Apartment fire leaves three family members in hospital

By Tim Yovich

The girl was in her burning crib, and her brother was standing on his bed in their bedroom.

NILES — Firefighters say the warning sounds of a smoke detector saved the lives of a South Side family of four, three of whom remain hospitalized.

Fire Lt. Rodney Frell said he told Nicholas Sennyk III, 33, whose wife and two children were in the apartment at 414 Brown St. at the time of the blaze, that he was fortunate to have changed the batteries in the smoke detector two weeks ago.

Sennyk’s wife, Trisha, 32, was not injured. Their 21‚Ñ2-year-old son, Nicholas IV, and 14-month-old daughter, Madalyn, are both in the burn unit at Akron Children’s Hospital as a precaution.

The four were originally treated for smoke inhalation at St. Elizabeth Heath Center, Youngstown. Frell said Nicholas IV had minor burns of the right hand, and Madalyn had first-degree burns on 4 percent of her face, so both children were transferred to the Akron facility. The father had some burns and remained in St. Elizabeth late Wednesday evening.

Frell said the couple was sleeping in a second-floor bedroom of the triplex, and the children were in a separate room, when the parents were awakened by the sound of the smoke detector shortly before 10:15 a.m. Wednesday.

The father went in the children’s bedroom to find the crib that Madalyn was in and a dresser on fire. His son was standing on his bed. The father got the children out of the bedroom and handed them to his wife, the lieutenant explained.

Once outside, Frell explained, Nicholas Sennyk attempted to dial 911 but was unsuccessful. He gave the phone to his wife, who called the fire department.

Meanwhile, her husband attempted to get back into the apartment to extinguish the flames but could only make it to the top of the stairs before being driven back by the heavy smoke.

Two men living in separate apartments in the triplex, Bryan Sennyk, Nicholas Sennyk’s brother, and Thomas Scarnecchia, son of Niles Councilman Thomas Scarnecchia, were home at the time of the fire but not injured.

Frell said the fire was confined to the Nicholas Sennyk apartment, which sustained $12,500 damage.

The fire started in the children’s bedroom, Frell said, as a lamp had fallen off the dresser and onto the floor, but it hasn’t been determined what caused the fire to break out.

Frell said a July 20, 2006, fire remains in firefighters’ minds.

Andrea Price, 33, and her three daughters died of smoke inhalation when fire broke out in their North Main Street home. The smoke detector was not functioning in that fire.

yovich@vindy.com