HYANNIS - Savvas Yianasmidis may have died after dashing back into a burning shed to retrieve his laptop computer, according to a family member of one of other two boys involved in Monday's tragic fire.
“As he ran back in, the first explosion went off,” the family member said.
The 8-year-old Hyannis West Elementary School student was killed in the fire that quickly consumed the shed behind his home at 252 Hinckley Road.
He was in the 8-by-12-foot shed playing on the laptop with two friends when the fire broke out, according to Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe.
Firefighters were called to the house at about 5:30 p.m., according to Hyannis Fire Chief Harold Brunelle.
Although neighbors tried to put out the fire and save Savvas, the heat made it impossible.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation but there are indications that gasoline for a lawn mower was stored in the shed and that at least one of the boys was playing with a lighter, according to a statement released by O'Keefe and state Fire Marshal Stephen Coan.
On Monday, Coan called the fire a “tragic accident” that is not considered suspicious.
Neighbors stood in their yards today or walked by the home, stopping to greet each other with the latest updates.
Joe Coelho said the boy's mother, whom neighbors identified as Teona, would often deliver baked goods to other people in the neighborhood and took her children to the bus every morning.
“Always, she takes care of the kids well,” he said.
Ray Melendez, who lives a short distance from the fire scene, said Savvas' mother had been in his home earlier Monday.
“She came over with a cherry pie,” he said, adding that she seemed in good spirits and is known as a neat person who takes good care of her yard.
John Aguiar, of Dennis, who was watching his son next door when he heard a boom, said he saw two children running from the area shouting an expletive.
When he ran toward the shed, the heat knocked him back and then there was a second explosion, Aguiar said.
Savvas' mother pushed him toward the shed, saying her son was still inside. But he couldn't get any closer because of the heat, Aguiar said. He and another man were unable to put out the fire using garden hoses, he said.
Savvas was a “great kid” and his mother was always with him, Aguiar said. She was attentive and always playing with him, he said, even teaching him to ride a bike.
Kyle Mugford, of Bourne, said he used to live in the quiet neighborhood and came down today to see what had happened.
Mugford said he used to see Savvas playing in the area and was friends with the older brother of one of the other boys.
He knew Savvas as an outgoing boy.
“He got along with everyone pretty good,” Mugford said.
It was a somber morning today at Hyannis West Elementary School, where Savvas attended third grade. As teachers and administrators arrived at around 8 a.m., they embraced one another in the lobby, some of them teary.
Barnstable police Officer Brian Morrison and Hyannis Fire Lt. Norman Sylvester spoke to Savvas' class to tell them that a student at the school had died.
Principal Kathi Amato said her last memory of Savvas was calling him down to say the Pledge of Allegiance over the loudspeaker. He had attended the school since kindergarten but on that day she asked him how to pronounce his last name.
Wearing a sly smile he said, “It's a secret. I don't want to tell you,'” Amato said, grateful to have a memory of him making her laugh. She described him as a kind boy who was always looking to make friends.
In addition to the school psychologist and counselor on staff at the school, five district counselors were brought in to speak with any children who looked as if they wanted to talk about it, Amato said. She wanted to leave it up to parents to discuss what had happened.
The school sent home a letter to parents about the tragedy and teachers were briefed at an early morning meeting on how to handle any difficult discussions in the classrooms, Amato said.
“I feel like the support's in place,” she said this morning. “The district really comes together at times like this.”
The two boys who survived the fire are also students at Hyannis West, Barnstable Superintendent Mary Czajkowski said.
“Obviously it's a very tragic and horrific incident,” she said.
They both came in with their mothers today and met with grief counselors, she said.
One of them went home with his mother after seeing the counselor, while the other attempted to get through the day but couldn't, Czajkowski said.
While no memorial plans have been made public, the superintendent said she would be speaking with the family and anticipated getting more information.
Barnstable police told Czajkowski at around 6:15 p.m. Monday a student had died in the fire, she said. She immediately began organizing a staff meeting and grief counseling for the next day.
“I appreciate the efforts of our police department as well as our fire department and informing us about the incident early,” said Czajkowski. “It helped with the planning and getting staff in place.”
The fire department called a critical incident stress management team to the scene to debrief firefighters, police and other responders, Brunelle said, adding that the team would conduct a follow-up Thursday.
“It's not easy to say you're being affected by something,” he said about the bravado that police and fire often exhibit. “It weighs on you over time.”
Fr. Peter Giannakopoulos of St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Cape Cod in Centerville said he was called to the boy's home at about 8:30 p.m. Monday.
Several family members were there, including the boy's mother and father, Giannakopoulos said. Savvas' father, Chris Yianasmidis, owns the house but lives in Milton, according to assessor's records and neighbors.
The mother could hear the boys playing from the house before the fire, Giannakopoulos said.
“It was too sudden and she was helpless,” he said. “All of a sudden she heard the boom and thought it was a gunshot.”
Giannakopoulos and family members performed a service over the body before the coroner took him away, the priest said, adding that Savvas' parents couldn't bear to be present.
“Things like that are just too painful,” he said. “People are in disarray mentally and emotionally. You have a child and suddenly he is gone.”
Follow Patrick Cassidy on Twitter: @PCassidyCCT. Follow Haven Orecchio-Egresitz on Twitter: @HavenCCT.
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