Three Conn. Firefighters Injured in Deck Collapse

ENFIELD, Conn. -- As fire investigators worked at 50 Hassmar Road Thursday afternoon, friends and neighbors remembered 13-year-old Hope Hartnett, who died in the fast-moving blaze that consumed her family's home late Wednesday.

Hope was home with her mother, Grace Hart, and her mother's boyfriend when the fire was reported at 11:26 p.m.

Her father, Michael Hart, who was at his father's house across Shaker Pines Lake, dashed to the burning house and tried in vain to rescue his daughter. The thick black smoke and ferocious flames forced him back, but he didn't stop trying to rescue Hope until an Enfield police officer grabbed him and pulled him away, neighbors said.

"She was the most important thing in my life and I love her uncontrollably," Michael Hart said Thursday.

Grace Hart and her boyfriend were able to escape the flames.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation Thursday, although Chief Charlie Macsata of the Shaker Pines Fire Department said it did not appear to be suspicious.

During the day Thursday, children placed a memorial of flowers and a blue stuffed elephant in front of the Hart house, and later that evening, hundreds attended a vigil at the house to remember Hope.

Neighbors reported seeing flames coming from a corner of the house, and that they grew quickly. One neighbor said the house was engulfed in five minutes.

"Get my daughter out, get my daughter out," neighbors said they heard Grace Hart screaming. When firefighters arrived a few minutes later they made several attempts to enter the house but were driven back by the intense heat.

"It just became really intense really fast," neighbor Karl Friedl said. "You're just talking minutes."

When Hope was not immediately accounted for, neighbors said they hoped she was sleeping at a friend's house or had run off.

"You were just praying she'd come out or she wasn't there," Dawn Friedl said.

Mark Morin, who lives next door, said flames were pouring from all the windows of the house. The siding on his own house melted from the fire,

"Mike, the father, and the mother's boyfriend, they ran up on the porch there, trying to get in," Morin said. "They tried their hardest. There was nothing they could do. They couldn't get in there." That's when the police officer, who also tried to get into the house, pulled Mike Hart away, Morin said.

Three firefighters were hurt when a deck on the house collapsed. A team of firefighters had been trying to get a hose into the house, but kept getting pushed back by the heat. When they were joined by reinforcements, the deck collapsed, Macsata said. The injured firefighters were taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, treated and released.

Macsata said Hope was found in her bedroom. Neighbors said she was with her dog.

The Shaker Pines Lake neighborhood was devastated by the news of Hope's death. Neighbors described her as a sweet young girl who had a beautiful singing voice and who would stand up to those who picked on her friends.

Neighbors described Shaker Pines Lake as a throwback to the 1950s. Kids wander all over, everyone knows their neighbors and adults keep an eye on all the kids. And when a family is in a bind, neighbors quietly step up. There's already a fund drive planned to help pay for Hope's funeral costs.

The Shaker Pines Lake Association hosts fishing derbies, block parties, a Halloween party, a Christmas party, a food drive and other events. Hope was a regular presence at those neighborhood events, neighbors said.

"She was kind to everybody," said 13-year-old Jenna Thibodeau, who was Hope's best friend. "She was a caring person. Whenever someone was feeling down, she'd be there to cheer you up."

"She's kind and caring and everybody around the lake loved her," added Evan Thibodeau, 11, Jenna's younger brother.

"She was a good kid, full of life," said Hope's uncle, Pat Hart. "She loved this lake. If she wasn't in the lake, she was on the lake fishing. She loved fishing."

Jessee Dabrea, a longtime friend who is working to raise money to aid the family, said Hope would always sing to her friends. Her favorite song to sing was "If I Die Young" by the country group Band Perry. She described Hope as "silly" and "always positive."

She said Hope's brother, Nicholas Hartnett, is in the Air Force at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. He was headed home on Thursday, Dabrea said.

Enfield School Superintendent Jeffrey A. Schumann said a counseling center was set up in the library at John F. Kennedy Middle School, where Hope was a student. Counselors from Enfield's youth service bureau were in the neighborhood Thursday to help Hope's many friends.

State and local fire marshals and Enfield police are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact Enfield Det. Jim Chamberland at 860-763-8934 or [email protected].

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