Christmas Fire in Connecticut Kills 5
ALLEN: We are now hearing the 911 calls as fire raced through a home in Connecticut Christmas morning. That fire killed five people, three children -- three girls, and their grandparents, and all while a frantic mother tried to save them. Here's Deborah Feyerick.</s>DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As fire raced through the Victorian home just before dawn Christmas morning, neighbors frantically called 911.</s>DISPATCHER: Stamford, 911, what's the address?</s>CALLER: There's a huge fire right next to us. The whole house is on fire.</s>DISPATCHER: What is the address ma'am?</s>CALLER: We're at 2241 Shippan Avenue. It's the house next door. A major fire and there's three kids and a woman.</s>FEYERICK: Trapped inside the Stamford, Connecticut, home, grandparents, Lomer and Paula Johnson, and their three granddaughters, 10-year-old Lily and 7-year-old twins, Grace and Sarah.</s>CALLER: I was calling about a major, major fire with people in the house.</s>DISPATCHER: We have the fire department on the way, ma'am.</s>CALLER: Please, come quickly.</s>FEYERICK: The house was under renovation. It appears fireplace embers placed in an outdoor trash enclosure near the home ignited the blaze. Mom, Madonna Badger, managed to climb out onto scaffolding, frantically directing firefighters to the third floor, where she said her children were sleeping.</s>ANTONIO CONTE, ACTING CHIEF, STAMFORD FIRE DEPARTMENT: The crew pushed through two rooms unable to find the children. They were pushed back by the intense heat and flames.</s>FEYERICK: Grabbing two of the frightened girls, family friend Michael Borcena, seen here on his Facebook page, reached the second floor.</s>CONTE: The heat drove him to get separated and it looked like one went back upstairs and another one was found with the grandmother.</s>FEYERICK: Grandfather, Lomar Johnson, had spent Christmas Eve playing Santa at Manhattan's Saks Fifth Avenue. He managed to lead one of his granddaughters to the back of the house and climb onto the roof, then died before he could pull her to safety.</s>CONTE: Just inside of the window he came out of, we found one of the young children. I guess there were a pile of books. Looks like she was placed on the books.</s>FEYERICK: The mother, a successful marketing executive, is said to be in shock. She was taken from the scene sobbing, "My whole life is in that house."</s>CONTE: When you don't make that rescue, then you failed. I don't think anybody wants to fail.</s>FEYERICK (on camera): Investigators continue to search for answers but it appears that the home did not have smoke detectors or a fire alarm system. Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.