Just a day earlier, raging flames spitting out acrid ash roared through the home and destroyed a family of Vietnamese immigrants — killing four and severely burning the father during his futile effort to save his wife and children.

"I went to the hospital to see [Rinh Thach, the father]," said Dan Tang, a family friend. "His face, ears and arms are severely burned and peeling. "The doctor said his throat is badly burned and his lungs scarred from inhaling the heat and smoke."

Thach, 37, remains in critical condition at the Bridgeport Hospital burn center. Tang said Thach will be devastated to learn of his family's fate.

Killed in the fire were his wife, Thi Luong Thach, 37, the daughter of an American soldier and a Cambodian mother; their children, Hoang Ahn Thach, 14; Thi My Trinh Thach, 11; and Daisy Thach, 3.

"There is nothing left at all for him," said Tang. "The fire destroyed everything."

A pot left simmering on the stove is suspected of setting off the fire that raged through the home's walls.

Security bars on the windows, believed to have been installed following a burglary, locked the family inside and hampered rescue efforts.

There is also concern that the two-family home was possibly upgraded to a three-family after April 23, 1963, without the necessary building permits and fire safety upgrades. Associate City Attorney Greg Conte said the police and fire departments are conducting an investigation.

"We expect it will take at least another week," he said. "We will not have any comment until then."

The mother and son were found dead inside the home. The girls were later pronounced dead at hospitals.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell visited the site Tuesday to thank firefighters and promised to organize a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of smoke detectors. A fire official said Monday the building had smoke detectors but batteries in the devices in the second-floor apartment had been removed.

"I just spoke to [Ahn on the phone Sunday night]," said Don Tran, 12, friend who lives on Olive Street. "He told me it was so hot that he was going to sleep in his mother's room. "That's the only room [where] they had an air conditioner."

Nine members of two other families escaped, thanks to Jackie Gonzalez, a third-floor resident who woke to the smell of smoke. She screamed and banged on doors to alert other residents.

On Tuesday, an Industrial Wrecking truck and a Dumpster were stationed on the side of the house in preparation for its demolition.

In front of the house, a memorial of four glass candles and four incense sticks burned through the day, thanks to several Buddhist women, including Ly Nguyen, who returned periodically to light them.

A bowl of fruit, packages of cookies and two bowls of rice lay in front.

"In our faith, we believe the dead are still alive, just in a different world," explained Bieu Tran, who described himself as Ahn's best friend. "We believe they still need clothes, money and food on their journey. "To us, dying is not the end of living."

As James J. Curiale School let out Tuesday afternoon, more than two dozen classmates of the older Thach children stopped by the house to silently pray and pay their respects. Many of the children did not learn of the deaths until they arrived at school Tuesday morning.

Richard Nguyn, 13, of Pequonnock Street; Don Tran, 12, of Olive Street; Johnny Pham, 12, of Linwood Avenue; Milton Mitchell, 13, of Laurel Avenue; and Joey Atanacio, 15, of Maplewood Avenue; all remembered Ahn as a very good soccer player who excelled at mathematics and computers.

Pham said Ahn was protective of his sister. He described Trinh "as quiet and friendly."

Trinh's best friend was among the group but too upset to talk.

The boys said they would like to arrange a memorial soccer game on Aug. 4 — Ahn's birthday. They hope it could raise money for his funeral and the father's medical care.

"Some of us plan to get a picture of Ahn, put it on T-shirts and sell them," said Carol Trinh, 12, of Iranistan Avenue.

On Tuesday, their tribute consisted of homemade posters, cut flowers and cards.

Curiale School on Tuesday sent home a letter to parents informing them of the deaths. "Since a school is also a family, teachers and children are mourning Ahn and Trinh's death," the letter read. "They all need our combined assistance to deal with their feelings."

On Thursday, Bieu Tran, 16, assisted Michael Scarpetti, a Curiale eighth-grade science teacher, set up a memorial service for the two oldest children with the Venerable Thich Minh Duc of the Phuoc Long Buddhist Temple of Connecticut. It will take place Thursday in the Curiale gym; a time had not been scheduled as of Tuesday.

Pictures of the two children, along with the American, Vietnamese and temple flags, will be displayed. The religious leader will speak.

Tang, the family friend, said a wake will take place Friday, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Larson Funeral Home on North Avenue. There will be a Buddhist service at the funeral home Saturday, from 8 to 10 a.m. It will be followed by a cremation at Mountain Grove Cemetery on North Avenue.

"The family has no medical insurance, no life insurance, nothing," said Tang. "We were able to raise $6,000 for the funeral and the Larson people were gracious to give us time to come up with the remaining $9,000."

Anyone wishing to help with the funeral or Rinh Thach's medical care can contact Dan Tang by mail at 178 Griffin Ave., Bridgeport, CT 06606, or by calling 543-6199.