Burning Altar Blamed for Deadly Norwich, CT, Fire

Oct. 9—NORWICH — A "makeshift altar" of candles and incense that a Norwich mother left burning inside her apartment likely caused a fire in April that killed the mother, Carmen Vizcaino, and her 8-year-old daughter, Skylynn Owens, the investigation into the fire determined.

The Norwich Fire Marshal's Office report concluded the fire at the home on Otis Street was "accidental in nature," and the result of "unattended lit candles and/or incense left burning" on the altar.

The fire spread to other nearby "combustibles" in the small office space in the back of the kitchen where the altar was located, Deputy Fire Marshal Ryan J. Southworth wrote in the report. The fire advanced inside the room and eventually caused glass to fall in the windows, Southworth wrote. That let in air and "led to rapid and intense fire development," he wrote.

The report said the fire was able to travel vertically from the second-floor apartment where it began into the third floor. The fire also spread to the first floor due to the "balloon-frame" structure being compromised, the report said, referring to an older homebuilding technique in which long pieces of vertical framing stretch from the foundation to the roofline.

The report stated no "anomalies" were found in the wiring and electrical outlets in the office space, and no other "heat-producing objects" were found in the area where the fire started.

Vizcaino, 44, and her daughter were both killed in the April 10 fire, fire officials said.

Firefighters were called to the scene by a 911 call that came in at 12:57 a.m., officials said at the time. The dispatch went out at 12:58 a.m., with the East Great Plain Fire Department first to arrive at 1:08 a.m.

A malfunction in the local dispatch system delayed the Norwich Fire Department by four or five minutes, officials said at the time.

Firefighters learned there were two people unaccounted for on the second floor of the three-family home, fire officials said. They could not be located by first responders as fire and smoke engulfed the home.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries in the fire, which displaced six people.

Vizcaino's brother, Pedro Vizcaino, said in an interview with CT Insider that he'd convinced his sister to move to eastern Connecticut from their native borough of the Bronx, N.Y. She moved to the area a few years ago, when her daughter was 2, he said.

He described his sister as someone who would help whoever she could, and as quiet and loving.

"She loved life. She loved engaging with people," he said.

Skylynn "was like a little angel," Pedro Vizcaino said. "Very quiet, very loving. She was a hugger and a very sweet little girl."

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