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The way that car is situated makes it look like a real challenge to back out and around from the garage. I can imagine an oversteer that caused the front of the car to hit a work bench on the house-side wall. That could have upset some flammable materials onto some kind of ignition source. That would then be the car's only role in starting the fire.

But that leaves the question of why the door was closed and raises the question of why this anti-freeze-headlight theory was put forward by the authorities. Fire investigators for fire departments are usually pretty good and it shouldn't be that hard to find the ignition point and the initial accelerant.

One possibility I overlooked for a stairway and entry into the garage would be from the basement level up to the garage. But the entry door on that stoop would seem to rule that out. The headroom for that stairway would impinge on what we've been calling a mudroom behind the door on that stoop.

If we are right about there being no entry into the house from the garage, I would bet they had a garage door opener. If she opened the garage from the back porch before going outside it would almost eliminate the garage door as a factor in the start of the fire (enclosed space with vapors or crashing into the door).

Questions which have not been answered:

Was the engine running or was the key in the ‘on’ position.
Was the van in park, reverse or drive.

The position of her body would be very important. Was she sitting upright? Was she turned to the door in a way that showed she was trying to get it open? Did she try to get to the passenger door?

It is hard to put myself in the horror of those minutes, but I would think that if I could not open the doors or the windows I would get as far away from the flames as I could—I would try to get in the very back.

If she was upright in a normal position does that mean she panicked or was already unconscious? Did she even have an opportunity to react?

Questions no one has the answer to outside of the investigators. I wonder if we will ever know.

Bringing you up to date on thinking about a "door" ~ how about a coal chute!

This house was built in 1908. The "garage" may have been built later in the 1920s when the house was upgraded to CENTRAL coal fired heating. That required a greater use of coal than the older pot belly stove systems. People began getting large deliveries and needed a place for the coal ~ so they dug basements, put in the heating systems and took delivery in a covered, enclosed shelter in the back.

The coal chute has to be somewhere ~ may have been covered over but with certainty it exists ~ they are difficult to REMOVE so folks just left them in place.