Triplets Dead in Trailer Home Fire

www.newsday.com ^ | March 24, 2004 | William Kates

[FR_addict]

ELBRIDGE, N.Y. -- Despite rescue attempts by neighbors, a set of 4-year-old triplets died early Wednesday when a fast-moving fire destroyed the mobile home they lived in, authorities said.

One neighbor was able to pull an 8-year-old sibling from the burning trailer, but not before she was critically injured by the flames and smoke. A 15-year-old sister watching the younger children was able to escape with only minor injuries.

"There wasn't much I could do," said neighbor Andy Keegan, who cut his hand breaking a window to rescue 8-year-old Tamarah Houghton. "I could only get one of them. It hurts to think about it."

State police identified the triplets as Paige, Alex and Allen Hendershot. One of the triplets was found in the front of the trailer, while the other two were found in a rear bedroom, said Lt. Erwin Brandl.

"It doesn't appear there was much of a chance" for the younger children to escape, Brandl said at a news conference in front of the burned-out structure.

The 8-year-old, too, would have likely perished in the fire if not for Keegan, Brandl said.

The blaze at the Rolling Hills Mobile Home Park, about 15 miles west of Syracuse, was reported around 12:10 a.m.

The children's mother, Teri Carson, 37, was visiting a friend and not home at the time of the fire.

"She's a good mom. She was very protective of her children. She didn't allow any other children in the house when she wasn't there," said Jennifer Davis, a substitute elementary school teacher who taught Tamarah on several occasions when the family lived in nearby Jordan.

Brandl said Carson's 15-year-old daughter, Lori Carson, was watching the children when the flames broke out. All five children were sleeping when the blaze started, he said.

"She awakened to the flames and made an attempt to reach her siblings but couldn't. The fire was too intense," Brandl said.

Lori Carson escaped and alerted Keegan, who rushed across the street and pulled Houghton out of the burning home through a window. Authorities said several neighbors reported the fire.

"The whole trailer was in flames. Andy went in once but when we tried going back in, it was impossible," said John Hackett, another neighbor.

State trooper David Rottger also was injured trying to enter the burning trailer, Brandl said.

Hackett was still at the scene when Teri Carson arrived.

"She just collapsed, screaming, `My babies! My babies!"' Hackett said. "I can't imagine the pain she's feeling."

Teri Carson was at the hospital and could not be reached for comment. Brandl could not say whether any charges would be brought against her.

Brandl said firefighters had not determined a cause of the fire but that it did not appear suspicious. Investigators said the fire started in the bathroom area of the home next to the trailer's furnace.

Brandl said Agway visited the trailer twice Tuesday for furnace problems, but authorities were still investigating whether it played a part in the fire.

Teri Carson moved with her five children to the trailer park last summer from nearby Jordan, according to neighbors. The triplets' father, Michael Hendershot, lives in Weedsport, in neighboring Cayuga County, officials said.

"There was nothing unusual about them," said the Rev. Michael Thurber, whose trailer sits less than 15 feet away from Carson's.

"She was a single mom who worked. We'd see the kids outside playing. They were never a problem," said Thurber.

Thurber was sleeping Tuesday night when he awoke to "bangs and yelling."

"I though people were arguing. But when I went outside I could see the glow of the flames and the smoke," he said.

Thurber said "within 30 seconds billowing flames swept from the front to the back of the trailer."

"I didn't know the kids were inside until I saw people trying to get them out. There was nothing they could do. It's an old trailer made of dried-up wood. It's like kindling wood on wheels," he said.

[FR_addict]

Triplets die in fire at Elbridge home

http://www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/news-0/108020865564161.xml

Fatal Fire Investigation

http://www.wixt.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=74AF242F-F194-4A6C-AC10-4BFA2E9AF1DC

Triplets dead in trailer home fire

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--tripletskilled0324mar24,0,2839112,print.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

Neighbors, strangers honor triplets

http://www.syracuse.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1080296774127720.xml?syrneoswe

Candlelight vigil planned for children who died in Elbridge fire

http://www.syracuse.com/search/index.ssf?/base/evening-0/1080248100282900.xml?syreeeve

Rescuer regrets that he couldn't save them all

http://www.syracuse.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/108020854664160.xml?syrnesreg

This is a terrible tragedy. I met the triplets when they were about 18 months old. They were beautiful. The child in the hospital is still in critical condition. The mother isn't doing well and also has cancer.

[basil]

Prayers going up for this family. This is one of the saddest things I have read in a long time.

[Johnny Gage]

Rescuer regrets that he couldn't save them all

I can imagine how this person feels.

Prayers for all the folks involved in this heartbreaking tragedy.

[FR_addict]

The mother in this story who lost her children is my son's wife's family.

[xJones]

The mother in this story who lost her children is my son's wife's family.

I'm terribly sorry, this is horrible. Prayers for the mother, the critically injured 8 year-old, and the 15 year-old sister.

[FR_addict]

I meant to say my son's wife's sister. The children are my grandchild's cousins. She is the same age as the triplets who died.

[FR_addict]

Ping.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

Prayers.

[JudyB1938]

Please let that poor mama know that there are many of us across the nation grieving right along with her for her babies. She and her older daughter are going to need you and the rest of her family so much. God bless you. I know you will help be their strength. Also, I pray that God will relieve the pain of the other child. Poor little thing.

[Pegita]

Heavenly Father, we return to give You thanks that we can weep with this family ... this tragedy is so overwhelming, O God, that we can do nothing but pray that Your Presence will somewhat diminish the agony for each one in this family, and for those who tried to rescue, and for those who had to stand by helpless. Knit this community in an outpouring of love and support, for surely this burden cannot be borne alone. May You provide supernatural strength to this devastated mom and children ... replace the horror of the moment with knowledge that these three young children are forever in Your Presence. May Your healing hand be upon the injured and the heartbroken ... in the Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen ...

[muskogee]

I wrote a poem for the triplets:

Like beautiful flowers,
only much more than flowers and more beautiful too.
If only they could live long,
happy lives and linger in our company just a little bit more.
Here, by our side, holding our hands, playing,
looking into our eyes, maybe even forever.
That is when we see something different than just a flower.
We see the soul
and then we notice how fragile
and temporary the body is that contains it.
And then we know that forever is not here,
on this earth.
It is with the One who gave these precious gifts to us.

[FR_addict]

Thank you for the beautiful poem. I'm sure the mother would love it.

[lakey]

Merciful Lord, please bless and heal this child, Tamarah.

[sweetliberty]

"Brandl could not say whether any charges would be brought against her."

What charges? Allowing a 15 year old to babysit? I was babysitting when I was 11.

[FR_addict]

The police have to check everything out. I'm sure there won't be any charges.

Whenever a tragedy like this happens we all look for a reason. The police are no different and they would be derelict if they didn't consider all possibilities. But like you said, 15 years old is certainly old enough to babysit.

The mother evidently called the furnace people out twice that day, but I don't know whether it was on or off that night. There evidently was a space heater on. It was the type that turned off automatically if it was tipped over.

I haven't heard about the wiring. Since it was an old trailer, I've been wondering about that. There were also smoke detectors. I haven't heard whether they were working, but that might have been what woke the older child, who evidently was sleeping on the couch in the living room.

And on top of all this, the mother has cancer. I hear she is in shock. I don't live in the state, so I am not able to see how the child in the hospital is, but it sounds like she will live. She will need skin grafts and I hope her eyes will be okay, but they were burnt also. Even though she is in critical condition, the staff feels very hopeful in her case.

[petercooper]

Sad

[sweetliberty]

It is a horrible tragedy. Prayers for the family. I can't imagine the pain they are suffering.

[kimmie7]

How terrible. I will certainly pray for this family. I can't imagine....

my little boy is 4 and I'd simply die without him. The poor mother.

I'll be praying...

[iowamomforfreedom]

Prayers from me as well. How unbelievably awful.

I agree it will take a supportive community to help this poor family. I suspect they will find it. I know nothing about Elbridge, but that's the way it is here in the heartland.

This is just so heartbreaking.

[FR_addict]

Thanks for all the kind thoughts. Update on the fire:

Investigators look for cause of fire that killed triplets

The Associated Press
3/26/2004, 4:23 p.m. ET

ELBRIDGE, N.Y. (AP) -- Investigators took a new focus Friday into what caused a fire that swept through a mobile home, killing a set of 4-year-old triplets.

An electrical expert was brought in by state police to test appliances and wiring samples taken from the burned-out trailer where triplets Paige, Alex and Allen Hendershot died early Wednesday morning.

A faulty furnace also remains a possible cause of the fire that also left the triplets' 8-year-old sister critically injured. Tamarah Houghton, who was pulled from the burning trailer by a neighbor, remained in critical condition Friday at University Hospital in Syracuse.

Investigators previously determined the fire started in the bathroom area near the furnace.

"We know the where. Now, we need to know the what," said state police Senior Investigator Norman Ashbarry.

It could be weeks before the cause is known, investigators said.

Lori Carson, 15, who was watching her younger siblings, was able to escape with only minor injuries. Authorities said she was awakened by the flames and smoke, but the fire blocked her from reaching her sleeping siblings.

The children's mother, Teri Carson, 37, was visiting a friend and not home at the time.

On Thursday night, about 100 people gathered in a small field near the charred trailer for a candlelight vigil to offer prayers and words of comfort to the family, and each other.

"They expressed themselves as 4-year-olds, with humor and genuine feeling. Their love was always unconditional. This is their legacy," said the Rev. Mike Grinnals, pastor of Camillus First United Methodist Church.

"It's a closure, and respect for the family, to show that we care," said Angela Ingerson, who helped organize the tribute.

A memorial fund also has been established for the family and further tributes to the youngsters are planned.

"We're in the process of building a playground dedicated to the children who were lost in the fire," said Thom DiFant, who manages the park.

"It will be in the commons area, directly across from the trailer that burned, and will be named for them," he said. "Those children were beautiful. The deaths had a real impact here. We are a small park with 87 units, so it's a pretty close-knit group."

Funeral services for the triplets were scheduled for Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Weedsport.