.001-04:00

2009 year-to-date

Fires             46
Fatalities      154
         Adults       62 (40%)
         Children 92 (60%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Updated: Police identify victims in fatal Monticello house fire

Blaze believed to be electrical in nature

By Matt Gilmour • DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER • May 1, 2009

updated 5:26 p.m.

The Monticello Police Department has identified the victims in Wednesday's fatal house fire on Pearl Street.

The dead were identified as Sara Lisa McCarty, 24; her son, Nathan McCarty, 3; and her daughter Katheryn McCarty, 17 months old. They all died of smoke inhalation, according to Police Chief Fred Mosley.

"Any time that there is a death within any community, it is a major tragedy," Mosley said.

McCarty was pregnant at the time of her death, Mosley said. Her husband, Mark McCarty, and son, Ashton, 4, survived the fire. The father was airlifted to Shands Hospital in Gainesville and admitted to the burn unit. His son was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital with minor burns and released to the custody of relatives.

The fire originated at the electrical service located on the south side of the residence, according to the State Fire Marshal's Office. There was no evidence of foul play.

Kids Inc. has set up an account to assist the family and to help defray funeral expenses. Checks can be made payable to Kids Inc. with "McCarty" in the memo section. The checks can be sent to Kids Inc. 2326 Centerville Road, Tallahassee, 32308; or dropped off at any Capital City Bank.

updated 2 p.m.

The Monticello Police Department has identified the victims in Wednesday's fatal house fire.

Sara Lisa McCarty, 24, her son, Nathan McCarty, 3, and her daughter Katheryn McCarty, 17 months old, died of smoke inhalation, according to Monticello Police Chief Fred Mosley.

Check back with Tallahassee.com for more on this story.

morning update

Monticello Police Chief Fred Mosley said Thursday that a house fire at 1045 E. Pearl St. that left three people dead Wednesday originated at the electrical service located on the south side of the residence, according to the State Fire Marshal's Office.

There was no evidence of foul play.

The identities of the three victims have not been released, but Mosley said autopsies revealed that all three died of smoke inhalation. Positive identification of the victims is still pending, he said.

Michigan house fire claims life of 5th victim

Associated Press - May 4, 2009 5:53 PM ET

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - The mother of 3 young children killed last month in a southwestern Michigan house fire has become its fifth victim.

Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Jim VanDyken says 22-year-old Daniela Adams died early Monday at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. She had been listed in critical condition since the April 25 fire in Kalamazoo County's Texas Township.

An updated condition was not available from the hospital for a 5-year-old boy injured in the fire.

Funerals were held Monday for Adams' three children - ages 6, 4 and 3 - and the children's 4-year-old cousin, who also died in the fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Investigators say they have found nothing suspicious about its origin.

Two fires claim eight lives in Michigan and Florida

2009-04-27T13:13:00.001-04:00

Significant, multiple-fatality fires (SMFF) that have killed three or more people as identified through media sources

2009 year-to-date

Fires             44
Fatalities      150
         Adults       60 (40%)
         Children 90 (60%)

Maps   2009   2008   2007    Spreadsheet 2009   2008   2007

NOTE: This information is now being made available through the blog Significant Multiple-fatality Fires. This will give you access to the information from 2007, 2008 and 2009 including the spreadsheet, map and summaries such as this. You can subscribe via an RSS feed to receive the information automatically.

Golf cart suspected in Little Gasparilla Island fire that killed 4

BY PAT GILLESPIE • pgillespie@news-press.com • April 27, 2009According to the Web site of Little Gasparilla Island Fire & Rescue, the four who perished were Burt and Sandy Perry, their daughter, Kim and her friend. Charlotte County Sheriff Lt. Andy Kolba said it could take days to identify and release the names of the victims.

According to The Ledger in Lakeland, a relative said the Perrys' golf cart was plugged into a charger and might have caused the fire. Kolba said the fire is still under investigation by the state fire marshal's office and a cause hasn't been determined.

Burt Perry was a citrus grower and school bus driver and his wife Sandy a teacher in Polk County, the newspaper reported. Her daughter Kimberly Tompkins and her boyfriend Clint Jowers were the other victims.

Between 2 and 2:30 a.m., fire crews received a call of a fire at 9660 Privateer Road, a $464,738 property owned by Randall Perry, according to the Charlotte County Property Appraiser's Web site. The house was a vacation home, according to Midge O'Hara, the family's Realtor. Perry's home address is listed in Fort Meade.

O'Hara, who is also chairwoman of Little Gasparilla Island Fire & Rescue, said she had been helping the couple sell their home. The family had just closed the deal to sell the home on Wednesday, she said.

According to the Florida Division of Corporations, Randall Perry owned Jesbrit Grove Service, Inc. from 1995 to 1999.

Steve Farmer, who also serves on the fire and rescue board, declined to talk Sunday about the couple.

"We're a tight-knit family out here," he said. "Probably the less it hits the newspapers, the better."

Firefighters: One of the worst fires in Kalamazoo Co. history

Comments 0 | Recommend 2

April 27, 2009 - 7:58 AM

TEXAS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Investigators are looking for a cause in what firefighters are calling one of the worst fires in Kalamazoo County history.

Four children died and two other people remain in the hospital after Saturday's fire.

News reports say 22-year-old Daniela Adams is in critical condition and 5-year-old Vernon Bryant is in stable condition.

A funeral home handling services for the children who died identifies the other victims as 3-year-old Kianna Bracken, 4-year-old Deontae Vaughn, 5-year old Zion Bryant and 6-year-old Daniel Adams.

The fire started early Saturday morning in a home on West N Avenue in Texas Township.

A neighbor says the home was a rental and the family had lived there for about two and a half years.

Investigators say 15 people were inside when the fire started.

The township supervisor says he has no rental ordinance. He says Texas Township has no rules about how many people can stay at a single-family home.

"If there were multiple families living in one residence, I think you start having issues, but we're not going to try and police how many people you have in a given house at any time," said Township Supervisor David Healy.

The young deaths have shaken the local community.

Significant Multiple-Fatality Fires

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Multimedia

Mother and three children killed in Arkansas

Four killed in fire in Wisconsin

By BILL NOVAK | The Capital Times | bnovak@madison.com | Posted: Monday, December 21, 2009 8:50 am

Four fires claim 12 lives

Two Children, Adult Killed in City Fire

Two fires claim six lives

Three Killed in St. Clair County Fire Last Update: 12/15 10:47 pm

Three killed in fire in Cleveland, OH

By Michael Sangiacomo

November 18, 2009, 11:00PM

Eleven killed in three fires in NY, NM and FL

Investigators Search For Cause Of Marion Co. Blaze

Two fires kill 7 in OH and CT

Two adults and a child killed in Dallas

November 12, 2009

DALLAS, TEXAS - A father, a mother and their 5-year-old son died after they were trapped in their northeast Dallas home as it was engulfed in flames, officials said.

Four killed in Cleveland

Seven killed in fires in NY and OK

Three killed in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Fire in West Virginia kills three

Two fires in PA and TN kill 1 adult and five children

Mother and two children killed in Virginia

Three adults killed in fire in Ohio

Two adults and toddler killed in West Virginia

Two adults and infant killed in fire

Three killed in North Carolina

3 die in early morning fire in Union County

Eleven people slept in home that investigators say was without a working smoke detector. Three taken to hospital for injuries.

Cleve R. Wootson Jr.: 704-358-5046

Three killed in Bangor, MI

David and Cindy Hoaglin, and their daughter Chelsea, 15, killed in Bangor house fire

By Rex Hall Jr. | Kalamazoo Gazette

October 01, 2009, 4:00PM

Four killed in Utica and three children killed in Huguenot, NY

September 24, 2009:

September 21, 2009:Alarms not working during Utica fire that killed four

Fire kills mother and two children

Fire kills two adults and three children in Louisville, KY

Fire kills one adult and two children in Texas

© 2009 The Associated Press

May 18, 2009, 7:54AM

Two fires claim eight in Indiana and Missouri

Baby, two toddlers among the victims of blaze in mobile home.

Fire kills three in Florida; fifth person dies in Michigan fire

Blaze believed to be electrical in nature

updated 5:26 p.m.

updated 2 p.m.

morning update

Two fires claim eight lives in Michigan and Florida

Three Killed in St. Clair County Fire

Last Update: 12/15 10:47 pm

September 21, 2009:
Alarms not working during Utica fire that killed four