Detectors a factor in 3 fire deaths

JOHN BURGESON jburgeson@ctpost.com
Article Launched: 12/07/2007 04:43:11 PM EST

BRIDGEPORT — A mother, still clutching her infant son, with her husband at her side, all died Friday as an early-morning inferno engulfed their home and two other multi-family houses in the West End, leaving 22 people homeless.

Fears there might have been a fourth victim — the female resident of an illegal basement apartment — proved to be unfounded, fire officials said. A search of the basement — delayed because it had filled with water and debris — indicated that either she wasn't home or had escaped on her own, officials said. Fire officials are investigating whether a lack of working smoke detectors may have been a fatal factor in the tragedy.

None of the victims' names was officially confirmed by presstime, but sources indicated the father's name was Arturo Icelo Sr.

Friends congregating across the street from the fire-ravaged building, said the father moved with his family to Bridgeport from Mexico about 10 years ago.

"He was a good worker, a good man," said one of the friends, who said he was a painter.

Two of the couple's sons, Arturo Jr., 15, and Jesus, 12, both survived the fire and are being treated for smoke inhalation at Bridgeport Hospital.

The fire, apparently caused by an exploding fuel tank — possibly connected to a space heater — spread to two neighboring homes. That early finding, however, has not been confirmed.

Flames from the middle of the three houses at 2345 Fairfield Ave., near Waldorf

Avenue, spread to the homes on either side.

At the height of the blaze, fire officials feared that a fourth house was going to catch fire, but it was saved.

"This was a tough one," said West Side Fire Chief Bruce Porzelt, one of the first to arrive on the scene, arriving shortly after 2:30 a.m. The blaze was under control by 3:50 a.m.

"It doesn't get much worse than this," said Assistant Fire Chief Christopher Martin.

The mother, father and infant who died were huddled in a second-floor apartment, which collapsed onto the ground floor, firefighters said.

One firefighter broke her leg, Porzelt said. Monique Pettway was injured when her leg slipped between the rungs of a ladder while it was being extended. She was treated at Bridgeport Hospital and released by noon.

The Icelos' surviving sons were both in fair condition Friday evening.

Jesus is a seventh-grader at nearby Cesar A. Batalla Elementary School, and Arturo Jr. is a freshman at Bullard-Havens Technical High School.

Juan Garcea, an adult resident of one of the homes, is also being treated at the hospital. He is also in fair condition.

Robert Henry, the school system's chief of staff, said that Jesus Icelo is "a very good student" in Batalla's English as a Second Language program. He also said that the school system has assembled a "crisis team" to help him and his brother deal with the difficult days ahead.

Porzelt said that he found a "large amount of blood covering the steps" of their house, indicating at least one of them was cut by broken glass trying to escape.

Below-freezing temperatures made the rescue operations torturous for firefighters, whose rubber boots filled with freezing water. The street and sidewalks in front of the burning houses were quickly coated with a slippery glaze.

"The firefighters did a heroic job," said Mayor Bill Finch, who toured the scene. "The city will prosecute landlords whose buildings have unsafe conditions."

Finch said smoke alarms could have helped to prevent the tragedy. "If you're a Bridgeport resident, all you have to do is to call 335-8835 for a free smoke alarm — no questions asked."

Porzelt said that when he arrived on the scene, he didn't hear a single smoke alarm sounding. "That is not a good sign," he said. "Normally, you hear them when you pull up."

Witnesses said that they where aroused from slumber by an explosion about 2:30 a.m.

Rebecca Romero, 12, left homeless along with the rest of her family, said that she "heard a loud boom," which was followed by the "smell of gas."

She also said that the dead father had apparently made it out of the burning building at one point, but returned to try to rescue his wife and infant son.

"I heard the child crying inside," she said.

"I just got my Christmas tree," said Jose Barreto, who was also left homeless, along with his wife, Josephine Castor, and their small children, Alisha, 6, and Soul, 3.

The four of them spent hours huddling in the frigid weather at the corner of Fairfield and Waldorf avenues.

Jose Barreto said he was concerned that he wouldn't be allowed to retrieve his tools from his apartment. The mayor, however, intervened, and had firefighters escort him and his wife back into their damaged home for the tools and other belongings.

Curt Bassett, CEO of the Mid-Fairfield County chapter of the American Red Cross, said fire damage to the three houses left homeless 22 people from five families, and that all have been found places to stay for then weekend.

"We'll be meeting with them to help them find transitional housing," he said. "If people want to help, the best thing that they can do is to send us a donation — to the Red Cross at 158 Brooklawn Ave., Bridgeport, CT 06604."

Fairfield Avenue traffic was rerouted onto Orland and Ellsworth streets for most of the day. The three damaged homes are in a neighborhood with a mix of three-family homes and commercial establishments. A strip bar is across the street.

The middle dwelling, where the fire started, also housed a small florist and DVD store.

The fire station housing Engine Seven and Ladder 11 on Ocean Terrace, directly behind the burning homes, had been closed by the city for maintenance. Equipment first dispatched to the scene came from the Wood Avenue firehouse, about a mile farther away.

Fire Chief Brian Rooney said the response time by firefighters to the scene was "less than three minutes," and that the closed firehouse was not a significant factor in rescue efforts.

However, witnesses at the scene said that the three injured people had already left by ambulance by the time the first fire trucks arrived. Rooney said that the average response time to fires in the city is four minutes.

Arlene Mercer, who is from Connecticut Avenue — on the other side of the city — was busy by midday setting up a makeshift memorial to the victims at the corner of Fairfield and Waldorf avenues.

The memorial, affixed to the street sign, was made up of Mylar balloons and stuffed animals. Mercer handed two $20 bills to a woman who was the sister of the father who died. "God will see you this," she said, hugging her.