Please put your fireplace coals outside!!

[fireman17]

This fire occurred early Christmas and was a terrible loss of life. I can not imagine what the survivors are going through let alone my brother firefighters in the Stamford FD. The first arriving firefighters attempted a valiant rescue from a well involved fire and were driven back by it so much the Captain had to be pulled out from a window with heavy fire behind him and is lucky to be alive.
The preliminary cause may be fireplace coal placed in a bucket and put in the foyer but it really doesn't say if the foyer was inside the home or not.
I just want to pass on if you do own a fireplace and I have one as well please place your coals outside away from your house.
Here is the article..
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/con...eft-late-night-gift-wrapping-article-1.997016

 

[leebee]

This is horrifying! I was even more chilled when reading the last paragraph; the names of the children who died are the same as my daughter and 2 nieces. How is it possible that an entire mansion can go up in flames so rapidly from an ember in a fire bucket? We don't smoke, don't use our fireplace or chimney, but I am going to check the batteries in our smoke detectors right now. This was truly a tragedy.

 

[Uptown Girl]

Did they not have smoke detectors? Why wouldn't you just leave the embers in the fireplace? This is really fishy I think.

 

[jba2]

How tragic.

 

[Kimberle]

That was the cause for the fire. The poor woman lost not only her children, but her parents.

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

Not only should you change the batteries but your smoke detectors should be replace, I think it's every 5 years? I beileve there is expiration dates if you look on them.

 

[kamik86]

This is horrifying! I was even more chilled when reading the last paragraph; the names of the children who died are the same as my daughter and 2 nieces. How is it possible that an entire mansion can go up in flames so rapidly from an ember in a fire bucket? We don't smoke, don't use our fireplace or chimney, but I am going to check the batteries in our smoke detectors right now. This was truly a tragedy.

For how it went up that fast... maybe its the type of house? I didn't read the article but the house my MIL lived in before she died burned down a few months later, it was the day after Christmas actually. Everyone got out safely but the building literally burned to the ground. It was old, had a metal roof that held all the heat in and the fire just spread so rapidly that all the firefighters could do was to protect the next building (these were row apartment houses and only had about a 2 foot gap to the next building.)

That fire it was believed started from an electrical wire in one of the apartments. So again one small starting point that brought the entire place down. I believe there were 5 apartments, if they were all the same size (looked that way from the outside) they were all 3 bedrooms, 2 floors plus an attic. So it was a large building.

 

[gris gris]

The Stamford house was under extensive renovations perhaps the detectors weren't working? I am terrified of fire and bought a small one story house with lots of ways out because of this fear. And I am married to a firefighter! My prayers are with this mom.

 

[fireman17]

Did they not have smoke detectors? Why wouldn't you just leave the embers in the fireplace? This is really fishy I think.

There will be a news conference this afternoon at 5pm given by the Fire Marshal as to the cause and origin of the fire. I'm sure we will get answers if there were in fact working smoke detectors in the home.
From the first pictures I saw it appears the house was undergoing renovations as one of the survivors was the contractor I believe. Not sure if the renovations had anything to do with the rapid spread of the fire.
As soon as it becomes public information I will post the outcome of the press conference.

 

[leebee]

For how it went up that fast... maybe its the type of house? I didn't read the article but the house my MIL lived in before she died burned down a few months later, it was the day after Christmas actually. Everyone got out safely but the building literally burned to the ground. It was old, had a metal roof that held all the heat in and the fire just spread so rapidly that all the firefighters could do was to protect the next building (these were row apartment houses and only had about a 2 foot gap to the next building.)

That fire it was believed started from an electrical wire in one of the apartments. So again one small starting point that brought the entire place down. I believe there were 5 apartments, if they were all the same size (looked that way from the outside) they were all 3 bedrooms, 2 floors plus an attic. So it was a large building.

Actually, this was a waterfront mansion in Connecticut. The owner (mom of the children) is a top NYC marketing executive who moved her family from Manhattan to the Stamford mansion last year. The article insinuates that this was a BIG house. I would guess that this type of home, at this income level, would have a hard-wired alarm system, not the "cheap" battery operated alarms that we have. I am in no way suggesting foul play or a set-up; I am just genuinely confused as to how a large home like this could become rubble, or how a fire becomes so widespread, so quickly.

ETA... 2 posters above were posting as I was writing; I didn't know that there were ongoing renovations, but having construction materials around might have added to the speed of the fire... and certainly the heat. I will be watching for your update after the press conference, fireman17.

 

[gris gris]

The thing that I don't understand is why did they take the house down yesterday morning? Does this mean they know the cause already?

 

[Oreo Cookie]

Just awful. That poor family, three kids and the grand parents all gone. Prayers said for all involved.

Homes can burn very quickly. When I lived in NJ, a house burned downed in our town within a few minutes. The family had actually practiced fire drills and they were able to get out of the home in less than 2 minutes. The father, mother and all the kids held hands in a chain formation and followed the father. He couldn't see because of the smoke, but luckily they had practiced getting out of the home several different ways. Their fire started because a few rags used to apply linseed oil were left near the furnace in the basement. Their smoke dectectors were working and saved their lives.

 

[Uncle Remus]

Did they not have smoke detectors? Why wouldn't you just leave the embers in the fireplace? This is really fishy I think.

Best place for 'em. Put your embers outside down here where I live 'n we'll call the FD who will then issue you a $200. fine for bein' stupid.

 

[fireman17]

The thing that I don't understand is why did they take the house down yesterday morning? Does this mean they know the cause already?

The house was torn down for two reasons first, the fire marshal had completed his technical investigation and had all information he needed. The second reason was the stability of the house. The firefighters had to use ladders inside of the house to remove all the victims as all floor boards were burnt through and it became a safety issue so that is why it was demolished.

 

[sjs314]

Definitely a horrible tragedy. My heart goes out to the family. I can not imagine losing so much and because of such a senseless/careless reason if the fire did start because of the fireplace embers left in a foyer.

 

[snapppyd]

Last week we used a Duraflame log in the fireplace Saturday night. It looked like it was completely out on Sunday morning. I closed the damper as I was closing up the house for two weeks to visit relatives. While I was upstairs getting dressed I thought I smelled smoke. Thank goodness I was still home - not all the embers had gone out under the ashes, and the smoke was coming into the house because I closed the damper (I always do this when we are leaving for a week or two to conserve heat).

I wonder what would have happened if we had left before I smelled the smoke? I'm thinking at the very least most of the contents of my house would have been ruined by the smell of the smoke.

 

[Kimberle]

(I am very familiar with this neighborhood.) The house was over 100 years old and was undergoing renovation. It also had new siding which they are saying may have contributed.

 

[Imzadi]

Did they not have smoke detectors? Why wouldn't you just leave the embers in the fireplace? This is really fishy I think.

The news last night, interviewing the captain, he reported that there were no smoke detectors in the house. That is how the fire got so big before the family realized the house was on fire.

It's a shame. The house was old, and obviously mostly wood. Without the smoke detectors, they never had a chance.

 

[Swan4Me]

The very FIRST thing DH and i always do , when our "kids" moved into new apartments, new townhouse was -as their 'gift'-Install Smoke alarms.

Its a no-brainer

I always closed the glass fireplace doors at night to allow fire to die down and not worry about a stray spark shooting out-I have NEVER heard of actually removing the coals?

 

[pat fan]

I have NEVER heard of actually removing the coals?

We heat with a wood stove and you do need to clean out ashes/coals sometimes. Mainly ashes, but if you have a large amount and need to clean it out so it can burn properly, sometimes you do need to take out hot coals.

Normally I dump them in the snow over our garden area, but this year we have no snow so it's been a little trickier. Heating with wood makes me nervous but it is SO much cheaper than the alternatives that I live with it and am just very careful. We lost our home when I was growing up from a chimney fire, so I have a healthy dose of respect/fear of fire.

My question on this fire, why was the contractor staying at the house? Why did he and the mother get out but no one else? Not really suggesting anything fishy, just sounds odd to me. My heart goes out to the dad of those kids...