Caregiver, disabled man die in blaze

Fire officials don't expect to find out who started the deadly fire.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Two mentally disabled men apparently panicked and ran to the upstairs of their home when a fire broke out that killed one of the men and their caregiver, a fire official said Thursday.
"It appears that they retreated to the bedroom. I don't know if it was due to the excitement, to the fire alarm ringing," said Doug Smith, a Columbus fire battalion chief. "It appeared that she went up and did everything she possibly could to get those two out."
Fire officials determined that Wednesday's fire was caused when a cigarette lighter ignited clothing in a closet near the house's front door. They hoped to talk with the survivor, John Cloppert, 29, but were told by family members that he might not be able to help them, given the nature of his disability, Smith said.
"We might never figure out who started it," he said.
Cloppert's parents said their son should not be implicated. "John does not have the manual dexterity or coordination to operate a lighter. In fact, he cannot tie his shoes," Fred and Pat Cloppert said in a statement released through Ohio State University Medical Center.
Their son remained in critical condition at the hospital with burns on his face and hand and possible permanent lung damage, according to the statement. The Clopperts said they were heartbroken over the two who died.
Who died
Anthony Braithwaite, 31, died at the home, and caregiver Peggy Porter, 62, was pronounced dead at Mount Carmel West Hospital, fire officials said.
Both appeared to have died from smoke inhalation, Franklin County Coroner Brad Lewis said Thursday.
Cloppert and Braithwaite were friends who had shared the house for more than six years, and caregivers worked in shifts to help them with daily activities such as cooking, banking and grocery shopping, and they were never left alone, said people involved in their care.
"Obviously, it's a tragic situation," said Jed Morison, superintendent of the Franklin County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, which planned to conduct an investigation. The agency provides service coordination and oversight so people with disabilities can live independently.
Morison said he was not able to provide any specific information about the two men involved in the fire.
The Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities also will conduct an investigation, spokesman Robert Jennings said.
"If we can substantiate something that went wrong, we'd be looking at ways of correcting those situations through training, education and other things," Jennings said.