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Triplets dead in trailer home fire
By WILLIAM KATES
Associated Press Writer
March 24, 2004, 3:10 PM EST
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.
Wednesday's blaze is the second multiple-death fire this week in upstate New York.
A 31-year-old pregnant woman and her two sons were killed in a house fire Tuesday morning in Ephratah, 45 miles west of Albany.
Melissa Steenburgh and her sons, Daniel Steenburgh, 16, and Josiah Steenburgh, 5, were sleeping when that fire started. They tried unsuccessfully to escape through a second-floor window.
Authorities said a malfunctioning heating system caused the fire.
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
So sad!!! Triplets at the same time. I am praying for their family.
By WILLIAM KATES
Associated Press Writer
March 24, 2004, 3:10 PM EST
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.
Wednesday's blaze is the second multiple-death fire this week in upstate New York.
A 31-year-old pregnant woman and her two sons were killed in a house fire Tuesday morning in Ephratah, 45 miles west of Albany.
Melissa Steenburgh and her sons, Daniel Steenburgh, 16, and Josiah Steenburgh, 5, were sleeping when that fire started. They tried unsuccessfully to escape through a second-floor window.
Authorities said a malfunctioning heating system caused the fire.
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
So sad!!! Triplets at the same time. I am praying for their family.
oh gosh!! sowwy to hear abt that.. oh man... sigh
