Have you just moved into a new home? Are you ready in case of a house fire? Whether you just moved into your house or have been there a while, it is imperative you have a plan. Don’t learn the hard way like one family in Stamford, Connecticut.
Christmas is usually a time of great joy and peace, but friends and family of one Stamford household will never think of the holiday in the same way again. A ferocious Christmas morning blaze killed five people – three children and their grandparents.
The tragedy started with fireplace embers that weren’t disposed of properly. So, if you have just moved into a home with a fireplace, be sure to put all embers in a metal container and wet them before disposing of them. This way, no embers can blow into the home and start a fire.
Just after 4.40am on Christmas morning, the Stamford fire department was notified of the fire, which had by then engulfed the entire home. Madonna Badger, mother of the three girls, had managed to climb out of a window, but the fire and flames were too intense for even firefighters to gain access to the home.
Badger is the homeowner, and her boyfriend also survived. The two had been remodeling the home together, where her three daughters – aged 10 and 7-year-old twins – and parents all died. Lomer Johnson, Badger’s father, worked as a Santa at Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
The waterfront home, which was demolished since it was so badly damaged, sold for $1.7 million last year. Badger and the girls moved in shortly after she bought it.
Jon Huser