Mom who lost kids, parents in Stamford fire speaks out

Lilly, 10, and twins Sarah and Grace, 7, Badger died in a house fire in Stamford on Christmas Day 2011.

  Eyewitness NewsSTAMFORD -- The woman whose three daughters and parents died in a Christmas Day fire said she considered putting fireplace ashes blamed for the blaze outdoors about an hour before flames swept through the home.

But Madonna Badger said in an interview aired Thursday on NBC's "Today" show that the bag of ashes didn't seem dangerous because her boyfriend, Michael Borcina, ran his hands over them before putting them on top of a plastic bin in a mudroom. She said she glanced at the bag as she walked up the stairs on the way to bed early that morning.

"I remember thinking to myself, 'I should put that outside. I should put that outside,'" Badger said. "Then I remembered thinking, 'No, but I watched him put his hands through it.'" The fire in Stamford killed 7-year-old twins Grace and Sarah Badger, 9-year-old Lily Badger, and their grandparents Lomer and Pauline Johnson. Badger disputed an Associated Press report that the ashes were taken out of a fireplace so the children would not worry about Santa Claus coming down the chimney. The AP reported on Jan. 3 that the ashes were removed out of concern for Santa, citing two officials briefed on the investigation.

"I don't know where that came from," Badger said.

About an hour after going to bed, Badger awoke to choking smoke and frantically tried to find her children. She climbed up scaffolding that was installed outside the home for a renovation project and opened a window to Grace's bedroom.

"I opened that window and the smoke that hit me was just the blackest ... like an ocean," she said in the interview, in which she broke down crying several times. "There was embers and all kinds of stuff in it."

Badger, a New York City advertising executive, said she tried several times to hold her breath and put her head in the window, but the smoke was too much.

"I couldn't get in the window and I'm just screaming for somebody to help me," she said, adding that she couldn't see Grace or the other girls. "It was the blackest smoke I've ever seen. If I could have seen them, I would have gone in.

"It's impossible to describe how it is that you can't go in and save your own children, but I couldn't get through that smoke. I couldn't," she said.

She said she then saw Borcina - his eyes burned shut - running around the yard yelling for the girls and telling them to jump to him from upper floors. She said firefighters dragged her away from the home for her safety.

Badger was brought to a hospital and said it took three hours for a doctor to tell her that her children had died and her parents probably wouldn't survive, either.

Asked whether the house had working smoke alarms, Badger said, "My understanding was that I had an operable fire and smoke alarms." When she was awoken by the fire, she said she didn't hear any alarms going off.

"Nothing. It was silent," she said.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THECHRISTMAS DAY FIRE

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Stamford cop critically injured in fall during chase

  Eyewitness NewsSTAMFORD -- A Stamford police officer was critically injured in a fall that occurred while he was chasing a robbery suspect on foot.

Assistant Police Chief Jim Matheny says the 36-year-old officer, identified as Troy Strauser, fell about 20 feet from a bridge abutment over Interstate 95 in Norwalk early Thursday morning, and was undergoing surgery at Norwalk Hospital.

Police arrested 30-year-old Frank Douglas after the chase. He faces numerous charges including robbery, assaulting a police officer and cruelty to animals. Police say he choked a police dog during the struggle to apprehend him.

Police say the chase began shortly after 1 a.m. when a witness reported that a man was being beaten and robbed in Stamford. Police chased the suspect's car from Stamford into Norwalk, where it crashed.

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Fire Dept. releases recordings in Stamford tragedy

Web produced by Jennifer Matarese, Eyewitness NewsSTAMFORD, Conn. (WABC) -- The Stamford Fire Department has released dramatic recordings from the day a Connecticut home went up in flames, killing five people including three children.

For the firefighters, the stress must have been unbearable.

The searing heat, the choking smoke, and knowing children were trapped on the upper floors.

"We have victims trapped on the second floor, we're going to rescue mode with a ladder. We've got a report from one of the victims, there's people in that window," the Stamford Fire Department's radio transmission said.

The radio transmissions paint a picture of controlled chaos and desperation.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO PART ONE OF THE RADIO TRANSMISSIONS

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO PART TWO OF THE RADIO TRANSMISSIONS

The firefighters struggle to reach them, but are driven back, again and again.

"You have heavy fire right above your head-back out back out! All units on the interior, all units on the interior, back out. Back out! How you making out Tom? I got one over here," the radio transmissions said.

But it was all too late.

The deadly smoke had claimed the lives of all three little girls.

9-year-old Lily and 7-year-old twins, Gracie and Sarah.

A picture was taken by their father, just four days before the fire.

Family friend Abby Ballin released a statement on behalf of the childrens' father:

"Matthew was a truly one of a kind father, one that most don't come by frequently. He was kind, loving, on hand, extremely creative, and as the girls would say 'the funnest dad around!'

Matthew loved his darling daughters more than life itself and did anything and everything he could to make sure their life was filled with love, joy and adventure. The girls always knew when they were with their father that it would never be boring and a new and exciting adventure was always on its way.

He enjoyed and contributed to all their various activities such as drawing, painting, signing, acting and Lily's favorite the impersonations of accents!

Their home was always filled with music and colorful art could be seen everywhere.

These three special girls, Lily, Sarah & Gracie were a trio and could never be torn apart. Their spirits will live on forever and ever in the hearts of their family and loves ones. We couldn't have been blessed with three more truly unique girls, there are no words to express how marvelous they are.

You could not have found a pair of parents like Matthew and Madonna Badger that always put their children first and did everything in their power to give them the best lives conceivable. There will never be two people less deserving of this tragedy.

These were three of the happiest girls the world could find. Life will never be the same without them, but we all know that some where they are twirling and singing and painting the heavens...."

Also killed in the fire, were the children's grandparents.

Pauline and Lomer Johnson will be buried next week in Canada.

The cause of the fire was found to be ashes from the fireplace left unattended on a back porch.

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Fire safety tips in wake of Stamford tragedy

Web produced by Jennifer Matarese, Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- The tragedy in Stamford is a wake-up call for all us and brings home the importance of working smoke alarms and fire safety.

Two minutes. That's how long it took for hot embers tossed into a plastic household garbage can to catch fire.

It's the same kind of plastic pail used by many homeowners to discard their fireplace ashes which is a bad idea.

"A good option is a metal bucket like this. You are going to put your ashes in, put a little bit of water in it and keep it ten feet from the house. You don't to put it on your deck, your porch or in your garage," said Chief Neil Caputo, West County Fire Services.

Another important safety tip is to have an escape plan that includes two exits, and then, practice the plan.

Investigators in Stamford said two of the victims lost their way as they tried to exit the burning home.

"If you come in and out of the back kitchen door of your house, when trouble strikes, you'll walk right past the front door to get to the back door," said Dep. Chief F.J. Spinelli, Hartsdale Fire Department.

Once outside, head to a pre-established meeting place for everyone to gather.

And once you're out, stay out. Do not go back inside for any reason.

"Unfortunately many members of the public don't know how to stay out, because they begin to think about their personal belongings all of which can be replaced," Spinelli said.

Lastly, investigators said hard-wired smoke alarms in the renovated Stamford home had not been hooked up, and it's unclear if battery operated detectors were in place.

It's absolutely essential to remember that smoke detectors save lives.

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Officials: 2 major mistakes made in Stamford fire

Web produced by Bill King, Eyewitness NewsSTAMFORD, Conn. (WABC) -- The Christmas morning fire that killed a couple and their three grandchildren in Connecticut has been devastating to firefighters who rushed into the home twice frantically looking for the victims before flames beat them back.

Stamford officials are now offering counseling to the firefighters.

Authorities on Tuesday described the frantic, futile attempts to save the girls and their grandparents after embers in a bag of discarded fireplace ashes started the accidental fire at the grand waterfront house in Stamford.

Of the seven people in the home, there were only two survivors: the girls' mother, New York City fashion advertising executive Madonna Badger; and a family friend, Michael Borcina, who had worked on the house as a contractor and is believed to have placed the ashes in or outside an entryway, near the trash.

Killed were grandparents Lomer and Pauline Johnson, 10-year-old Lily and 7-year-old twins Grace and Sarah.

Madonna Badger and Borcina had just finished wrapping Christmas presents around 3 a.m. and headed to bed after extinguishing the fire. That's when they decided to take the ashes and put them near a mudroom at the back of the home.

Officials say there were two major mistakes made in the fire. The first was the misplaced ashes. The second was that the home did not have working smoke detectors. Details also emerged about the plight of the victims. Two of the young girls who died nearly made it out of the house before they apparently ran back upstairs.

Firefighters described the grandfather's heroic rescue attempt, putting one granddaughter on a stack of books while he tried to get her out a window.

"He guided her to the window that he went through," Stamford Fire Chief Antonio Conte said. "When he stepped through that window, his life ended. It looks like he fell face forward, because that's the position found him in."

Both Badger and her companion also tried saving the children, but apparently lost them in the smoke and confusion.

As flames shot from the home, Badger climbed out a window onto scaffolding, screaming for her children and pointing to the third floor. Firefighters used a ladder and construction scaffolding outside the house to reach the third floor, but heat and poor visibility in a hallway turned them back.

Borcina told firefighters on the ground that he had taken two girls to the second floor, but that they got separated because of the heat. Firefighters then returned to the second floor but again were forced out by the blaze's intensity.

"The male occupant had told us that he had led two girls downstairs, so now they were on the second floor," Conte said. "But the heat drove them to get separated from the male occupant. And it looks like one went back upstairs, and another one was found with the grandmother at the bottom of the stairwell between the second and third floor."

Officials believe Badger knows most of what officials want to know about the events leading up to the fire, but they're being patient about getting the information they need.

"Mrs. Badger lost her three children and her two parents," Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia said. "When we made the initial contact with Mrs. Badger, the last thing thing on our minds to talk to her about was if her building permit was valid or if her smoke detectors were working."

Because the ongoing renovations, inspectors are questioning if the building was even fit to be lived in.

"They should not have been in the home unless they had a certificate of approval," Stamford director of operations Ernie Orgera said.

Borcina is still in the hospital, but spoke to the New York Post. He said he and Badger will make it through this, and that they are taking care of themselves both spiritually and physically.

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Stamford fire believed started by fireplace embers

  Eyewitness NewsSTAMFORD, Conn. (WABC) -- An advertising executive's three daughters and parents were killed in a fire at her home along the Connecticut shoreline Sunday.

Stamford police say Madonna Badger's Victorian house in Stamford was engulfed by flames shortly before 5 a.m. Christmas morning. Killed were Badger's daughters - a 10-year-old and 7-year-old twins - and her parents, who police say were visiting for the holiday.

Fire Marshals believe this fire was accidental.

According to a source, investigators believe the fire was caused by embers from a fireplace.

They were able to get inside the home and recover much of what they needed for their investigation before the $1.7 million home was demolished.

They had to take it down because the walls of the building were about to cave in from the damage.

A source tells Eyewitness News the fire was burning for about an hour before anyone realized it.

The home's owner, advertising executive Madonna Badger, and her male acquaintance escaped from the fire. Stamford fire chief Antonio Conte said Monday says interviews with them will be finished Monday.

A spokeswoman for Saks Fifth Avenue confirmed in a statement that the father, Lomer Johnson, had worked as a Santa this year at its flagship store in Manhattan.

Badger is an ad executive in the fashion industry and the founder of New York City-based Badger & Winters Group.

The fire remains under investigation.

Neighbors awoke to the sound of screaming shortly before 5 a.m. and rushed outside to help, but they could only watch in horror as flames devoured the grand home in the pre-dawn darkness and the shocked, injured survivors were led away from the house.

"It is a terrible, terrible day," Mayor Michael Pavia told reporters at the scene of the fire. "There probably has not been a worse Christmas day in the city of Stamford."

Property records show she bought the five-bedroom, waterfront home for $1.7 million last year. The house is situated in Shippan Point, a wealthy neighborhood that juts into Long Island Sound.

The male acquaintance who also escaped the blaze was a contractor who was doing work on the home, Guzda said. He was also hospitalized but his condition was not released.

Police officers drove Badger's husband, Matthew Badger, from New York City to Stamford on Sunday morning. Badger's parents lived in Southbury, Conn., Guzda said.

Firefighters knew there were other people in the home but could not get to them because the flames were too large and the heat too intense, said Acting Fire Chief Antonio Conte, his voice cracking with emotion.

"It's never easy. That's for sure," he said. "I've been on this job 38 years ... not an easy day."

Conte said fire officials don't yet know the cause of the blaze and likely won't get clues for a few days until fire marshals can enter the structure.

By Sunday evening, the roof of the blackened house had largely collapsed.

A neighbor, Sam Cingari Jr., said he was awakened by the sound of screaming and saw that the house was engulfed by flames.

"We heard this screaming at 5 in the morning," he said. "The whole house was ablaze and I mean ablaze."

Cingari said he did not know his neighbors, who he said bought the house last year and were renovating it.

Charles Mangano, who lives nearby, said his wife woke him up and alerted him to the fire. He ran outside to see if he could help and saw a number of fire trucks in front of the house.

"I heard someone yell 'Help, help, help me!' and I started sprinting up my driveway," Mangano told The Advocate of Stamford.

He told the newspaper he saw a barefoot man wearing boxers and a woman being taken out of the house. The outdoor temperature at the time was below freezing, according to the National Weather Service.

The woman said, "My whole life is in there," Mangano said. "They were both obviously in a state of shock."

Stamford, a city of 117,000 residents, is about 25 miles northeast of New York City.

Badger was the creative mind behind major advertising campaigns for leading fashion brands, including the iconic Marky Mark underwear ads for Calvin Klein.

Raised in Kentucky, Badger began her career working as a graphic designer in the art department of Esquire magazine. Before starting her own company, she worked as an art director for several magazines and CRK, the in-house advertising agency for designer Calvin Klein.

Badger & Winters has worked with Proctor & Gamble, CoverGirl, A/X Armani Exchange, Emanuel Ungaro and Vera Wang, among other high-profile corporations. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

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