2 young brothers die in apartment blaze
Crews battle fire on Kingston Street
An intense 4-alarm fire that tore through a multifamily home in Lawrence early Tuesday killing two young brothers was caused by an electrical issue, State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said.
In the early hours of the morning, flames destroyed the three-story, six-unit apartment house on Kingston Street, trapping the boys in their bedroom on the third floor.
The victims have been identified by family members as Kelvin Medina, 9, and Giancarlo Marrero, 4.
Coan said the fire started with wiring in the rear of a first-floor unit and burned undetected for some time in a void between a drop ceiling and the original ceiling before rapidly spreading vertically and horizontally throughout the building.
Coan said the door to the boys' bedroom was in the rear of their apartment, and the fire likely quickly blocked the exit. Their mother, who was sleeping in a front bedroom, was able to make it out.
Tim muse said he was awakened by the screams of the victim's mother.
"She was screaming about her kids," he said. "It sounded like she said they had died."
Fire officials said the fire likely burned undetected for a considerable period of time.
"The exit out of that bedroom was to the rear of the building. So by the time the fire had occurred to the point of notification to the residents, those youngsters needed to come out of the bedroom to where they would face a wall of flames," Coan said.
An anxious and helpless father rushed to the fire scene. Sadly, there was nothing he or firefighters could do.
"They were not able to make it into the rooms, just that, you know, you might have the tanks and all that, but the human body only takes so much heat," Lawrence Fire Department Chief John Marsh said.
One firefighter was injured while trying to rescue the children. All other residents escaped, thanks to an early warning from smoke detectors and passersby.
"I was coming from work and I noticed the fire, so I started banging on the windows and calling everybody so that they could get out of the building," witness Jose Calzado said.
Once the flames were extinguished, investigators worked inside and outside of the building, looking for clues about the cause of the fire that took two young lives.
"It's just an extremely tragic morning here in Lawrence. Fire continues to take such an awful toll in our state. It pains me, as state fire marshal, to have to be here this morning," Coan said.
According to Lawrence Inspectional Services Director Pat Ruiz said the property did not have any complaints or violations on record, and there have been no problems with the landlord, who also owns other properties in the city.
"It is a tragedy. It is very upsetting, it is terrible," said landlord Robert Norcross.
Inspectional Services said the building's apartments are inspected when they become vacant, and third-floor units Nos. 5 and 6 were last inspected in 2008 and 2012, respectively.
Ruiz said Norcross has a good reputation of keeping up with his buildings in the city.
Officials said the family recently moved to Lawrence.