Dad Heard Daughters' Cries, But Heat, Flames Blocked Rescue Attempt in WI
Source La Crosse Tribune
Ed Hoskin
Alerted to the fire by his daughters' cries for help from an upstairs bedroom, Jeromy Wikstrom came out of a downstairs living room where he had been watching TV and tried to make it up the stairs.
Intense heat and fire blocked Wikstrom's way, and try as he might, he could not reach his daughters. The two sisters, Naomi, 4 and Celeste, 2, were eventually pulled out of the home by firefighters, but they later died at local hospitals.
"The heat and the fire was too intense, and it backed him down the stairway, and that's when he called 911," said Jeff Brohmer, division chief of inspections at the La Crosse Fire Department. "He (had) heard the children crying out for help ... making a lot of noise upstairs."
Smoke alarms at the home did not contain batteries when fire broke out Friday morning, Brohmer said in an interview with reporters Wednesday. Investigators believe the fire started with the sisters playing with matches.
Because smoke alarms are required in all residential properties, a $278 citation was issued Tuesday to the owner of the home at 1008 State St., Steve Eide.
However, Eide maintains the smoke alarms worked when the family moved in last fall, and Brohmer wouldn't comment on what Wikstrom had said.
"Finger pointing at this time would not be helpful to anyone, and it would be speculation to some extent on exactly what transpired," Brohmer said. "But again, from we what determined through our interview process, we determined that (Eide) should be the one (to) be cited," Brohmer said.
A tenant of an apartment at the back of the property, Jane Swanson, also received a citation after telling investigators she removed a battery from a smoke alarm because it kept sounding when she was cooking, Brohmer said.
Intense heat and fire caused heavy damage to a second-floor bedroom where the fire started.
The fire investigation will not result in criminal charges, according to the La Crosse Police Department.
Many electrical code violations were found in the property, but they did not contribute to the fire, said Ken Dentice, inspections director for the city of La Crosse.
The origin of the fire was at the top of the stairs, where there was "clothing, a box, some things like that," Brohmer said. The nearest smoke alarm, though inoperable, was about 15 feet away, he said.
The fire spread rapidly, helped by the combustibles at the top of the stairs and a low ceiling that "held heat in," Brohmer said. The remains of two or three smoke alarms were found in the home, all without batteries, Brohmer said.
"We need to have (working) smoke alarms in residential properties so we don't have these tragedies," Brohmer said. He wouldn't say whether it might have made a difference in the State Street fire, but "what would have made a difference in this fire would have been a residential sprinkler system."
On smoke alarms, which should be placed on every floor level and tested monthly, Brohmer said: "(They) have saved hundreds of lives across this country for the last number of years. Working smoke alarms greatly increase your chances of escaping a home that is on fire.
"Leaving ignition devices in the hands of young children (also) is asking for trouble," Brohmer said.
About five years ago, the fire department drew up a landlord and tenant agreement form in which smoke alarms can be tested when a tenant moves in. Though the forms aren't mandatory, the tenant then assumes responsibility for informing a landlord when a smoke alarm stops working or needs a new battery.
Eide was unable to produce such a form, Brohmer said. "We did fax him one (Tuesday)," he added.
The emotional toll of the fire didn't just affect the family of the victims, but the firefighters who responded, Brohmer said.
"Everyone's feeling pretty bad yet," Brohmer said. "Anytime you lose anyone in a fire, especially kids, it really, really affects us. And we'll be feeling this for quite a while."
