ELECTRICAL FIRE
IGNITED CHRISTMAS TREE IN FATAL MD. MANSION FIRE THAT KILLED 6 PEOPLE,
INCLUDING 4 CHILDREN
MILLERSVILLE, Md. — Jan 28, 2015, 8:44 PM ET
An electrical fire that spread to a 15-foot Christmas tree
prompted a blaze that reduced a 16,000-square-foot riverfront mansion near
Maryland's capital to ruins, killing a couple and four of their young
grandchildren, investigators said Wednesday.
The fire ignited combustible material,
probably a tree skirt, and tore through the massive, castle-like structure in
the early morning hours of Jan. 19.
Anne Arundel County Fire Chief Allan
Graves said the tree had been cut more than 60 days before the blaze and was in
a "great room" of the house with 19-foot ceilings.
"The involvement of the Christmas
tree explains the heavy fire conditions found by the first arriving fire
crews," Graves said.
Investigators on Wednesday identified
the victims as Don and Sandra Pyle and their grandchildren: Charlotte Boone, 8;
Wes Boone, 6; Lexi Boone, 8, and Katie Boone, 7. Don Pyle, 56, was chief
operating officer of ScienceLogic in Reston, Virginia.
The fire was reported about 3:30 a.m.
Jan. 19 by an alarm-monitoring company, reporting smoke had been detected
inside, and a neighbor who spotted flames. The home had smoke detectors, and
there was no indication they did not work, said Deputy Chief Scott Hoglander of
the Anne Arundel County fire marshal's office.
The big tree fueled the fire, which
spread rapidly. The 911 call from a neighbor came within 2 minutes of the
report to the alarm-monitoring company.
"I think it's more about the
actual fuel load of the Christmas tree and the output of energy and heat from
that particular fuel load that caused the rapid fire spread," Hoglander
said. "It really had nothing to do with the building construction
itself."
The investigation found that a failure
in an electrical outlet in the floor that provided power to the tree produced
heat that ignited something combustible, probably a tree skirt, said Russ
Davies, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.
Some 85 firefighters from several
jurisdictions fought the four-alarm fire, which burned for three hours before
it could be contained. Because there was no hydrant in the area, firefighters
shuttled tankers to the site and stationed a fire boat at a pier nearby.
Investigators brought in dogs to search
for bodies and evidence, such as accelerants, and conducted more than 50
interviews. Bill McMullan, special agent in charge of the Baltimore field
office of the U.S. Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the investigation
concluded the fire was the result of "a tragic accident that occurred at
the absolutely worst possible time, while the Pyles and their grandchildren
were sleeping."
Hoglander declined to mention a
specific cause of death, because officials have not received an official report
back from the state medical examiner's office.
A spokeswoman for the children's
parents said that the day before the fire, the doting grandparents bought the
children costumes before taking them to dinner at a medieval-themed restaurant.
Charlotte and Wes Boone were sister and
brother. Lexi and Katie were sisters; they had a newborn brother who was home
with his parents, Randy and Stacey Boone, the night of the fire. The cousins'
fathers, Randy and Clint Boone, were the sons of Sandra Pyle, 63. The four
children were students at the Severn School in Severna Park.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the
Boone family thanked investigators for their work and well-wishers for their
prayers.
"While the explanation that has been shared with us
today does not bring solace, it does start us down the long road to
acceptance," the statement read.
The Pyles built the home in 2005, four
years before the county began requiring sprinkler systems in new homes.
Hoglander said he believes sprinklers would have made a difference.
"I would say without a
doubt," he said.
The $6 million property once boasted
turrets, spiral staircases, lion statues, a sprawling lawn and forested land.
All that remains resembles a colonial ruin: a brick wall with windows missing
and a mountain of burned debris.
As investigators from the fire
department, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and
the state fire marshal's office probed the scene, members of the community
brought notes and teddy bears for a small memorial just outside the property.
On brick columns that flanked an iron gate, Christmas decorations were still
displayed.
//_________________________________________//
An electrical failure ignited a dry,15-foot-tall Christmas
tree in a fire that destroyed an Annapolis, Maryland, mansion, killing four
children and their grandparents, Anne Arundel County fire officials said
Wednesday.
Technology executive Don Pyle; his wife, Sandra; and four
grandchildren died in what Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
agent Bill McMullan called "a tragic accident that occurred at the worst
possible time while the Pyles and their grandchildren were sleeping."
"The involvement of the Christmas tree explains the heavy
fire conditions," Fire Chief Allan Graves said at a news conference.
The grandchildren
have been identified as Alexis (Lexi) Boone, 8; Kaitlyn (Katie) Boone, 7;
Charlotte Boone, 8; and Wesley (Wes) Boone, 6. They were the children of Sandra
Pyle's sons, Randy and Clint Boone.
"While the explanation that has been shared with us
today does not bring solace, it does start us down the long road to
acceptance," a statement Wednesday from the Boone and Pyle families said.
"Our tragedy has touched many lives in many families, and, in different
degrees, is shared by each of us. Our hope is that our loss will raise
awareness that this tragic event could happen to any family. "
Tree cut down two months prior
The blaze started in the waterfront mansion's great room,
with 19-foot ceilings and connections to living and sleeping areas. It was fed
by a towering Christmas tree that was cut about two months earlier, fire
officials said.
The tree was lit most of the time, officials said.
"The fuel load from the Christmas tree itself is what
created the significant amount of fire and heat to cause the fire to spread as
quickly as it did," Deputy Chief Scott Hoglander said.
Authorities were alerted within minutes by a fire-alarm
system monitored outside the home and a neighbor's 911 call. The home, which
was constructed before 2005 legislation requiring a sprinkler system, did not
have the devices.
"We're very comfortable that this was an accidental
fire," Graves said.
Sandy and Don Pyle died along with their four grandchildren
in the fire.
The medical examiner's office positively identified the
victims, officials said. Five bodies were recovered in the days after the fire;
the final one on Monday.
The children were visiting their grandparents for a
sleepover because January 19 was a school holiday, a family spokeswoman said.
"We believe that life is about making memories. As we
work through our pain and loss, the memories we made with our family will
sustain us," the families' statement said.
Officials said they were still conducting tests to determine
the exact sequence of events, but believe the fire was sparked by a faulty
electrical outlet.
Smoke detectors in homes are common but fire sprinklers are
not, says the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Fire sprinklers reduce the
death rate by 83%, property damage by 69% and firefighter injuries by 65%.
Fires in homes are responsible for more than 80% of fire
deaths in the United States, according to the agency.
Christmas tree fires are three times more deadly than home
fire in general, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
Local and federal officials last week secured the structure
and accessed the foundation of the 16,000-square-foot house. Cadaver dogs led
them to the bodies, officials said.
Authorities were initially treating the house as a crime
scene. Officials said it is standard procedure for a case such as this and no
evidence has been found to indicate suspicious activity.
The house belonged to Pyle, chief operating officer for ScienceLogic,
and his wife, Sandra, company spokesman Antonio Piraino said.
The sheer size of the structure and the fact that
three-fourths of the building had collapsed into the basement, with deep piles
of debris still smoldering days after the blaze, compounded the search, Anne
Arundel County Fire Capt. Robert Howarth said. He led the investigation along
with a team from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives.
"You're looking at five standard houses put
together," he said last week. "This is more of a commercial fire than
it is a residential fire. There are a lot of businesses that aren't 16,000
square feet. That adds to it."
Fire officials said they were alerted to the fire about 3:30
a.m. January 19. About 80 firefighters responded.
The ATF national response team responded because the fire
was deemed suspicious, Howarth said.
The fire department said crews had difficulty putting out
the fire because the house is secluded, apparently with no fire hydrants on the
scene.
Fire crews had difficulty battling the blaze because the
house is so secluded.
Photos
the fire department posted on Twitter showed hoses stretched for long
distances. Davies said it took hours for fire department tanker trucks and a
fire boat on an adjacent creek to bring the fire under control.
Pyle's company biography described
him as an industry veteran who has held multiple CEO positions, with more
than 25 years' experience in information technology infrastructure software and
hardware management.