Ad Executive's Three Daughters, Parents Die In Stamford House Fire

The fire-ravaged house on Shippan Avenue (AP)

The Christmas morning fire that ripped through a three-story Victorian home in Stamford, Connecticut, killed three girls—7-year-old twins and their 9-year-old sister—and their grandparents. The home on Shippan Avenue was owned by fashion advertising executive Madonna Badger, who managed to escape the blaze and was overhead screaming, "My whole life is in that house!"

The fire was reported around 4:52 a.m. and one neighbor who woke up at 4:45 a.m. to screaming told the Stamford Advocate, "There were flames coming out of the first-, second- and third-floor windows. The entire house was engulfed in flames. All I could see is flames coming out of every window and porch of the house."

The victims: Lomer (dressed as Santa Claus) and Pauline Johnson, with grandchildren Lily, Grace and Sarah

Acting Fire Chief Antonio Conte said, "First units on the scene attempted rescue within the structure, they were pushed back by intense flame and heat. As a result we lost five Stamford residents." The five victims were Badger's daughters, Grace and Sarah, age 7, and Lily, 9, and Badger's parents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson. They were all removed from the home's second floor.

Badger and a male friend, identified as contractor Michael Borcina, who had been doing work on the house, survived and were taken to a local hospital. Another neighbor said Borcina was barefoot and in boxers outside the blazing home: "He had to be supported on both sides. He looked dazed. They looked shocked." Badger's estranged husband, Matthew Badger, was driven to the scene yesterday morning by Stamford police; his relative told the Post that he was "absolutely distraught."

Madonna Badger, a fashion branding executive who rose to fame for developing the Marky Mark and Kate Moss campaigns for Calvin Klein, had been living in New York but bought the home last December for $1.725 million and neighbors said the home had been undergoing renovations for months. A deputy fire chief told the NY Times, "It did not appear that the renovations were part of the cause; they might have been part of the spread."

The Times also detailed Badger's parents, who had moved to Southbury, CT from Kentucky to be closer to their grandchildren:

Ms. Badger’s parents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson, who died in the fire, were to celebrate their 49th anniversary on Monday, according to a family member, who asked not to be named.

Mr. Johnson, 71, spent his last day working at his dream job: as Santa Claus on the ninth floor of the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store in Manhattan, the family member said. He was known for his real long, white beard.

“That’s all he ever wanted to be,” the family member said. “He stopped shaving the day he retired.”

On his ad as "Happy Santa" on gigmasters, Lomer Johnson said, "I am now a santa because my oldest grandaughter asked me to be a pretend Santa Claus. I have enjoyed it more than any job I've ever had. As a pretend Santa Claus, I have, with our four young grandaughters and my wife, visited two nursing homes. Truely a winning experience for both the young and the not so young."

Stamford mayor Michael Pavia said yesterday, "It’s a terrible, terrible day for the city of Stamford. There probably has not been a worse Christmas day in the city of Stamford."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on December 26, 2011 10:20 AM

Comments [rss]

NorCal2NYC

Most certainly a terrible tragedy with lives lost. I hope the result of the investigation is that it was truly an accident.

pete_mac

The "contractor" was living with them? Yeah, unfortunately, there's more to this sad story...

Nos Feratu

According to the news stories, the husband was away from the family on Christmas Eve, but the contractor was sleeping there. IF this is correct, there is probably more to the story.

Freddi BuBu

No, they were already divorced....

Freddi BuBu

My thoughts exactly - stay tuned.....

Rocknrope

My psyche would not be able to survive a tragedy like this. Better I run back in with everyone else.

Lisanne!

Too sad. It would be a terrible tragedy at any time, but now it shall become part of my subconscious association of Christmas. Many years an acquaintance died in a terrible hotel fire on the morning after Christmas.

e non

so much indescribable horror to this -- losing her entire family -- daughters and parents; on christmas day and just before her parents were to celebrate their wedding anniversary. i can't even imagine how one would begin to recover from this.

Freddi BuBu

Damn, of all days? Anyhow, this just underscores the hazards with these old wood-paneled homes - they're essentially deathtraps in such instances...

Nos Feratu

Yup, I've worked on a couple old houses and seen a lot more. If I knew then, what I know now, I would have gone for new construction. The people who built those old wood frame houses expected them to have a life span of 40-50 years. No one imagined they would still be here after 100 years. Don't waste your time, money or endanger you family with those old wrecks. If you are really are in love with the Victorian style houses, have a new house built in that style. You'll be a lot saner, and safer that way.

sk83r

Wood burns slower than styrofoam plastic "stucco" houses.

Spirit of 76

If I was paying millions for a house or condo plus renovations, one of the first things I would do is install residential sprinklers. They cost about the same as putting in new carpet and unlike smoke detectors, do more than just warn about fires. They actually help contain them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

You can also get a discount on your fire insurance and it helps the resale value of the property. And it protects not just you, your family and your belongings, but firefighters as well, since they face danger every time they have to fight a raging fire. We've seen too many stories about that situation, like the blazing firefighter in Crown Heights who made a desperate jump to a ladder only a few days ago.

But this kind of advice sadly comes way too late in this case.

robingee

Good advice, I was just going to bring this up as well. Residential sprinklers, seems like a worthwhile expense for sure.

TWaller

Good LORD! Speechless.

sk83r

So when are they arresting Madonna Badger for 5 counts of manslaughter?

splicernyc

There was no need for that.

Greg Froober

^^^^ troll feeding

refni

A reminder to everyone: Keep smoke and monoxide alarms in your home, and keep good batteries in them! Get new ones now if you don't remember when they're from.

virgilstarkwell

unimaginably awful. i honestly don't know how some people can go on after such things. they're stronger people than me.

SonnyBobiche

You've expressed my thoughts exactly.

Esquire Magazine had an article about the life of the doctor that lost his wife and two daughters to the two monsters now on death row. He needs constant companionship from his close friends and relatives and always tries to keep busy because whenever he is alone and still, the nightmarish memories return.

This poor woman s going to need a lot of support but, like the doctor, she'll never truly recover.