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vicdeluca
Citizen
Username: Vicdeluca
Post Number: 193
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2003 - 12:21 pm: |     |
Anyone interested in making a donation for the victims of the tragic fire on Midland Boulevard can send their checks to:
Maplewood FMBA - Local #25 Fire Relief Fund
Attention: Chief Crowell
Maplewood Fire Headquarters
105 Dunnell Road
Maplewood, NJ 07040
You can also drop off a check at the Township Clerk's office in town hall made payable to Maplewood FMBA-Local #25 Fire Relief Fund.
This fund is sponsored by the Firemen's Mutual Benevolent Association, Local 25. All donations will be used to support the family.
At this time we are not collecting clothing and food.
Mayor Vic De Luca
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ashear
Citizen
Username: Ashear
Post Number: 867
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2003 - 1:30 pm: | |
Vic - can you tell us anything about what happened. I saw the trucks yesterday morning. |
ReallyTrying
Citizen
Username: Reallytrying
Post Number: 202
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2003 - 1:35 pm: | |
How awful - this is from today's S-L:
Maplewood fire claims boy, 7
Frantic family searched for victim
Thursday, December 18, 2003
BY ROB WILLIAMS AND MARK MUELLER
Star-Ledger Staff
Room by room, shout by shout, members of the McPhatter family found one another in the smoky murk of their burning home in Maplewood Tuesday night.
They screamed orders to get out and formed into teams, running a mental checklist. One child safe. Two. Three. And on to five.
They never made it to six.
Christopher McPhatter could not be found, not by the boy's frantic father, Willie McPhatter Jr., and not by a Maplewood police officer who ran into the flaming house, inhaling so much smoke she emerged doubled over, gasping.
Firefighters ultimately discovered the 7-year-old boy in the basement, unconscious but alive. He died yesterday afternoon at Irvington General Hospital, shattering a close-knit family that found joy in the simple act of spending time together.
"We have heavy hearts," said Christopher's oldest brother, Willie McPhatter III, 21. "All of us believe our brother is in heaven."
Fire officials have not released a cause of the two-alarm blaze, saying only that it has been ruled accidental. The fire began shortly before midnight Tuesday on a couch in the basement, then quickly spread to the upper floors.
Family members said they didn't know that Christopher, a second-grader at Maplewood's Clinton Elementary School, was in the basement at the time.
While no other relatives were injured, Maplewood police officer Dawn Williams, the first emergency worker to respond, was treated at a local hospital for smoke inhalation after her daring effort to save the boy, Maplewood police Chief Robert Cimino said.
"I think the officer showed tremendous courage attempting that entry without any equipment, any breathing apparatus," Cimino said of Williams, an eight-year veteran.
Fire departments from South Orange, Irvington and Union Township assisted in extinguishing the blaze, which gutted the interior of the house on Midland Boulevard.
Yesterday, Christmas garland still framed the front door, and a nativity scene on the porch remained intact. Plastic reindeer dotted the front lawn.
Willie McPhatter III described the family's hurried but systematic escape, saying he was in his second-floor bedroom when he heard shouting.
"We saw smoke, heard a commotion and screaming," he said.
The older siblings and their parents went from room to room as the smoke grew thicker, making certain that everyone was accounted for.
"Mommy had me," the oldest brother said. "I had (Stephen). Amber had Max. ... Dad couldn't get Chris."
Willie McPhatter Jr., an Army veteran who works security at Newark Liberty International Airport, moved to Maplewood with his family from Newark about 10 years ago. The children range in age from 5 to 21.
The siblings recalled Christopher as a smart, happy boy who loved to read and who idolized his 19-year-old brother, Stephen, mimicking the teen's movements and mannerisms.
"He was playful, smart and, at his age, very witty," Stephen McPhatter said.
The boy also enjoyed music, learning piano from his mother, Theresa, and a few dance steps from his father, the brothers said.
Christopher was home-schooled until this year, when he entered Clinton Elementary.
"He was on the quiet side, but he had friends," Maplewood school Superintendent Peter Horoschak said. "They had a pretty good-size family, and the brother (Max, a kindergartner) was in the school as well."
Late yesterday, Horoschak had just returned from a meeting with faculty and the school principal as a letter went home to parents telling them of the loss and how officials intended to deal with it today.
School social workers will hold class meetings with second-graders, he said, and individual counseling will be available to the children.
"One of the things you have to worry about is how children deal with the actual event, but (also) how they react to other members of the family, his sibling in the school," Horoschak said.
Staff writers Kasi Addison and Philip Read contributed to this report.
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ashear
Citizen
Username: Ashear
Post Number: 868
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, December 18, 2003 - 3:52 pm: | |
I'm just totally stunned by this. I saw the fire trucks yesterday morning and figured it was a downed power line or something. My son played with Chris and his brother Max. They've played in my backyard. I can't even wrap my brain around this. I do know where all our end of the year charity money is going. |
ReallyTrying
Citizen
Username: Reallytrying
Post Number: 203
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 19, 2003 - 11:21 am: | |
As far as donations are concerned, my understanding is that a student organization at CHS is collecting on behalf of the family: clothing, household items, etc. I can't remember the name of the group, but will try to find out. |
wharfrat
Citizen
Username: Wharfrat
Post Number: 886
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 4:30 pm: | |
Upon re-reading the S-L article posted above, I wonder if Dawn Williams could have avoided smoke inhalation and have gotten to Christopher if she had some sort of breathing apparatus?
Anybody better educated about this than I am, and care to share?
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Duncan
Real Name
Username: Duncanrogers
Post Number: 1354
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 5:40 pm: | |
That may be Wharf, but Ms Williams was a cop. She was first on the scene and did exactly what her training and compassion taught her to do. Go get the child. Breathing apparatus is not standard issue to any police department that I could find and with the budget constraints that exist here and most places, it isnt likely to become such.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"
Wayne Gretzky |
wharfrat
Citizen
Username: Wharfrat
Post Number: 887
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 8:05 pm: | |
Duncan-
Unless of course concerned citizens could raise money/donations for the apparatus, the same way groups of people did for bullet-proof vests, in NYC, about 20 years ago.
I went to a Ramones, CBGB fundraiser where we paid an unheard of $50 to have a good time/do a good turn.
I wonder if something like that could be done in SOMA. |
bottomline
Citizen
Username: Bottomline
Post Number: 37
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 21, 2003 - 10:41 pm: | |
Another challenge with breathing apparatus (beside the cost) is that specialized training and regular practice are required. These air-packs, as they are called, are not passive protective devices like bullet-proof vests. Improper use of an air-pack can be just as dangerous as being without one, yet may give a false sense of security. I'm somewhat doubtful that a small town police force could make effect use of such equipment. However, my familiarity is through industrial safety management, not public emergency response. It would be interesting to hear what police and fire people think about this idea.
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wharfrat
Citizen
Username: Wharfrat
Post Number: 888
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Monday, December 22, 2003 - 4:08 am: | |
It would be interesting to hear what police and fire people think about this idea.
I agree.
Anybody in either profession care to comment?
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flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 62
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - 1:53 am: | |
:'( SO SO SO SO HORRIBLE.
I was in school and I heard about this through a friend. I am friendly with a couple of the McPhatters... but from high school, so not so recently.
From what I hear, they needclothing. I'm sure money always helps of course.
UGh. So horrible, so sad. |
flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 65
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - 1:55 am: | |
If you don't know where to give, private line me, and I'll find out what you need to know, for you. |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 2303
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - 4:50 pm: | |
flugermongers:
You posted that they need clothing. Do you know what sizes? |
flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 72
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - 9:54 pm: | |
I think things have been coming in. I am going to check with my friend on what they need now, and get back to you guys. I have gotten a lot of private lines too. Thank you to all of you who want to help. I will post again in around 30 mins or as soon as I get in touch with her. |
flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 73
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - 11:25 pm: | |
I'm waiting for a call back. Will post soon |
jamie
Moderator
Username: Jamie
Post Number: 406
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - 11:50 pm: | |
I received this info in an email:
Christine Coster, State Farm Insurance, has been in constant touch with the family and provided the following information.
The family right now has nothing. They need essential clothing, toiletries, socks, underwear.
Here are the ages and approximate sizes. We were also thinking some Christmas gifts, especially for the young children.
Max (age 5)
Amber (age 18) wears about a size 10 and about a 9 in shoes
May (age 13)wears about a size 7/8 clothing and 7-8 shoe
Steve (age 18)is tall and thin
Willie (age 21 also tall and thin
Mom- Teresa wears about a size 12 and a 7 1/2 shoe
Dad Willie- 11 1/2 shoe- also tall and thin
Clothing and Christmas gifts can be brought to Christine's office, 7 Highland
Place, Maplewood or home 472 Elmwood Ave., Maplewood. She will then drop them off to the grandmother who lives in Newark.
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flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 74
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - 11:53 pm: | |
Yeah... I think tht might be old though. I think they might have enough clothing. I mean, money is always helpful, and I guess toys and stuff. I'm waiting for a call back (which seeing as it's almost midnight might not come till tomorrow) to see where to drop things off. I guess then the Christine person would be ideal. I'll post when I get the call. Thanks Jamie, thanks everyone. |
flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 75
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - 12:32 am: | |
OK...
My friend said that Willie said they don't need any more clothes, and that I could post that.
She is going to get back to me tomorrow about a drop-off and what else they need.
Money's always good.. I'm sure Christmas gifts are good. But I will post more when I hear from her tomorrow.
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naborly
Citizen
Username: Naborly
Post Number: 267
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, December 25, 2003 - 8:33 am: | |
Any cards or notes of support and sympathy can still be sent to their home address of 87 Midland Blvd. The post office is holding their mail for pick-up. |
flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 107
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, January 2, 2004 - 7:59 am: | |
So sorry about that delay!
My friend (who I've been relaying these messages to, as she's closer with the family than I am) spoke with Mrs. McPhatter. They do not have a storage place yet, and she agreed with my friend that people should hold on to their household donations until they get a rental place. They have plans to rebuild the house on Midland, but that is going to take a while. I dont know when they are going to get this rental place, but people will know. They have a fully furnished hotel room now, but I don't know how long they're staying there. So if folks can hold on to these things, that would be great. She said hold off on clothes, but they do need bathrobes...some of which we have already...and I know people were talking about donating toys and stuff. They should have a rental place soon enough I would think, but who knows, it maybe a few months. This is the information I have for now.
From the family, and friends of the family. I want to thank you so much for your generosity.. if you can, hold on to whatever you have, until they have some way to take it in. I will let you know as soon as I know something else.
--Flugermongers |
flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 108
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, January 2, 2004 - 8:00 am: | |
P.S. -- That message was about stuff, if you will. I do believe the fire dept is still collecting donations.
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