Madonna Badger : Christmas Morning House Fire Kills Five in Connecticut
Lomer Johnson, 71, had climbed out of a bedroom window at his daughter's Stamford, Connecticut home and was helping one of his grandchildren onto the roof when he was overcome by the flames.
The body of Mr Johnson, who had worked his 'dream job' as a department store Santa Claus since his retirement, was found covered in fire debris outside an open third-story window, fire officials said.
On the other side of the window - just inches behind him - officials found the body of one of his granddaughters.
'I think he had his granddaughter, and he tried to get her out,' Stamford Fire Chief Antonio Conte said.
'He went out the window first. She was right there, and he succumbed right on the outside, and she died on the inside. She was right next to him.'
Mr Johnson perished with his wife Pauline, 69, and their granddaughters Lily, 10, and seven-year-old twins Sarah and Grace in the 5 a.m. fire at his daughter's home.
Former Calvin Klein artistic director Madonna Badger, 47, and friend Michael Borcina survived the horrific Christmas day fire.
Sources told the New York Post that embers from a Yule log are thought to have ignited the inferno.
The ashes may have been still smoldering when they were left outside the family's home. The wind may have blown the embers into the wooden building, sources said.
Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia said described the cause as 'fireplace-related', but would not provide more details.
A city official added that the age of the house, which was built in the 1890s, and some more recently installed siding on the outside of the building may have allowed the flames to spread more easily.
Bulldozers moved in to tear down the property on Wednesday.
Firefighters had desperately tried to reach the family members who were trapped on the second floor of the $1,725,000 house.
Witnesses said Mrs Badger, who runs Badger and Winters fashion branding consulting firm and created the Mark Wahlberg underwear adverts for Calvin Klein, was dazed as rescue workers helped her. She was heard saying: 'My whole life is in there.'
She was seen being led away from the flames with acquaintance Michael Borcina, who was barefoot and wearing boxers and a t-shirt.
Mr Borcina is the president of New York City construction firm Tiberias Construction Inc., believed to be the company renovating the five-bedroom home.
The Johnsons moved to the New York area from Kentucky five years ago to be near their grandchildren, according to the New York Times.
They would have celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary on Monday.
The day before he died, Mr Johnson, 71, worked at his 'dream job' as Santa Claus at the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store in Manhattan, New York, the family member said. Ms Johnson, 69, watched on as he handed out candy canes and posed for pictures.
'That’s all he ever wanted to be,' a family member told the New York Times. 'He stopped shaving the day he retired.'
Mr Johnson was known as 'Happy Santa' and started the festive career after his granddaughter asked him to pretend to be Santa Claus.
On site Gigmasters.com, the former security director writes: 'I've enjoyed it more than any job I've ever had.'
Witness Charles Mangano, who lives near the scene of the fire, said: 'My wife woke me up and said there was a huge fire that she could see out the window.
'I ran outside and heard someone yelling ''Help, help, help me''... I ran up the driveway and saw there were tons and tons of fire apparatus here. There was nothing I could do.'
The neighbour added that he didn't know the family who lived in the home.
'They moved in this summer, there was a whole construction job going on there... it was new people.'
Madonna Badger was reported to be a 'fair condition' at Stamford Hospital on Sunday afternoon. A supervisor at the hospital said she was treated and discharged by the evening.
Mr Borcina was also hospitalised but his condition was not released.
Police officers drove Mrs Badger's husband, Matthew Badger, from his home in Manhattan, New York City to Stamford on Sunday morning.
The couple had begun undergoing divorce proceedings, but have an amicable relationship, a relative told the New York Times.
Mrs Badger's former super, Trifu Penca, told the New York Post the couple had separated three years ago. She filed for divorce in October.
A relative told the paper that Mr Badger was 'absolutely distraught' on hearing of his daughters' deaths.
'It is a terrible, terrible day for the city of Stamford,' Mayor Michael Pavia told reporters at a news briefing at the scene of the fire.
'There probably has not been a worse Christmas day in the city of Stamford.'
Acting Fire Chief Antonio Conte said desperate attempts by firefighters to rescue the family were thwarted by the intense flames and heat.
'We just couldn't get to them,' Conte told reporters clearly emotional having witnesses the horrific scenes faced by all of the emergency crews. A total of 46 firefighters attended the scene.
The experienced fire chief broke down in tears when asked how the crews were dealing with such a tragedy during the press briefing.
'It's never easy, that's for sure. I've been doing this job for 38 years. It's not easy.'
All five victims were removed from the second floor of the burnt-out building this evening.
He said fire officials do not yet know the cause of the blaze and will not likely get clues for a few days until fire marshals can enter the house, which has been completely destroyed.
The house was being renovated but fire officials do not believe that was the cause of the blaze.
Neighbor, Sam Cingari Jr., said he was woken by the sound of screaming and saw that the house was entirely engulfed by flames.
'We heard this screaming at five in the morning,' he said. 'The whole house was ablaze and I mean ablaze.'
Property records show Mrs Badger bought the five-bedroom, waterfront Victorian home for $1.7 million last year.
The house is situated in Shippan Point, a wealthy neighborhood that juts into Long Island Sound.
Tony Low-Beer, another neighbour, said he was awakened by a neighbor after 4 am who told him about a 'raging fire' next door.
'Cinders were flying all over the place,' he told The Associated Press.
The neighbourhood in Stamford, a city of 117,000 residents about 25 miles northeast of New York City.
Mayor Michael Pavia said: 'At this point we have nothing further to say except that our hearts and prayers go out to the family and to the fire and emergency personnel on the scene.
'We're not going to answer any questions until we get the scene secured, bodies recovered and find out what the cause was.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078482/Hero-Santa-Claus-died-trying-save-granddaughters-perished-Christmas-tragedy.html#ixzz1hlMhjKS8