Record-Journal
08-22-2007, 11:37 PM
1 child dead, 2 taken to burn unit in Boston after Tuesday night fire
By Elisabeth Strillacci, Record-Journal staff
MERIDEN — Tuesday was a night just like any other summer night on Franklin Street. At 142 Franklin, Denise D’Aniello had put her grandchildren to bed and was downstairs with her own mother watching television.
Three minutes later, a 911 call from a woman parked on Franklin Street came in to the city’s emergency communications center telling them that D’Aniello’s three-story, single-family house was on fire.
The fire, which took about 30 minutes to knock down, left one child dead, two children seriously injured, a family devastated.
Two-year-old Hunter Jandreau, the only child of Rebecca Delisle and Rob Jandreau, was pronounced dead at MidState Medical Center after he was taken out of the house through an upper window by firefighters on a ladder. The Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner has ruled the cause of death as smoke inhalation and declared the death accidental. Police officials have also confirmed that Hunter’s uncle is a Meriden police officer. A family friend at the scene said Delisle and Hunter had only recently moved into the house on Franklin.
Two other boys, Trent and Tristen D’Aniello, both suffered serious burns and smoke inhalation and were taken to MidState, where they were stabilized, then transferred by helicopter to Shriners Hospital for Children in Boston. A spokeswoman for the Shriners burn center said Wednesday that both boys were in critical but stable condition.
Trent and Tristen and a third young boy, Ricky, are children of Melissa and Ricky D’Aniello, who live in the house with Denise D’Aniello.
Two more children who were also safely rescued from the fire: 1-year-old Joey and 4-year-old Haley are the children of Heather D’Aniello, Denise D’Aniello’s daughter-in-law.
The three mothers had left all the children in the care of Denise and Denise’s mother to visit the gym together. They had left the house, according to a family friend, after the children were put to bed.
When firefighters arrived after the 10:33 p.m. call, Denise D’Aniello was standing at the front door with Joey and Haley in her arms. Three teenagers who had come up the street helped her, the children and Denise’s mother get out the door.
“People were shouting at the firemen that there were still children inside the house,” said Deputy Fire Chief David Bowen. Emotions were running high and it was difficult for firefighters to determine exactly how many people were still in the house.
“We tried doing head counts, but it wasn’t clear how many people were actually living in the house and it became difficult,” said Fire Marshal Steve Trella.
“The grandmother was trying to push the door out because she wanted to get out of the house, but the door opens in,” said 16-year-old Yendry Sepulveda, one of the teens who ran up the street. “We got the door open for her and helped her and two of the kids get out.”
Firefighters raced inside ahead of the hoses to try to rescue the children. Ricky was brought out unharmed from a back bedroom on the first floor, then the two boys, Tristen and Trent, were brought down from a second-floor bedroom. When two firefighters, Danny Lyons and Lt. John Paczek, tried to get up the stairs to the third floor, they were caught in a flashover, in which flames roll suddenly overhead, often surrounding firefighters in seconds.
Heat drove the two firefighters to their hands and knees, and melting carpet underfoot seared Paczek’s leather boot. The fire burned through his shoe and he sustained burns on his foot. He managed to reach up and break out a window, which allowed him and Lyons to escape onto the first-floor roof.
Witnesses said Hunter’s father, Rob Jandreau, tried to run into the house at one point. Police restrained him, but witnesses said he punched one officer in the face. He was placed in a police cruiser “to calm down,” said Sgt. Glenn Milslagle. “No one was arrested, because given the circumstances, it’s understandable he was emotional and reacting without thinking,” Milslagle said.
At least one, perhaps two smoke detectors in the home were without batteries, but Trella said he was not certain about the details.
“The house has an alarm system, and I don’t know yet if it’s just a burglary alarm or if fire is tied into it, in which case the batteries would be just backup and wouldn’t keep the alarm from working,” he said.
He is also continuing the investigation into what started the fire.
“I know the fire started on the second floor, and I’ve sent a number of samples to the state lab for determination,” he said. “I know there has been some speculation the air conditioner was the cause, but I can only say I’m looking at it just like I’m looking at everything else right now.”
A fire, he said, is “a lazy thing” that typically will take the path of least resistance. The hole for the air conditioner is a great source of air and an easy vent for the fire, so it naturally flamed out that window, he said. Witnesses who saw flames coming from around the air conditioner “might draw the conclusion … that it’s the cause, but that’s just the path of the fire, not necessarily the origin.”
Other fire officials on the scene said they doubted, given the cooler temperatures Tuesday night, the air conditioner was even running at the time of the fire.
Trella said he believes the house is salvageable, because most of the damage is on the second floor, and there was no structural damage to the building. The electricity and natural gas have been shut off, and the Building Department has posted the house as uninhabitable for now.
Family members have gone to Boston to be with Melissa and Ricky D’Aniello and their children. They are staying in family housing provided by the Shriners.
estrillacci@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225
By Elisabeth Strillacci, Record-Journal staff
MERIDEN — Tuesday was a night just like any other summer night on Franklin Street. At 142 Franklin, Denise D’Aniello had put her grandchildren to bed and was downstairs with her own mother watching television.
Three minutes later, a 911 call from a woman parked on Franklin Street came in to the city’s emergency communications center telling them that D’Aniello’s three-story, single-family house was on fire.
The fire, which took about 30 minutes to knock down, left one child dead, two children seriously injured, a family devastated.
Two-year-old Hunter Jandreau, the only child of Rebecca Delisle and Rob Jandreau, was pronounced dead at MidState Medical Center after he was taken out of the house through an upper window by firefighters on a ladder. The Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner has ruled the cause of death as smoke inhalation and declared the death accidental. Police officials have also confirmed that Hunter’s uncle is a Meriden police officer. A family friend at the scene said Delisle and Hunter had only recently moved into the house on Franklin.
Two other boys, Trent and Tristen D’Aniello, both suffered serious burns and smoke inhalation and were taken to MidState, where they were stabilized, then transferred by helicopter to Shriners Hospital for Children in Boston. A spokeswoman for the Shriners burn center said Wednesday that both boys were in critical but stable condition.
Trent and Tristen and a third young boy, Ricky, are children of Melissa and Ricky D’Aniello, who live in the house with Denise D’Aniello.
Two more children who were also safely rescued from the fire: 1-year-old Joey and 4-year-old Haley are the children of Heather D’Aniello, Denise D’Aniello’s daughter-in-law.
The three mothers had left all the children in the care of Denise and Denise’s mother to visit the gym together. They had left the house, according to a family friend, after the children were put to bed.
When firefighters arrived after the 10:33 p.m. call, Denise D’Aniello was standing at the front door with Joey and Haley in her arms. Three teenagers who had come up the street helped her, the children and Denise’s mother get out the door.
“People were shouting at the firemen that there were still children inside the house,” said Deputy Fire Chief David Bowen. Emotions were running high and it was difficult for firefighters to determine exactly how many people were still in the house.
“We tried doing head counts, but it wasn’t clear how many people were actually living in the house and it became difficult,” said Fire Marshal Steve Trella.
“The grandmother was trying to push the door out because she wanted to get out of the house, but the door opens in,” said 16-year-old Yendry Sepulveda, one of the teens who ran up the street. “We got the door open for her and helped her and two of the kids get out.”
Firefighters raced inside ahead of the hoses to try to rescue the children. Ricky was brought out unharmed from a back bedroom on the first floor, then the two boys, Tristen and Trent, were brought down from a second-floor bedroom. When two firefighters, Danny Lyons and Lt. John Paczek, tried to get up the stairs to the third floor, they were caught in a flashover, in which flames roll suddenly overhead, often surrounding firefighters in seconds.
Heat drove the two firefighters to their hands and knees, and melting carpet underfoot seared Paczek’s leather boot. The fire burned through his shoe and he sustained burns on his foot. He managed to reach up and break out a window, which allowed him and Lyons to escape onto the first-floor roof.
Witnesses said Hunter’s father, Rob Jandreau, tried to run into the house at one point. Police restrained him, but witnesses said he punched one officer in the face. He was placed in a police cruiser “to calm down,” said Sgt. Glenn Milslagle. “No one was arrested, because given the circumstances, it’s understandable he was emotional and reacting without thinking,” Milslagle said.
At least one, perhaps two smoke detectors in the home were without batteries, but Trella said he was not certain about the details.
“The house has an alarm system, and I don’t know yet if it’s just a burglary alarm or if fire is tied into it, in which case the batteries would be just backup and wouldn’t keep the alarm from working,” he said.
He is also continuing the investigation into what started the fire.
“I know the fire started on the second floor, and I’ve sent a number of samples to the state lab for determination,” he said. “I know there has been some speculation the air conditioner was the cause, but I can only say I’m looking at it just like I’m looking at everything else right now.”
A fire, he said, is “a lazy thing” that typically will take the path of least resistance. The hole for the air conditioner is a great source of air and an easy vent for the fire, so it naturally flamed out that window, he said. Witnesses who saw flames coming from around the air conditioner “might draw the conclusion … that it’s the cause, but that’s just the path of the fire, not necessarily the origin.”
Other fire officials on the scene said they doubted, given the cooler temperatures Tuesday night, the air conditioner was even running at the time of the fire.
Trella said he believes the house is salvageable, because most of the damage is on the second floor, and there was no structural damage to the building. The electricity and natural gas have been shut off, and the Building Department has posted the house as uninhabitable for now.
Family members have gone to Boston to be with Melissa and Ricky D’Aniello and their children. They are staying in family housing provided by the Shriners.
estrillacci@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225