The deaths of homeowners Don Pyle, 56, Sandra Pyle, 63, and four of their grandchildren — Alexis Boone, 8; Kaitlyn Boone, 7; Charlotte Boone, 8; and Wesley Boone, 6 — have been deemed accidental, said Bruce Goldfarb, spokesman for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The full autopsy reports will be completed in 60 to 90 days, said Dr. David R. Fowler, the chief medical examiner.
Through a spokeswoman, the Pyle and Boone families declined to comment on the medical examiner's findings.
The Pyles and their grandchildren died in the early hours of Jan. 19, when the Pyles' 16,000-square-foont waterfront home on Childs Point Road burned to the ground. A preliminary investigation determined the blaze was caused by a faulty electrical outlet that ignited materials in the home's great room, including a 15-foot-tall Christmas tree.
The outlet generated heat that started the fire, said Capt. Russ Davies, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. Davies said Monday that the tree's Christmas lights were on and plugged into the outlet, but he said anything plugged in there could have triggered the fire — even a cellphone charger.
"It's just the worst possible scenario in that outlet, in that area, at that time of day," he said.
Davies said the blaze serves as a warning that items susceptible to fire should be kept away from outlets in use. An example, he said, is a bed pushed against an outlet used for lamps or alarm clocks.
"If you walk around your house, you'll find at least one spot where there's combustibles near an outlet," he said.
Davies said the work of Anne Arundel investigators is "conclusive" that the faulty outlet sparked the fire, though the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is continuing its investigation of the blaze. The ATF was brought in to assist because of the size of the home, which investigators said is more akin to a church or commercial building than a typical residential home.
The ATF's work is concentrating on the Christmas tree, which was cut down 65 days before the fire. The Pyles put the tree up in their home 42 days before the fire, said Special Agent Dave Cheplak, spokesman for the ATF's Baltimore field office.
Investigators have acquired three Fraser firs from the same place where the Pyles obtained their tree. They plan to keep the trees in the same condition as the Pyles' tree and ignite them in an effort to re-create the fire at the ATF's Fire Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Cheplak said.
Davies said the ATF's work is being done with education and research in mind.
Arundel officials said that since the fire, the department has been inundated with calls from families seeking help in crafting fire escape plans, and from elderly residents needing assistance installing smoke detectors.
"This fire on Childs Point Road has really opened up a sense of vulnerability in people," Davies said. "This truly is something that could have happened in any home in Anne Arundel County."
"Everybody I run into — this is on their mind," said Fire Department educator Sharon New. "This is a teachable moment."
New said she tells families to create a fire escape plan by drawing a diagram of their home, including each story, door, window and the location of all smoke alarms. Families should practice different escape routes to prepare for a situation in which doors might be blocked, she said.
"Then you practice, practice, practice," New said. "You really want to create that rote muscle memory."
Families should establish a safe meeting place outside of the home, New said.
Families should make sure they have working smoke detectors in each bedroom and in hallways, she said.
Officials have said the Pyle home had smoke detectors but not sprinklers. Sprinklers were not required when the home was built in 2005, but Anne Arundel County passed legislation in 2009 requiring sprinklers in all new homes. In June, a similar law will become effective statewide.
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