Blaze that killed 3 fast, intense, officials say

By JOE GORMAN

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Fatal FIre Kills Three

Gallery

Fire Chief John O'Neill says a preliminary investigation shows that the cause of a triple fatal fire late Tuesday on 1524 Bryson St. does not appear to be intentional. O'Neill said the fire started between the first and second floor of the North Side home. Five firefighters were injured. O'Neill said investigators want to learn why the fire burned so quickly. He said they are still looking for a cause. The man whose home caught fire killing his 25-year-old daughter and his two grandchildren said he was awakened by a loud boom. - See more at: http://www.vindy.com/news/2016/may/18/house-fire-youngstown-kills-three/#sthash.jUwQGdPS.dpuf

Neil Autry’s first thoughts when he was roused by a loud noise late Tuesday night at his North Side home was about the safety of his two young grandchildren.

“I just heard something go ‘boom’ and I thought it was the kids running downstairs,” a subdued Autry said Wednesday morning as he watched state fire marshals and city firefighters sift through the debris of the 1524 Bryson St. home to find clues as to how the fire started.

“I went to put them back to bed,” he said, standing in front of his blackened home Wednesday morning recalling the horror of the previous night.

He never got the chance.

“I walked into a blaze of fire,” he said softly.

That fire at about 11:30 p.m. killed the two children, Quincy, 2 and Jimmia Moore, 8 months, and also his 24-year-old daughter, NaKema Autry.

The children were found by firefighters on the landing on the stairs between the first and second floor.

Dr. Joseph Ohr, forensic pathologist for the Mahoning County Coroner’s Office, said autopsies were done Wednesday and the cause of death appears to be smoke inhalation for all three victims. He said a final determination will be made after toxicology test results are known, which he said would take a couple of weeks.

Fire Chief John O’Neill said a preliminary investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s office did not turn up anything that could be considered suspicious. O’Neill said the fire started between the basement and the first floor.

“They [investigators] narrowed the burn patterns down to that area,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill said the fire spread very quickly and was very intense. He said a city police officer tried to get inside but could not. He said the first crews responded from Station 7 at Madison Avenue and Elm Street within a minute and a half and the fire was already on the verge being out of control in the time it took to respond.

“This thing had some serious headway when we got there,” O’Neill said.

He said he and investigators are very curious as to how the blaze could turn that intense that quickly.

Five firefighters were injured battling the fire, O’Neill said.

Autry said the grandchildren and NaKema slept in an upstairs room. NaKema was found on the top of the second floor by the steps. O’Neill said it appeared the three were trying to get out when they were overcome by the flames and smoke.

Autry and his wife slept downstairs and were able to get outside. Neighbors said they tried to get back inside but could not get past the flames.

Neighbors Carla Saddler, Juan Scott and Elizabeth Gonzalez were watching as investigators examined the ruins. Saddler said she got home from work Tuesday at 11:15 p.m. and when she stepped outside 15 minutes later the house was engulfed in flames.

“The first thing I thought about was the children,” Saddler said.

All three said they could not say enough about the efforts of the firefighters who responded to rescue the people inside. They said they placed ladders against the burning home amidst thick flames and tried to get inside.

“I knew in the intensity of the heat they would get hurt,” Saddler said. “May God bless them and may he heal them. They did a diligent job.”

“They [firefighters] were yelling, ‘Get in there! Get in there!’” Gonzalez said.

“That smoke was so intense, we got sick out here,” Saddler added.

Saddler said the people on the street are close knit, and that was evident Wednesday as neighbors came and comforted Autry including Keith Davis, who has lived next door to Autry and his wife for 17 years.

Davis said his wife called him at work and told him of the blaze and when he got home the house was “in flames.”

O’Neill said firefighters at the scene had a tough job. There was fire on every floor, there were holes in the floor and the roof was on the verge of collapse. He said they did a good job to preserve the home for investigators so they may be able to find a cause instead of letting it burn to the ground, which would make finding a cause harder.

“I’m very proud of the firefighters that were there,” O’Neill said. “It was some of the most extreme conditions they could be put in.”

For Autry and his wife, conditions are extreme now also. Besides having to plan for three funerals, they lost all their possessions.

“I ain’t got nothing,” Autry said. “We lost everything.”

The Red Cross is helping them now, Autry said.

The fire is the first fatal fire in the city this year. Last year, three people, including a child, were killed in a March 31, 2015 fire that was ruled an arson and an elderly man was killed in December in a blaze at his South Side home. That blaze was not suspicious.