- Author
-
David, J.
- Title
- Seven-Fatality Christmas Tree Fire, Canton, Michigan, December 22, 1990. USFA Fire Investigation Technical Report Series.
- Coporate
- TriData Corp., Arlington, VA
- Sponsor
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC
- Report
-
Report 046
1991
24 p.
- Contract
- EMW-90-C-3338
- Keywords
-
fire investigations
|
residential buildings
|
death
|
lighting equipment
|
evacuation
|
smoke detectors
- Identifiers
- Dell'Orco home, Canton, Michigan, December 22, 1990; holidays
- Abstract
- On December 22, 1990 at approximately 11:10 p.m. a Christmas tree fire originated in the family room of the Dell'Orco home. The father, in the family room at the time of the fire, made futile attempts to remove the burning tree from the house. The mother called the fire department and removed one child. They escaped, with injuries. She tried to re-enter the home but could not because of heavy smoke and heat. The father abandoned the burning tree removal and attempted to rescue six of his children still in the home. The fire took the lives of the father and all six children. A Christmas tree fire can develop and spread throughout an entire home almost instantaneously. In this fire, the tree was dry, and over-heated or defective lights provided the ignition source. The fire reached overwhelming proportions at lighting speed and left the family helpless to survive.