MD - Tech tycoon's Annapolis mansion destroyed by fire and 6 missing

[dish1234]

Goodness, so sad. And I've always been a bit paranoid about a live tree, even this year taking ours down before New Year's, much to my husband's dismay.

I could see how a tree that tall - 15 to 20 feet - once lit would go up like a tinderbox and probably catch other things (carpeting, drapes, etc) on fire as it burned. Here is a NIST video of a burning Xmas tree: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQT8yOYJKxQ

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...y-Have-Sparked-Md-Mansion-Fire-290089551.html
Sources said that Don Pyle often slept in his office on the first floor, and when the alarm when off, he may have entered the great room, but the fire was very intense and may have overwhelmed him.

The bodies of Sandy Pyle and two of the couple's grandchildren were found together in a bedroom, sources said. The body of a third child was found in another bedroom, and the fourth child's body was found in a separate bedroom.

 

[Elley Mae]

IDK Just having a hard time wrapping my head around the security company being alerted to a fire at the home but the occupants didn't get an alarm? I know they didn't have sprinklers but come on there were no other detectors in that home. Or were they turned off or dead batteries. Not even a carbon monoxide detector. idk jmo

 

[MsFacetious]

So it was for sure a real tree?
I agree that's a long time to have a real tree up.

 

[Elley Mae]

Investigators said today the Annapolis mansion fire was caused by an electrical failure that ignited combustible material, which quickly spread to the family Christmas tree.

http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/for_the_record/ph-ac-cn-fire-folo-0128-20150128,0,852987.story

According to this the origin of the fire was not the tree but spread to it quickly.

 

[LadyL]

well, I'm glad to know it wasn't anything other than accidental ...

 

[dish1234]

So it was for sure a real tree?
I agree that's a long time to have a real tree up.

Yes, it was a real tree. From the Gazette article:

Officials also said they did not yet know what caused the initial spark or flame that consumed the tree. They noted the tree had been cut down 60 days before it caught on fire.

Watching the NIST video, it was amazing to see how quickly an inferno happens from an ignited, dry Xmas tree. As in, less than a minute. Imagine being woken up by your fire alarm at 3 am. It would most likely take you almost a minute just to rouse and get your bearings. But, given that the grandmother/Sandy and two kids were still in a bedroom, another grandkid in another and the other still in another bedroom, it sounds like alarms did not wake them or at least, it seems like they did not make an effort to escape - as in, found in a hallway or someplace besides the bedrooms.

 

[dish1234]

IDK Just having a hard time wrapping my head around the security company being alerted to a fire at the home but the occupants didn't get an alarm? I know they didn't have sprinklers but come on there were no other detectors in that home. Or were they turned off or dead batteries. Not even a carbon monoxide detector. idk jmo

That's what is sticking with me as well. I understand the horrible blaze that would come from a dry, huge tree catching fire. But wouldn't alarms alert everyone that there was a fire, long before it turned into an inferno? Enough that perhaps they could have run to another wing of the house to escape the blaze in the great room? Yet, 5 of the 6 were all still within the bedrooms.

Ugh, I hate to sound so gruesome, but I remember the Xmas fire in the house in Connecticut. Granted, the circumstances were different, because the house did not have working detectors, but the bodies of the families were found in such a way that it was obvious they were trying to escape but overcome by the smoke - fell through a porch roof...awful and found crouching the hallway.

 

[Elley Mae]

That's what is sticking with me as well. I understand the horrible blaze that would come from a dry, huge tree catching fire. But wouldn't alarms alert everyone that there was a fire, long before it turned into an inferno? Enough that perhaps they could have run to another wing of the house to escape the blaze in the great room? Yet, 5 of the 6 were all still within the bedrooms.

Ugh, I hate to sound so gruesome, but I remember the Xmas fire in the house in Connecticut. Granted, the circumstances were different, because the house did not have working detectors, but the bodies of the families were found in such a way that it was obvious they were trying to escape but overcome by the smoke - fell through a porch roof...awful and found crouching the hallway.

It stuck out to me that sandy was found in a bedroom with 2 kids yet the way the bodies were found was 2 then 2 then 1 then 1. idk I am local and listening to news and found it odd it's being said that sprinklers would have made a difference yet nothing on no smoke detectors. When ever there is a fire they usually say whether or not there were smoke detectors nothing about sprinklers. What about the smoke detectors I say.

 

[lucky181]

The family members were sleeping in rooms connected to the house's 19-foot-tall "great room" which contained the massive tree when an electrical fire broke out,

Fire officials estimated that it took two to three minutes before the whole tree shot up in flames after being cut down more than 60 days prior to the fire and likely drying out.

There was no sprinkler system inside the residence due to it having been built by the Pyles in 2005, before current safety regulations. It "without a doubt" would have made a difference, Anne Arundel's Fire Marshal said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...atal-annapolis-mansion-fire-article-1.2095123

I wonder if they designed the electric system (outlets etc) with the idea of having a large Christmas tree in a certain area. A tree that tall would have required quite a few lights which couldn't be strung together. I don't know if, even though the lights were not on but were plugged in, they could cause an electric fire.

I was in an apt fire once in the middle of the night. I was awakened by smoke coming in where the floor meets the wall. When I got outside, I was surprised to see that there were so many people outside already. I guess I was in a deep sleep and it took awhile before I smelled the smoke.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Goodness, so sad. And I've always been a bit paranoid about a live tree, even this year taking ours down before New Year's, much to my husband's dismay.

I could see how a tree that tall - 15 to 20 feet - once lit would go up like a tinderbox and probably catch other things (carpeting, drapes, etc) on fire as it burned. Here is a NIST video of a burning Xmas tree: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQT8yOYJKxQ

(Snipped by me)

That is absolutely frightening!

 

[TTF14]

Yes, why no mention of smoke detectors? Aren't they more important than sprinklers?????

 

[nrdsb4]

We have a lake house in a community in which wild fires spread. The area is full of cedars and pines, and we have been in a terrible drought for several years. These dry trees caused this wildfire to spread incredibly fast. Many many homes were lost. Ours fortunately was not, but like this fire in MD, our firefighters had to pump water out of the lake to fight the fires. No way to win against something that big and fast, with all that available fuel.

You truly would be surprised to see how fast a house can become engulfed.

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...atal-annapolis-mansion-fire-article-1.2095123

I wonder if they designed the electric system (outlets etc) with the idea of having a large Christmas tree in a certain area. A tree that tall would have required quite a few lights which couldn't be strung together. I don't know if, even though the lights were not on but were plugged in, they could cause an electric fire.

Sbm

A lot of people leave the Christmas lights on all night. Drives me nuts... I'm so paranoid about the possibility of a fire that our lights get turned off not just at night but even if we're in another part of the house.

Sent from my KFJWA using Tapatalk HD

 

[stmarysmead]

We live in a community that has a private Fire Dept. When you build or buy a home here, they pay a visit. They ask for floor plans and where residents sleep, pets, etc. If you permit, they install a box with a key outside the home. But most importantly, they take time to talk with you about exits. In our home, our best exit from a fire could well be from a window in my husbands closet. I would never have thought of that in an emergency, in a panic.

We all should take time to think about several ways out of our homes. My heart breaks for these families.

 

[MyBelle]

IDK Just having a hard time wrapping my head around the security company being alerted to a fire at the home but the occupants didn't get an alarm? I know they didn't have sprinklers but come on there were no other detectors in that home. Or were they turned off or dead batteries. Not even a carbon monoxide detector. idk jmo

The report on tonight's ABC news said even if the smoke detectors were sounding, the family probably did not have enough time to get out. What my husband and I are still having a problem understanding is why would anyone their age (our age) keep a huge, dry tree that long? We've known about the dangers of Christmas tree fire since we were kids. This is an incredibly senseless tragedy. My heart breaks for their two sons and their wives.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Wow, the Christmas tree. All along it was a horrendous accident. RIP.

 

[Hoosgirl]

I wonder if they kept the tree up for the grandkids to see? We just had a belated Christmas get together with some family members on one side of the family that we didn't get to see over the holidays.

Anyway, this is so tragic and I can't imagine the heartbreak of the poor remaining family members.

 

[Elley Mae]

Yes, why no mention of smoke detectors? Aren't they more important than sprinklers?????

The home had smoke detectors, and there was no indication they did not work, said Deputy Chief Scott Hoglander of the Anne Arundel County fire marshal's office.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/2...stmas-tree-authorities-say/?intcmp=latestnews

The investigation found that a failure in an electrical outlet in the floor that provided power to the tree produced heat that ignited something combustible, probably a tree skirt, said Russ Davies, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.

............................

bbm, I would love to see what they have that tells them this.

 

[dish1234]

The home had smoke detectors, and there was no indication they did not work, said Deputy Chief Scott Hoglander of the Anne Arundel County fire marshal's office.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/2...stmas-tree-authorities-say/?intcmp=latestnews

The investigation found that a failure in an electrical outlet in the floor that provided power to the tree produced heat that ignited something combustible, probably a tree skirt, said Russ Davies, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.

............................

bbm, I would love to see what they have that tells them this.

Thanks for this article. Sounds like it was the massive fire load that did them in. Given that a neighbor saw the fire and called 911 only shortly after the blaze started, and since these are homes that are not close to each other and are separated by acreage, that says, to me, that the fire was able to spread very, very quickly. TV news report this morning said they all died of smoke inhalation so, even with fire alarms going off, the smoke must have overtaken then before they were even able to rouse and leave their rooms.

Maybe they still had the tree up because it was so large and they would've needed a crew of folks to get it out of the house.

 

[keeponsearching]

I imagine the grandparents went to get the kids. My fire alarm went off at 4 am over the summer, my husband and I jumped up and started heading to my kids rooms but once we got to the hallways the alarm went off.. The kids were still sound asleep at ages 9 and 7. We also use a live tree but it is in our home for a very short time and never not watered.