A burning candle left unattended on the back porch caused the deadly fire at a home on Lescot Lane, according to the Orlando Fire Department.
The fire started early July 8 in the 5200 block of Lescot Lane in the Carver Shores neighborhood.
A relative who lived in the home told Orlando fire investigators he lit the candle while playing cards and drinking with friends on the back porch, according to a report. The man left the home around 5 a.m. and the fire began about 30 minutes later, the report said.
“He stated that he returned back to find the house on fire and stated it was his fault; he lite the candle, placed on the floor of his messy room and left it unattended,” the report said.
The candle likely caught something on the floor on fire, and it quickly spread from there, spokeswoman Ashley Papagni said.
Flames extended to the attic, kitchen and front porch, Papagni said.
There were three people inside at the time. A 7-year-old boy ran for help and was uninjured. Syiah Johnson, 8, could not make it out and her grandmother, Ingrid Howard, 60, died days after the fire from injuries suffered while trying to rescue Syiah.
The report said Howard tried taking Syiah out of the house but she left her grandmother’s side and hid under a bed.
Firefighters found Syiah’s body in the shower, according to a report. The home was a total loss and the roof caved in, the report said.
There were no working smoke detectors in the home.
“This is a horrible tragedy that we hope the community will heed our safety messages, including having a working smoke alarm and practice candle safety,” Papagni said. “Smoke alarms save lives.”
Friends said Syiah had a “sweet soul” and Howard was remembered as a dedicated grandmother who was raising the grandchildren.
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Sunday morning at approximately 5:30am tragedy struck the house hold of Howard and Johnson's. Casusing them to lose everything they owned and the tragic lose of Life that meant so much to this Howard/Johnson Family.
Siyah Johnson(God bless her soul) is no longer with us. Due to fire she was sadly taken from us in a horrific manor no one would wish for on anyone.
Anyone that knows Ingrid knows this model of a Mother would give you the clothes off her back last meal she has to help anyone that has not.
Ingrid Howard gain custody of the 3 siblings Saron, Sion, and Siyah almost 10yrs ago. Honestly, she took in 3 kids that were not hers and has raised the three as if they were her very Own.
Sun Up to sun down Ingrid dedicated her life to keeping and raising them together surrounded by Family and Love. So much Love she refused to leave a burning house with a collapsing roof while screaming out for Siyah. If not for the Heroic efforts of our "Angel" of a neighbor Mr.Tommie to kick the door down, drag her out the house as she was near the front door turning back to go into the fire with a falling roof to save Siyah; This SuperWoman of a mother would no longer be here. Fortunate she is alive as of now. But unfortunately she suffered 3rd degree burns on over 30% of her body and may not pull through.
Everything she saved, had in her possesion, owned, documentations, etc. are all up in flames!
Ingrid, Saron, Sion, and Siyah needs a Coummunity of support to pull through such an unexpected horrific ordeal that has both Families in deep sorrow.
We ask anyone with a heart, who sees this feel compel to help out a family in dyer need to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP in anyway you possibly can.
As a representative of the Howard's we ask this of you to help with the long road ahead for Ingrid Howard's recovery and for the kids.
All donations and efforts will go directly to Siyah Johnson's funeral, Ingrid howards recovery, Any financial, emotional, mental support the kids will need for recovery and moving foward.
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Five people have died in accidental Orlando house fires so far this year and none of those homes — all rentals — had a working smoke detector, authorities said.
On Monday, the Orlando City Council will vote to make property maintenance codes stricter for landlords, including a requirement that smoke alarms must be in every home.
“That’s a trend that we certainly don’t want to continue with,” Orlando Fire District Chief Walter Lewis said of the preventable deaths. “Landlords that are up to par, they’re not gonna even really see an effect of this maintenance code coming into play — it’s the ones that are not necessarily providing a good property.”
On July 8, 8-year-old Syiah Johnson died after she was trapped inside the Carver Shores neighborhood home rented by her grandmother, Ingrid Howard, in a fire caused by an unattended candle.
Howard, 60, who refused to leave the burning house without her granddaughter until a neighbor dragged her out, died four days later from severe burn injuries.
Yolanda Alomar, fiancé of Kevin Howard, the son of Ingrid Howard, who recently died from a fatal house fire walks away from the fire scene on Lescot Lane in Orlando. (Red Huber / Orlando Sentinel)
The tragedy in Carver Shores was the latest in a string of deadly house fires in rental homes in the city.
In January, two people died in separate house fires in the Parramore neighborhood because of space heaters. Shortly after, city officials spent three weeks going door to door in the area to identify properties with fire-safety hazards.
They were able to inspect the inside of 215 homes and discovered 54 percent didn’t have working smoke detectors and 28 percent were using space heaters as their only heat source. Thirty-six homes didn’t have any source of heat and eight residences relied on open stove doors for warmth.
Under the proposed ordinance, if a landlord provides space heaters as the sole source of warmth in a home, it must have a tip-over switch that will automatically shut off the device if it falls down.
Historic buildings will not be exempted in the proposed ordinance.
“It won’t delineate between older homes and newer homes,” Lewis said. “It is rented properties, homes and apartments so all tenants will be in a safe haven.”
Tenants who believe their residence is unsafe can contact the city’s code enforcement division and an investigator will come out to inspect the property. Landlords are given seven to 10 days to fix any problems noted by the inspector.
“If they don’t meet the requirements, then there’s the teeth behind it to add a fine assessment so that the resident has a safe place to live,” Lewis said.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends smoke detectors be installed in each bedroom and tested monthly. Larger homes may require multiple fire alarms.
For Orlando homeowners, the fire department offers installation of one free smoke alarm with a 10-year lithium battery in residences without any previous detectors.