Retired CT Fire Marshal Reflects On His Heroes

STAMFORD, CT — During his 40 years with the city’s fire department, Charles Spaulding said the relationships he forged were the most rewarding.

But it was the person he never met who may have inspired him the most.

Spaulding, who retired last week as Stamford’s chief fire marshal, has kept a picture on his desk of David Austin, who was the city’s first black firefighter when he was hired in 1955.

After seeing a job ad posted on a bulletin board when he was coaching a basketball game at the Yerwood Center, Spaulding was among 12 black firefighter recruits who joined the department in 1979.

Spaulding, a 63-year-old Norwalk native, credits Austin for opening the door for black firefighters in Stamford. However, blacks still remain a small portion — 17 out of 250 members — of Stamford’s department.

In addition to Austin, there was another person Spaulding never met who inspired him.

Spaulding considers Lomer Johnson a hero whose actions have influenced the department’s training programs on how to survive a blaze.

Johnson, who valiantly tried to save his wife and three granddaughters during Stamford’s infamous 2011 Christmas fire, inspired Spaulding to create the play, “Surviving a Fire,” which was performed at city elementary schools.

“The heroism of Lomer Johnson, I will never forget. That is where I got the idea of ‘Surviving the Fire.’ He did it,” Spaulding said. “He knew how to stay low and that the fresh air was on the floor, and knew to go to the window. We found out when we told these children what to do, they didn’t panic. And we know that when people don’t panic they survive.”

Johnson, his wife, Pauline, and their granddaughters, Lily, 9, and 7-year-old twins, Sarah and Grace, died in the Shippan fire.

The home, owned by Johnson’s daughter, Madonna Badger, was under construction and did not have working smoke detectors. Spaulding said Johnson, his wife and Lily woke to the fire while sleeping on the second floor. Spaulding said Johnson navigated through the fire and smoke to the third floor where Sarah and Grace were sleeping.

Spaulding said Johnson could not find Grace, but he brought Sarah to the second floor and nearly made it out of the house. But Spaulding said Johnson slipped on a construction tarp and slammed his head on a rafter. The medical examiner’s report said Johnson died of blunt force trauma to the head. Sarah was found dead by the window and Pauline and Lily were found on the second-floor landing, while Grace was located in a third-floor bedroom. They died of smoke inhalation.

Spaulding has tried to use the tragedy as a teaching opportunity. In addition to the play for children, Spaulding has installed hundreds of free smoke detectors in homes since the fatal Christmas blaze through a partnership with the Red Cross, Stamford Firefighters Local 786 Burn Foundation and the Stamford Fire Safety Foundation.

“His focus as fire marshal has been providing for the safety of residents, making fire prevention a priority,” Stamford’s Public Safety Director Ted Jankowski said. “During his tenure, he ensured that new construction and renovations were in compliance with the fire code; that children and adults learned proper fire safety through education and that illegal housing and hoarding were addressed properly. Charles has had an exceptional career with a dedication, devotion, and commitment to excellence. His commitment to work and his invaluable experience will be missed in the Fire Marshal’s Office.”

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©2018 The Advocate (Stamford, Conn.)

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