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Dawn Gagnon / AP file
Authorities respond to a fire on Dow Road in Orrington, Maine, Nov. 10, 2012.
A pre-dawn fire that killed a 30-year-old man and his three children and hospitalized the mother was caused by empty cardboard pizza boxes stored too close to a wood-burning stove, Maine fire officials said Monday.
The family likely used the boxes to help start the fire in the stove after they returned to their Orrington home from bowling late Friday night, fire investigators said. A container of lighter fluid found nearby probably accelerated the spread of the fire once the boxes stored outside the stove ignited and family members had gone to bed.
Fire Marshal Joe Thomas called the fire a tragedy. It was the deadliest fire in Maine in 20 years.
"It was purely accidental," Thomas said.
Neighbors reported the fire about 2:30 a.m. Saturday after hearing Christine Johnson, 31, screaming from atop a roof above a breezeway between the house and a garage.
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Johnson remained hospitalized for smoke inhalation on Monday. The fire killed her husband, Benjamin Johnson III, along with their children: two boys, 9-year-old Ben and 4-year-old Ryan, and one girl, 8-year-old Leslie.
The children were found in a second-story bedroom, and their father was found at the head of the stairs. They all died from smoke inhalation, according to the medical examiner's office.
The home's furnace was not working, so the residence was heated with the wood stove and a propane heater placed inside a fireplace, officials said.
The home had smoke detectors, but neighbors who rushed to the scene didn't hear them and investigators haven't determined if they were in working order, Thomas said.
The town of Orrington has about 3,900 residents and serves as a bedroom community to Bangor, six miles to the north. The family moved from Bangor and into the rental house about six months ago.
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Benjamin Johnson worked at a Wal-Mart and as a part-time dealer at a casino in Bangor, neighbors said. Christine Johnson is an author who worked from home, Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said.
The fire was the deadliest in Maine since December 1992, when an 18-year-old man set fire to an apartment house in Portland, killing a baby and three adults.
Virgil Smith, now 38, was convicted of four counts of murder and one count of arson. He is serving a 58-year sentence. Smith started the fire to get back at his ex-girlfriend, who lived in the building, but said he didn't intend to hurt anyone.
With heating season upon Maine, Thomas said combustible items should be kept at least 3 feet from wood stoves and flammable liquids should never be used to start wood-stove fires.
"The point we're trying to make is this type of thing doesn't have to happen," he said.
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Leave a Comment:
Great headline. Perhaps "Idiot who stores empty pizza boxes too close to a wood-burning stove blamed for fire." might be a little more precise.
How terrible a new design of exhaust fan smoke detectors could of save there lives,were smoke inside once detecting could start a exhaust venting system,could of allowed them the time to save there own or neighbors,people not realizing there own 2 story ladder could of been used to reach them,cheap affordable,what are nations designers thinking and public safety not realizing and relations of families not looking ahead for others in a busy world we live in,instead of making the victims of such a great traumatic situation feel even worse.
Ahhh, yes....the much maligned "job creators"......otherwise known to everyone else as the Filthy Rich. Poor, poor things. They've been burdened with the lowest taxes for their strata in the last 60+ years, more tax loopholes and ways to shelter all those wads than any time in American history, and plenty of crafty strategies to keep our Congressional representatives in their pockets. Yes, poor, poor dears. While everyone else has lost value in their homes, their savings, their 401Ks, their retirement funds....the "job creators" have enjoyed unprecedented increases in their wealth. So, my question is this: if the wealthy are the "Job Creators" and their wealth has substantially increased during this Great Recession.....WHERE ARE THE JOBS? Of course, the answer is obvious: THEY AREN'T USING THEIR MONEY TO CREATE JOBS....just more wealth for THEMSELVES! Geesh, Conservatives are dumb!
Texas mom who threw kids onto freeway released from jail yep you got it going on if anything we should kick you out
First of all, A horrible accident has happened. Calling anyone idiotic right now is just insensitive. Second of all, they only just moved to the RENTAL home 6 months ago and yet the furnace wasn't working. That is on the landlord, not the tenants. Also, just because Maine isn't highly populated does not mean we were not effected by the economy just like everyone else. Just going to the local "box store" to get what you need is not always an option. Honestly, this family had probably been leaving cardboard fairly close to the wood stove for a long time. Maybe complacency is to blame but not being idiotic. Most families in Maine have had wood stoves at some point or another and have become complacent over the years. This woman just lost her entire family to a tragic accident and more than likely will be asking herself millions of what if's for the rest of her life. There is no need to antagonize her. If the smoke detectors were not in working order, it is quite possible that by the time she realized their was a fire, no time was left to think about ladders or anything else. Until you have been in a fire or that kind of situation, you can not judge her on how she acted. I am so sick of anonymous posts filled with hate and judgement. Thankfully I live in a state where we are finally trying to put peoples rights above our own personal beliefs and are willing to help our neighbors with out a major disaster motivating us. My thoughts and deepest condolences go out to the friends and family. I hope the mother can figure out how to live life after this tragedy.
Time to check my smoke detectors tomorrow. In a fire once, you just can't see with the smoke and darkness. You have no idea where you are and the only light you get is from the fire itself. I emptied the fire extinguisher into the fire and left before the smoke started to effect my eyes and lungs. Then a guy told me the hair on the top of my head is burned off.