Fire Officials: Towel Too Close To Lamp Caused Fatal Blaze
BROOKLYN PARK, Md. (WJZ)– Investigators finally have answers to what killed three people in a fire that rocked Anne Arundel County.
Rick Ritter has the latest.
Investigators say a towel was near a lamp or placed over it, causing it to go up in flames--killing a mother, her son and a good samaritan who tried to jump in this home behind me and save them.
A two-month nightmare Pastor Samuel Sinnah wishes he could wake up from.
"That day has changed my life. I will never see my wife, I will never see my son," he said.
One investigators say simply started with a towel catching heat.
"In a space of one or two of three minutes, a fire can change beyond perception and imagination," said Sinnah.
February 10th, flames rip through Pastor Sinnah's Brooklyn Park home.
"I woke up, the house was burning," said Sinnah.
Inside, his wife Lettitia and their two sons, 19-year-old Joseph and 17-year-old Sundima, but only the Pastor and Joseph make it out alive.
Lettitia ran back inside the home to try and save her other son upstairs, but the two became trapped in the flames.
A neighbor tried to save both, but all three end up dead.
Investigators say the fire started with the towel in the surviving son's bedroom.
"The story was that the lamp fell onto the bed," Sinnah said.
The 19-year-old tried desperately to put out the flames.
"He wanted to put it out and he went to get the fire extinguisher and he came back and it was too much out of control for that," said Pastor Mike Busker.
A small cause turning such a hard-hitting tragedy that could happen to anyone.
"A fire, as long as it has a way to go, it's going to go," Busker said.
It took firefighters more than an hour to put out the blaze which caused more than $100,000 in damage.
Pastor Sinnah and his family are struggling financially due to the fire.
Donations can be made to Pastor Sinnah and his church:
Brooklyn Park United Brethren in Christ Church
201 West Hilltop Road
Brooklyn, Md. 21225.
*The church will also host several fundraisers, including a Soup-R-Supper Saturday on April 11 with proceedings going toward rebuilding the Pastor's home. The church will serve food from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for children under 12 and free for children under 2. All are welcome to attend.
