OAKWOOD DUPLEX FIRE/ Luthy
CHILD FATALITY IN OAKWOOD DUPLEX FIRE
By Allison Luthy
Tiffany Blanchard, three, was pronounced dead at 3:57 a.m. due to smoke inhalation. Her brothers Tory Blanchard, five, and Terry Blanchard, six, were treated for minor injuries and released at 10 a.m., according to a public information specialist at
The fire started at 2 a.m. in the Oakwood Neighborhood residence and was called in at 2:10 a.m., said Patricia Clarksen, deputy chief of the Kalamazoo Fire Department. Two fire trucks from two companies responded within 5 minutes.
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OAKWOOD DUPLEX FIRE/Luthy
“The building was at a total loss,” said Clarksen.
Fire officials report an estimated $250,000 in damages to the building.
By the time they arrived, most of the 10 tenants had exited the building, but the three children were trapped in the second floor.
Samuel Walshe, Company 4, and James O’Brian, Company 2, tore a hole in the roof of the duplex and lifted the children out to safety.
The Kalamazoo Fire Department suspects an accelerant was used, which their black lab Smokey sniffed out.
Neighbors told police that they saw a man running from the residence with a canister, as well as a juvenile running away, said Lt. Regina Santarpio of the Kalamazoo Police Department.
Vincent DeNofrio, 33, of Mattawan and a 16-year-old juvenile were arrested today in connection with the fire. They will be arraigned tomorrow at 10 a.m., according to police officials.
Police suspect that Marie Blanchard, 32, was the target in the fire lit by her estranged boyfriend, DeNofrio.
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