HOLYOKE — Investigators said Wednesday an electrical problem was the cause of a New Year’s Day fire that killed three people and destroyed a five-story apartment building.

“An electrical fault in the third- floor apartment ignited this tragic fire,” state Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey told reporters at the Holyoke Fire Department headquarters.

In addition, a news release issued by Ostroskey’s office said that the building’s fire alarm “appears not to have been operating properly.”

When asked by phone to elaborate, Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for the fire marshal’s office, said “it appears that the fire alarm alerted the residents in the building to danger” but that “it was a local alarm only, whereas it’s supposed to be monitored by the fire alarm monitoring company.”

Functioning properly, the alarm system would have alerted a third-party company that would have subsequently notified the fire department.

“It should have led to a faster notification of the fire department,” she said.

Mieth said at some point over the weekend — before the fire — the monitoring company lost communication with the building’s alarm system.

“It does not appear that there was any willful or criminal act here,” she said, adding she urges anyone who sees fire to call for help regardless of whether they think their systems notify authorities.

City records show the system was inspected following its installation in 2011.

“The alarm system met the code that it needed to meet at the time it was installed,” Mieth said, adding the state does not mandate further inspections. “It’s not like there’s a requirement for regular inspections of fire alarms in residential buildings.”

Earlier this week, officials said the alarm system was not equipped with the function to notify a third-party or emergency dispatchers directly when a fire is detected.

That was a mistake, Mayor Alex B. Morse told the Gazette Wednesday.

“That’s what we all thought at the time,” he said in a text message. “The investigation continued and new information was released today.”

Morse also clarified a statement made by Fire Chief John Pond when he was asked at the news conference if the building had adequate smoke detectors that met code.

“The smoke detection system operated in the building properly,” Pond said then.

Morse said Pond was referring to the alarm sounding. He said Mieth was referring to the alarm’s notification of a third-party function, hence the discrepancy. 

Pond and Capt. Anthony Cerutti, who handles media requests, could not be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon.

The fire was jointly investigated by the Holyoke Fire and Police departments, and State Police assigned to the state fire marshal and Hampden County district attorney.

Pond added at the press conference that if there had been a sprinkler system in the building, lives would have been saved.

“Point blank,” Pond said. “No ifs, ands or buts about it. Sprinklers save lives. … Every multi-family residential building should have sprinklers.”

Damian Cote, Holyoke Building Commissioner, told the Gazette Tuesday it is often the case that older buildings that have not undergone major renovations are not equipped with sprinkler systems. 

This building, located at 106 North East St. in the city’s Flats neighborhood, was built in 1905, according to city records, and last saw a major renovation in 1974, Cote said.

More details

On Wednesday, Pond said eight people had to be taken to the hospital in relation to the fire. He didn’t give specifics on the types of injuries or current conditions of patients, citing privacy laws.

But after the press conference, Holyoke Police Lt. Jim Albert told the Gazette that one woman had a “significant back injury” — which authorities were able to confirm through social media, not through the hospital, he said.

Albert and Pond both did not say how many of the injured were still hospitalized.

Authorities had previously released the names of three people who were killed in the fire: Maria Cartagena, 48, and Jorge Munoz, 55, both of Holyoke, as well as Trevor R. Wadleigh, 34, of Easthampton.

While witnesses said they saw Cartagena either fall or jump out of the building while it was burning, authorities wouldn’t say how anyone died. Munoz and Wadleigh’s remains were recovered following the blaze. Morse said after the news conference he’s been in contact with victims’ families.

“It’s a difficult time for them,” Morse said. “This morning I met with the brother of Jorge Munoz. They’re from Colombia, so we reached out to the Colombian consulate general to connect with him to expedite the shipping of the ashes to Colombia.

“I met with Maria’s daughters, son-in-law and family this afternoon in my office just to talk about how we could help defer funeral costs,” he said. “We’re just trying to get the cost down as much as possible.”

Holyoke Fire Capt. Anthony Cerruti said Wednesday morning that the remains of two dogs were found in the rubble after the fire was extinguished. 

Morse said after the press conference that “a couple” of dogs, “a couple” of cats and a guinea pig did not survive the blaze. He did say that five dogs, one chameleon and a turtle “made it out alive.”

Cerruti said it’s possible more animals could have perished and others could have escaped and ran away from the burning building. 

Fire response

Pond said that the Engine 1, Engine 3 and Truck 1 — the first ladder truck on scene — were dispatched at 8:53 a.m. New Year’s Day, “several” minutes after the flames ignited, he said.

The first crews arrived on scene at 8:56 a.m., he said. Cerutti said Wednesday morning that Chicopee, South Hadley and Easthampton fire departments and crews from Westover Air Reserve Base also came to the scene.

Pond could not say how long the fire had been burning before crews were alerted, though he said it had been burning for several minutes.

Officials said it’s important for people to call 911 as soon as problems are detected.

Ostroskey said, “We would remind folks to be cognizant of electrical problems and to call the fire department immediately if you experience any of the indications of electrical problems — arcs, sparks or short circuits, a sizzling or buzzing sound or odors, or a vague smell of something burning.”

Pond also responded to criticism he and Morse have received since Sunday’s blaze.

Chad Cunningham, president of Holyoke Fire Association Local 1693 and city firefighter on duty during Sunday’s blaze, said the department could have prevented injuries with more adequate staffing.

At issue is whether Engine 2 — stationed at fire department headquarters, the first station to respond to the fire — should have been dispatched to fight the fire. Because of so-called “brown outs” related to budget cuts, the engine was not in service at the time.

Cunningham said Pond should have pushed back against Morse, who he said continually cut funding. He said as a result, the city did not have the staffing to man Engine 2 on most days, including Sunday.

“He (Pond) knows exactly what we rolled up on Sunday morning,” Cunningham said. “He’s backing the mayor instead of backing his firefighters.

Cunningham rejected the notion he’s pulling politics from a tragedy.

“I don’t play politics,” he said. “I’m a firefighter — all I want is the citizens of Holyoke to be protected properly.”

Pond responded to the criticism, saying: “Rather than sling mud or become political, I’d like to just say that Engine 1, Engine 3 and Truck 1 all responded when the alarm was sent to us. That’s an appropriate response to that. They were there within NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency) ... standard times to get there which is why there were so many rescues to save lives.”

He added that once the deputy chief saw that the top three floors of the building were engulfed before he arrived on scene, the deputy chief called in a “general alarm which means the rest of the city goes to the fire.”

Also on Wednesday, Morse and others gave an update on how agencies are helping families adjust and relocate.

As of 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Mayor’s Fire Relief Fund had raised more than $50,000 online in addition to about $3,000 in donations the mayor’s office had received in-person or by mail, he said.

Morse also said 24 out of 25 displaced families from the apartment building had been relocated to permanent apartments.

“We’re going to continue to monitor those families to make sure they have everything they need,” he said. “This isn’t something that we’re focused on just for a few days and we move on to the next thing. We’re in this for the long haul.”

Jack Suntrup can be reached at jsuntrup@gazettenet.com. Amanda Drane can be reached at adrane@gazettenet.com.

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