W.Va. Officials Sorry for Incorrect Fire Victim Information

Charleston Mayor Danny Jones apologized for misspelling and misidentifying several of the nine victims of a fatal house fire last week.

The spokeswoman for the state medical examiner also apologized for identifying one of the victims as the wrong sex and misspelling the victim's name in a separate news release.

At about 3:25 a.m. on March 24, a blaze broke out at a home on 2 Arlington Ave.

Alisha C. Carter-Camp, 26; Alexander Seals, 27; Keahana A. Carter-Camp, 8; Timothy "BJ" Bryan Carter-Camp, 7; Gabrielle Seals, 5; Jeremiah R. Carter-Camp, 3; Elijah John Scott, 3; McKenzie Seals, 3; and Emmanuel Jones-Isabell, 20 months, all died in the fire.

About 12 hours after the fire was extinguished, Jones held a news conference and issued a release identifying the victims.

The news release, given to reporters at the conference, identified Alexander Seals as "Alex Seal" and misspelled the names of Keahana Carter-Camp and Emmanuel Jones-Isabell. The release did not provide Alexander Seals' age.

The Associated Press, CNN, USA Today and several other national news outlets picked up the story, subsequently providing incorrect information about the victims.

Jones said the mistakes shouldn't have happened.

"We should have done better," Jones said. "What I was worried about, and it was on my mind at the time, was that I knew that boy was going to die. That was on my mind, jumbling it up."

Timothy "BJ" Carter-Camp was at CAMC Women and Children's Hospital clinging to life at the time of the conference. Family members removed him from life support March 25.

The city's news release identified Gabrielle and McKenzie Seals only as "Kiki" and "Gigi" and listed them both as 3 years old. This led many media outlets to conclude the girls were twin sisters. It did not provide a last name for the girls.

The news release also said firefighters discovered nine occupants inside the home after the fire. "7 of the victims were transported" to hospitals for treatment and "6 of them were deceased upon arrival," the news release said.

Only Timothy "BJ" Carter-Camp was transported to the hospital, according to fire investigators.

Jones said someone in the Charleston Fire Department typed the release. It was addressed from the mayor's office and reprinted with the city seal.

Charleston Assistant Fire Chief Bob Sharp said he did not type the release, but defended the mistakes by saying officials were acting on limited, initial information.

"Sometimes early on that's what you have. That was said the day of the fire, it was still very early," Sharp said. "I think the mayor's office was doing its best, it was trying to get you guys [the media] something."

On Thursday, the Medical Examiner's Office concluded autopsies on the victims and issued a separate news release. The release incorrectly identified Gabrielle Seals as a boy and misspelled her name as "Gaberial."

Medical Examiner's spokeswoman Marsha Dadisman said family members, and in one instance a funeral home, provided the spellings of the victims' names.

Corrections were immediately issued when examiners looked at the correct spelling on birth certificates.

"We have a lot of resources at our disposal and we have to make sure all resources are accurate," she said.

Dadisman said the mislabeling of Gabrielle Seals' sex was a typo and called it a "horrible, horrible mistake."

She's been on her "soapbox" reminding examiners to fact-check all information before it's released, she said.

"We are a reliable source. If not, then our credibility is blown," she said.

Copyright 2012 Charleston Newspapers