STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Christmas morning fire that killed a couple and their three grandchildren has been devastating to firefighters who rushed into the home twice frantically looking for the victims before flames beat them back.
Stamford officials are offering counseling to the firefighters.
Authorities on Tuesday described the frantic, futile attempts to save the girls and their grandparents after embers in a bag of discarded fireplace ashes started the accidental fire at the grand waterfront house, which was being renovated.
Of the seven people in the home, there were only two survivors: the girls' mother, a New York City fashion advertising executive; and a family friend who had worked on the house as a contractor and is believed to have placed the ashes in or outside an entryway, near the trash.
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