This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dry-christmas-tree-likely-fueled-annapolis-mansion-fire-that-killed-six-officials-say/2015/01/28/326976ee-a65e-11e4-a7c2-03d37af98440_story.html?wprss=rss_homepage
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Electrical failure and dry Christmas tree caused deadly Annapolis mansion fire | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A massive, dry Christmas tree fueled the Annapolis fire that reduced a $6 million mansion to rubble and killed four young children and their grandparents last week, fire officials said Wednesday. | |
| An electrical failure in the home’s Great Room — which had 19-foot-high ceilings and was connected to the sleeping and living areas — ignited the Jan. 19 blaze, Anne Arundel County fire Fire Chief Allan Graves said at a news conference. It took the lives of mansion owners Don and Sandra Pyle, along with the four Boone children: Lexi, 8; Katie, 7; and their first cousins, Charlotte, 8; and Wes, 6. | |
| The 15-foot-high tree had been cut about two months earlier, Graves said. The family had gathered around it to celebrate Christmas last month. | |
| All six died of smoke inhalation, said one person familiar with the case. Officials wouldn’t confirm that, saying they had yet to receive the final report from the medical examiner. | |
| Out of respect for the family, they also declined to say where the bodies were found or whether it appeared any of them had attempted to flee the home. | |
| The fire was “a tragic accident that occurred at the worst possible time” – while the Pyles and their grandchildren were sleeping, said Bill McMullan, who heads the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Baltimore. The ATF is one of several agencies involved in the investigation of the blaze. | |
| The size of the tree combined with the oxygen available in the large, open spaces of the 16,000-square-foot home created an inferno, fire officials said. It grew so large and fast-moving that it may explain why the Pyles and the Boone children were unable to escape. | |
| And that may have been the case even if alarms alerted the family, according to Jim Milke, chair of the department of fire protection engineering at the University of Maryland. A large, dry Christmas tree would have produced “a tremendous amount of heat in a very short order,” he said. | And that may have been the case even if alarms alerted the family, according to Jim Milke, chair of the department of fire protection engineering at the University of Maryland. A large, dry Christmas tree would have produced “a tremendous amount of heat in a very short order,” he said. |
| Home fires that begin with Christmas trees are three times more deadly than home fires in general, according to a study by the National Fire Protection Association. | Home fires that begin with Christmas trees are three times more deadly than home fires in general, according to a study by the National Fire Protection Association. |
| Between 2007 and 2011, the association said, U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 230 home fires a year that started with Christmas trees. Electrical problems were a factor in a third of those cases. | Between 2007 and 2011, the association said, U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 230 home fires a year that started with Christmas trees. Electrical problems were a factor in a third of those cases. |
| The fire in Annapolis — one of Maryland’s deadliest in years — began with a sleepover Jan. 18 at the Pyles’ waterfront home, which was built to resemble a castle, with spiral stairways inside turrets, statues of winged lions, a suit of armor and antler chandeliers. Don, a 56-year-old tech executive, and Sandra, 63, had taken their grandchildren to Medieval Times at the Arundel Mills mall, where they watched knights jousting and ate banquet food before returning home that night. | The fire in Annapolis — one of Maryland’s deadliest in years — began with a sleepover Jan. 18 at the Pyles’ waterfront home, which was built to resemble a castle, with spiral stairways inside turrets, statues of winged lions, a suit of armor and antler chandeliers. Don, a 56-year-old tech executive, and Sandra, 63, had taken their grandchildren to Medieval Times at the Arundel Mills mall, where they watched knights jousting and ate banquet food before returning home that night. |
| An alarm system alerted 911 at 3:30 the following morning that smoke had been detected on the mansion’s first and second floors. The four-alarm fire quickly ravaged the house, which did not have a sprinkler system. It was built in 2005, four years before Anne Arundel required sprinklers in new residential homes. | |
| The blaze raged for three hours before more than 80 firefighters could contain it. | The blaze raged for three hours before more than 80 firefighters could contain it. |
| Left behind are brothers Clint and Randy Boone, who each lost two children as well as their mother and stepfather in a single night. | Left behind are brothers Clint and Randy Boone, who each lost two children as well as their mother and stepfather in a single night. |
| Clint, 37, and his ex-wife, Eve Morrison, 39, are parents to Charlotte and Wes. | Clint, 37, and his ex-wife, Eve Morrison, 39, are parents to Charlotte and Wes. |
| Randy, 38, and Stacey, 34 — parents to Lexi and Katie — also have a newborn son, who was at home with them the night of the fire. | Randy, 38, and Stacey, 34 — parents to Lexi and Katie — also have a newborn son, who was at home with them the night of the fire. |
| All four children were students at the private Severn School, where the family was such a fixture that a parking space was marked, “Reserved for Pyle Family.” | All four children were students at the private Severn School, where the family was such a fixture that a parking space was marked, “Reserved for Pyle Family.” |
| Crews spent six days sifting through concrete, charred wood and ash as they painstakingly searched for the six, whom relatives reported missing after the four-alarm fire. Investigators found five bodies within the first 72 hours of the search, and worked through the weekend — in rain and snow — before recovering the final body Monday. | Crews spent six days sifting through concrete, charred wood and ash as they painstakingly searched for the six, whom relatives reported missing after the four-alarm fire. Investigators found five bodies within the first 72 hours of the search, and worked through the weekend — in rain and snow — before recovering the final body Monday. |
| Anne Arundel received help with the massive search effort from the ATF, the state Fire Marshal’s Office and several neighboring jurisdictions. | |
| Authorities said they were handling the scene of the fire as a criminal investigation, which they added was standard until they officially ruled out foul play. | Authorities said they were handling the scene of the fire as a criminal investigation, which they added was standard until they officially ruled out foul play. |
| The Pyle mansion had no sprinklers installed, county fire officials said. The home was built four years before Anne Arundel began to require them in new residential houses in 2009. | The Pyle mansion had no sprinklers installed, county fire officials said. The home was built four years before Anne Arundel began to require them in new residential houses in 2009. |
| Starting in June, Maryland will become the second state in the country — after California — to require sprinklers in all new residential buildings. | Starting in June, Maryland will become the second state in the country — after California — to require sprinklers in all new residential buildings. |
| The Boone family has been devastated by the fire. | The Boone family has been devastated by the fire. |
| “I never knew that I could hurt this badly. It’s unreal,” Stacey wrote in a Facebook post last week. “All one big nightmare that I can’t wake up from.” | “I never knew that I could hurt this badly. It’s unreal,” Stacey wrote in a Facebook post last week. “All one big nightmare that I can’t wake up from.” |
| On Tuesday, the family again released a statement thanking firefighters who have searched for their loved ones and the community for its support. | On Tuesday, the family again released a statement thanking firefighters who have searched for their loved ones and the community for its support. |
| “Though we are grieving deeply, this has brought us some small sense of closure,” the family said in a statement. “We take comfort in that they are now together, and we can begin to mend our hearts.” | “Though we are grieving deeply, this has brought us some small sense of closure,” the family said in a statement. “We take comfort in that they are now together, and we can begin to mend our hearts.” |
| john.cox@washpost.com | john.cox@washpost.com |
| Read more: Photos of the castle lost in the flames Painstaking search for six bodies after an mansion fire is finally over Heart-breaking details on the grandparents and four grandchildren | Read more: Photos of the castle lost in the flames Painstaking search for six bodies after an mansion fire is finally over Heart-breaking details on the grandparents and four grandchildren |