4 Killed in Camden House Fire
Camden Courier-Post —
Christmas Tree, Extension Cord Blamed for Blaze
By Andrew Hall and Steve Janas / Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN — Four people were killed and three others injured Saturday night in a two-alarm house fire on South Merrimac Road that started in a Christmas tree.
Deputy Fire Chief Francis Stinger said that two adults and two children died in the fire in the Fairview section.
The fire began around 7:15 p.m. and was under control shortly after 8 p.m. The fire began on the first floor and quickly spread through the rest of the house, which was occupied by two families. The four victims were found in the front second floor bedroom.
According to fire officials, the families had trouble with the extension cord to their Christmas tree. The fire began after they replugged the cord while attempting to fix it.
Neighbors said they believe that the mothers of both families and two children died in the fire. They said that those killed in the fire were Lynn Deputy and her daughter Lynnette; and Patricia Watson and her daughter Helen.
Stinger would not comment on the identities of the bodies, but did confirm that at least one adult was female. The other could not be immediately identified.
Earl Deputy, the father of one of the two families who lived in the house, was in critical condition at Cooper Hospital–University Medical Center, Camden.
Deputy was able to climb to the roof of the house through either a skylight or a back window, said Stinger.
Robert Basile, a captain of a city fire company, was injured when he tried to climb into the front second floor window to rescue the people inside.
A spokeswoman for Cooper said Basile was treated for burns and released.
“His actions were heroic,” Stinger said. “It takes real courage to go in a room with fire like that. He had to abandon his airpack to get out.”
The third person injured in the fire was taken from the scene to Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center. Neighbors identified the injured party as a 15-year-old son of the second family in the house, Andrew Watson.
One neighbor said Andrew Watson ran out of the house shouting that the tree was on fire.
“Andy came out hollering that the tree did it and the whole house went right up,” said John Porter, a neighbor.
Other neighbors said that people tried to rescue the families before the firefighters arrived but were unsuccessful.
Thomas Kinkade and two friends, Mark Bates and Jeffrey Thompson, kicked in the back door, but couldn’t get past the kitchen.
“We could hear the screaming. It was really smokey and we had to get out. We got out and the whole kitchen went up,” Kinkade said.
“It’s just a bad feeling when you hear them and you can’t get them out,” added Bates.
Jim Karwacki, who lives several doors down from the house, said that he and several neighbors also tried to help.
“I saw some flames through the window. A bunch of people came to kick the back door and set up a ladder,” he said.
He climbed the ladder and tried to help the people out but was unsuccessful.
Neighbors said that the Watsons were a friendly family who lived in the house for six years. The Deputys had only recently moved in with them.
Blaze Believed to Be Accidental
Camden Courier-Post —
By Steve Janas / Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN — City fire investigators and homicide detectives on Sunday continued their probe into the cause of a fatal fire in a row home on South Merrimac Road.
Camden County Prosecutor Edward F. Borden Jr. said his office also is involved in the investigation, but said that’s standard procedure in fatal fires.
“So far as we’re concerned at the present time, it was an accidental fire,” he said.
Two women and their daughters died in the blaze that swept through the house at 1121 S. Merrimac Road in the city’s Fairview section about 7:15 p.m. Saturday. Borden identified the dead as Linn Deputy, 37; her daughter Jennifer, 6; Patricia Watson, 37; and her daughter Elizabeth, 11. Three other persons, including one firefighter, were injured in the fire.
Eleven-year-old Lanette Deputy and 13-year-old Virginia Watson were found at a neighbor’s home across the street from their house, a fire official said. Neighbors originally thought Lanette Deputy died in the fire.
Earl Fromal, believed to be in his 30s, was burned and was in critical condition Sunday at Crozer Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa. Officials were unable to determine Fromal’s relationship to the families. They said he escaped through a skylight or back window and was plucked from the roof by firefighters.
Fifteen-year-old Andrew Watson, Patricia Watson’s son, was taken to the emergency room at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, but was not admitted. He is believed to be staying with relatives in Berlin.
Fire department Capt. Robert Basile was burned as he tried to climb into a second-floor window of the house. He was treated at Cooper Hospital–University Medical Center and released.
City Fire Marshal Frank McGuckin said the exact cause of the fire was still under investigation. He confirmed that a Christmas tree on the first floor was ignited and flames spread from the downstairs living room through the rest of the house. But, he said, investigators had yet to determine whether an electrical extension cord played any role in starting the blaze. The bodies of the women and girls were found in a second-floor bedroom.
Although earlier reports Saturday night indicated the fire originated in a faulty electrical extension cord to the Christmas tree, fire officials Sunday night refused to confirm that detail.
One neighbor, John Porter, said on Saturday that Andrew Watson ran out of the house shouting that the tree was on fire.
Neighbors said the Deputy family had lived in the house about six years and the Watsons had recently moved in with them.
Sixteen-year-old Anna Myers, who lives next to the house, and her neighbor, 16-year-old Sandy Correa, said they knew the families, particularly the two dead girls, well.
“My sister was over all the time,” Myers said. “The night before the fire, she slept over at the house.”
She said her sister was now spending several days at her grandmother’s house. “She doesn’t want to be around.”
Correa said Elizabeth Watson, who was known as Helen to her friends and neighbors, had white blonde hair. “And she had a personality on her. When you met her, you remembered her.”
Both girls said Jennifer Watson was quiet, but would brighten up when she was around her friends.
Neighbors said both the Watsons and the Deputys were animal lovers and had several pets.
As if to confirm that, a red tabby the girls said belonged to one of the families, sat on the soot-blackened front porch of the burned out home.
“They had a cat named Snowball, a cat named Mr. Boot, a kitten, a dog and a bird,” said Myers. McGuckin confirmed that the body of a dog was found on the first floor of the house.
Correa said after the neighbors heard rumors that the fire was spread by the Christmas tree, many of them began taking down the trees in their houses.
“I think Christmas trees are going to be out of style next year,” she said.