Tragedy in Stamford: House Fire

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone attempt to remove hot ashes from the fireplace? What reason could there have possibly been? You let the fire die in the fireplace and remove the ashes when they accumulate periodically, when they are cold. Is this tragedy the result of stupidity? Am I missing something here?

yes, it seems you are missing a heart, monday morning quarterback.

I imagine everyone's feeling immense compassion for the poor mother, but it's perplexing how the ashes were disposed. I read an article about this before reading the DCUM thread, and I'm with PP, wondering if I'm missing something in this story.

I don't think you're missing anything. This is an unbearably tragic story and, on top of it all, this poor woman will be kicking herself forever b/c of her (or someone else's) decision to clean out the embers. It wasn't a good idea, but whoever did it could not have expected this tragedy. Maybe we'll all know better moving forward.

[Anonymous]

I keep also wondering if the smoke detectors were functional - ours went wild over a slightly smoky Xmas dinner, so how did smoking embers go unnoticed? I recall a fire in this area where the detectors had been removed/deactivated as a result of a renovation. Maybe that contributed as well? I have nothing but sympathy for this entire family and especially the poor mother, but I also think it's natural to want to understand how something this tragic could occur. Maybe the only good that could come out of something so devastating would be educating the rest of us and making sure no other family experiences such a horrific event.

[Anonymous]

To respond to an earlier post, i read that the mom and BF(?) were carried out by firefighters. I imagine it was impossible to rescue the rest.

[Anonymous]

I read that she placed the embers outside. Who would think that OUTSIDE the house would be dangerous? But what ARE you supposed to do with embers? How are you supposed to put out a fire in a fireplace? I ask this question with all sincerity in hopes of learning something from this horrific tragedy. My heart aches for this poor woman; I honestly don't know how she will go on living but I pray that somehow, some way, she is able to find a measure of peace.

[Anonymous]

Apparently the local Stamford paper reported that the mother was found climbing up scaffolding outside the house trying to rescue her children. The firefighters pulled her down for her own safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would anyone attempt to remove hot ashes from the fireplace? What reason could there have possibly been? You let the fire die in the fireplace and remove the ashes when they accumulate periodically, when they are cold. Is this tragedy the result of stupidity? Am I missing something here?

Putting the tone of this post aside, let me just say that it's a bit trickier than you are giving credit for. My husband and I once started a fire in our garbage can by throwing out what we thought were cold ashes from our charcoal grill (about six hours after we had cooked). The ashes were cool to the touch on the outside, but a few of the briquettes were warm enough on the inside to spark, and one of them set the entire bag of trash on fire eventually. What we learned from this: 1. Wait at least twelve hours to dispose of old coals; and 2) Squirt them with water first, even though it makes a nasty, slimy mess to clean up. Better safe than sorry. My gosh, what a terrible, terrible price this poor woman paid to be on the wrong side of this lesson!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read that she placed the embers outside. Who would think that OUTSIDE the house would be dangerous? But what ARE you supposed to do with embers? How are you supposed to put out a fire in a fireplace? I ask this question with all sincerity in hopes of learning something from this horrific tragedy. My heart aches for this poor woman; I honestly don't know how she will go on living but I pray that somehow, some way, she is able to find a measure of peace.

You let the fire die out by itself in the fireplace. You close the damper the next day. You dispose of the embers a couple of days later. Same thing for the grill embers that a PP mentioned. Embers can still be hot more than 24 hours after a fire depending on how long and hot your fire burned. The grill or fireplace is the safest place for them. In our house we use the fireplace on cold weekends. It takes several fires before the ashes approach the level of the grill that holds the logs. We wait several days before shoveling them out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I keep also wondering if the smoke detectors were functional - ours went wild over a slightly smoky Xmas dinner, so how did smoking embers go unnoticed? I recall a fire in this area where the detectors had been removed/deactivated as a result of a renovation. Maybe that contributed as well? I have nothing but sympathy for this entire family and especially the poor mother, but I also think it's natural to want to understand how something this tragic could occur. Maybe the only good that could come out of something so devastating would be educating the rest of us and making sure no other family experiences such a horrific event.

The news tonight said that there weren't any. I'm not sure how this is possible in a $2 million house.

[Anonymous]

And you know what? I bet this poor woman read about the tragedy involving the woman who drove the wrong way down a highway in New York, killing herself, her daughter and her three nieces and thought, "wow, that is tragic but that will never happen to me." Folks, smart people do dumb things all the time. So, thanks to the pp who took the time to tell us about smart fire behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I keep also wondering if the smoke detectors were functional - ours went wild over a slightly smoky Xmas dinner, so how did smoking embers go unnoticed? I recall a fire in this area where the detectors had been removed/deactivated as a result of a renovation. Maybe that contributed as well? I have nothing but sympathy for this entire family and especially the poor mother, but I also think it's natural to want to understand how something this tragic could occur. Maybe the only good that could come out of something so devastating would be educating the rest of us and making sure no other family experiences such a horrific event.

The news tonight said that there weren't any. I'm not sure how this is possible in a $2 million house.

Renovations were under way.

A good lesson, though. My smoke detectors are hard wired and apparently work. But it's an old house. I also have put up battery operated ones on each level, as a back up. Everyone should review their fire plans.

[Anonymous]

The house is new construction and cost $2 Mil!!
New houses burn much easier than old houses.
I cannot help but wonder if this would have made the news if it had been a smaller income family in a smaller house. I guess when something happens to those with money it becomes front page news

[Anonymous]

Why would anyone attempt to remove hot ashes from the fireplace? What reason could there have possibly been? You let the fire die in the fireplace and remove the ashes when they accumulate periodically, when they are cold. Is this tragedy the result of stupidity? Am I missing something here?

I did it. I actually ran my fingers through the ashes to make sure they were cold before I put them in the trash. And I burned our garage down. Thankfully, we had fire alarms and everyone got out of the house quickly. The fire department was at our house in two and a half minutes. Had it not been for their quick response, our house would have been a total loss.

I had used one of those chemical starter logs to get the fire going. According to the firefighters, pieces of those logs can stay hot for more than 24 hours. When I ran my hand through the cold ashes, I just didn't feel the lone piece of still hot starter.

It was horrible. If anything had happened to anyone in the house, I'm not sure how I could have gone on living. The guilt from the fire alone just about destroyed me for a long time.

I can't even imagine the families pain. I pray they all somehow eventually find peace.

[Anonymous]

I am testing my fire alarms today and we will practice our fire plans including practicing using the fire ladder. Very sad story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Why would anyone attempt to remove hot ashes from the fireplace? What reason could there have possibly been? You let the fire die in the fireplace and remove the ashes when they accumulate periodically, when they are cold. Is this tragedy the result of stupidity? Am I missing something here?

I did it. I actually ran my fingers through the ashes to make sure they were cold before I put them in the trash. And I burned our garage down. Thankfully, we had fire alarms and everyone got out of the house quickly. The fire department was at our house in two and a half minutes. Had it not been for their quick response, our house would have been a total loss.

I had used one of those chemical starter logs to get the fire going. According to the firefighters, pieces of those logs can stay hot for more than 24 hours. When I ran my hand through the cold ashes, I just didn't feel the lone piece of still hot starter.

It was horrible. If anything had happened to anyone in the house, I'm not sure how I could have gone on living. The guilt from the fire alone just about destroyed me for a long time.

I can't even imagine the families pain. I pray they all somehow eventually find peace.

Wow, thanks for sharing this. Scary story, but I'm glad your family wasn't hurt.

[Anonymous]

This story haunts me and, I think, will for a long time.