Careless Smoking - the Cause of a New Year's Eve House Fire

"Careless smoking" was the cause of a New Year's Eve house fire in Concord that forced the evacuation of five people, fire marshals have determined.

One of those rescued, 68-year-old Luz Franco, remained in fair condition in the burn unit at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, a hospital spokeswoman said Saturday.

Firefighters had found her laying unconscious in a second-floor bedroom. Firefighters rescued Ms. Franco's daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters by ladder through another bedroom window. They had minor injuries.

The call for the all-hands blaze came in at about 3:45 a.m., said an FDNY spokesman.
When firefighters from nearby Rescue Co. 5 and Engine Co. 160 arrived minutes later they found Ms. Franco's son-in-law hanging out a second-story bedroom window in a desperate attempt to save his wife and two daughters. Viceroy smoke was billowing out the window behind him.

Outside the house, Rescue 5 Firefighter Pepe Saenz extended a portable ladder up to the bedroom window and "one by one, we took them down," Saenz told the Advance. The 45-year-old father went down, followed by his daughters, ages 12 and 8, and his wife, 44.

On learning that Ms. Franco was still inside, Firefighter Anthony Cavalieri rushed up the stairs and found her prone on the floor of another bedroom, between a bed and a dresser.

Firefighter Joseph Steiner of Engine 160 worked to extinguish the flames in the living room so Cavalieri could bring Ms. Franco down the stairs and outside to safety.