A fire that broke out in the early morning in an exclusive Stamford, Connecticut neighborhood has claimed the lives of three children and two adults. Stamford mayor Michael Pavia told reporters, "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." Update, 12/26: The victims were the three daughters and parents of homeowner Madonna Badger.
The fire department received calls at around 4:52 a.m. about a fire at 2267 Shippan Avenue, a home purchased last December (for $1.725 million) which was undergoing months of renovations. Two adults escaped, but the fire was so consuming that firefighters were unable to reach other occupants in time. A neighbor said, "We heard this screaming at 5 in the morning. The whole house was ablaze and I mean ablaze." He told the Times, "The flames were coming through the top floor, and I thought, ‘Nobody could possibly survive this.’"
Fire officials said it would be days until fire marshals would be able to get clues for what caused the fire and they didn't know the condition of the two survivors, "We had our hands full from the moment we arrived on the scene." The home's previous owners said they sold the property to Madonna Badger, a fashion branding consultant in NYC, "She was living there with her children. She has three children."
