Child Using Matches Cause Of Fatal Fire In MA

SPRINGFIELD, MA—A child playing with matches caused a fire that claimed the life of a man and his two children in Springfield, investigators have determined.

Officials confirmed that the cause of the fire at 49 Belmont Ave. in Springfield on March 18 started in the second floor apartment where a child was using matches.

The fire claimed the life of Aden Abdakadr, and his two children Ahmet, 2, and Fatumo Ahmed, 1. The fire in the four-story, 20-unit apartment building displaced 80 people, many of whom were recent immigrants to the United States.

The battery-operated smoke alarm in the apartment where the fire started didn't work, and residents were notified when the alarms in the building hallways started going off. Springfield Commissioner Bernard Calvi said in a statement, “The fire department is working with the elders and leaders of the Somali and other refugee communities to provide fire safety education in order to prevent another tragedy.”

“Every fire starts small; and every fire has the ability to take a life, which is why adults need to take every use of fire by children and youth seriously," State Fire Marshal Ostroskey said in a statement. "Children do not have the ability to understand how dangerous fire is or that they cannot control it.”

According to the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, from 2012-2016, there were 531 child and youth-set fires reported in Massachusetts. These fires caused one civilian death, 24 civilian injuries, 27 firefighter injuries, and an estimated dollar loss of $7 million. Of these reported fires, 51 percent were reported to the Mass. Fire Reporting System as started by “children playing with matches and lighters.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), between 2007 and 2011, an average of 49,300 fires involving playing with fire were reported to U.S. municipal fire departments per year. These fires caused annual averages of 80 civilian deaths, 860 civilian injuries, and $235 million in property damage.

Ostroskey said in a statement, “Children using matches and lighters is a common problem nationally and across Massachusetts. Child and youth firesetters will continue to set fires until they receive appropriate intervention.”

For more information related to juvenile firesetting, go here.

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