STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — It appears that one of the victims of the Christmas Day fire in Stamford, Conn., died while trying to rescue one of his granddaughters.
The mayor of Stamford says Lomer Johnson was found outside the home, on the roof of a small porch off a bedroom. He says Johnson may have been trying to reach his granddaughter, or was leading her out.
Johnson, his wife and their three granddaughters died in the fire. His daughter, New York advertising executive Madonna Badger, and a male acquaintance escaped.
Johnson had worked as a department store Santa Claus in New York this season after a long career as a safety chief at a Kentucky liquor maker. A former company executive says Johnson "spent his career trying to keep others safe."
Investigators today are expected to reveal the cause of the fire. But the mayor says it appears to be related to a fireplace in the home.
He says a rescue team was able to get into the house as it burned, but they weren't able to stay because the fire was so intense and spread so quickly.
A retired fire captain says the fire department is now arranging crisis intervention for the firefighters who battled the blaze.
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159-c-13-(John Christoffersen, AP correspondent)-"cause of death"-AP correspondent John Christoffersen reports Stamford's mayor says the family's grandfather tried to escape. (27 Dec 2011)
<<CUT *159 (12/27/11)>> 00:13 "cause of death"
158-c-08-(John Christoffersen, AP correspondent)-"at this time"-AP correspondent John Christoffersen reports the cause of a Christmas Day blaze that killed three children and their grandparents in Connecticut may have been an accident. (27 Dec 2011)
<<CUT *158 (12/27/11)>> 00:08 "at this time"
APPHOTO CTTF109: Flowers and a hand-drawn picture are part of a memorial in front of the property where Madonna Badger's house burned Christmas morning, killing her three children and her parents, in Stamford, Conn. Monday Dec. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg) (26 Dec 2011)
<<APPHOTO CTTF109 (12/26/11)>>
APPHOTO CTTF101: Rubble left after the demolition of a house where a fire left five people dead Christmas Day lies on the ground, Monday, Dec. 26, 2011, in Stamford, Conn. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg) (26 Dec 2011)
<<APPHOTO CTTF101 (12/26/11)>>
