Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 1/10/2024
SOMERS — The burned out home where four children died in a fire was still smoking as people around town began donating money, clothes and furniture last week to help those that survived and bury the children that did not.
On Jan. 2, fire crews were called to a fire at the two-family home located at 44 Quality Ave. and found the home fully engulfed, according to the Connecticut State Police. In spite of the Somers Fire Department’s best efforts, three children were pronounced dead at the scene and a fourth died at a local hospital, the state police and Somers Fire Department confirmed.
News of the deadly blaze came from online postings, word of mouth and the media. As fast as information spread, people were just as quick to set up ways friends, neighbors and strangers could make donations — and the money poured in, more than $200,000 by the beginning of this week.
“It’s a close-knit, caring community,” said Matthew Cox, Somers director of human services. In the hours following the fire, Cox put out the word his department was accepting donations of cash or checks.
“Somers has a population of about 10,000 people. We have one elementary school, one middle school and one high school. Everybody knows everybody, and folks have a deep sense of commitment to each other. A deep sense of neighborhood.”
A dozen people lived in the burned-out two-family home. The fire left them all homeless. There are at least three GoFundMe campaigns that have raised around $200,000.
Colleen Karoliszyn started a GoFundMe campaign to benefit her sister Bonnie’s family of five. They survived but lost everything in the blaze.
“We are overwhelmed with gratitude at the outpouring of love and support from the community. We are also heartbroken for the family next door,” Karoliszyn told Reminder Publishing.
Businesses all over Somers are turning to their customers for assistance. Bond 124 restaurant is donating 20% of sales from Friday to Sunday, Jan. 5-7.
“I think the community should be together and help the families in need. It’s for a good cause,” said General Manager Carmine Manzi.
Dechon Harris, 31, works with his mother, Cynthia, at Claudette’s Consignment Shop, which she owns. He heard news of the fire just before his shift was to begin. He called his mother to ask if he could use the shop as a staging area where people could drop off furniture and other necessities. She said yes, and then needed a tractor trailer to store the donations.
“I had to quickly jump into action. I didn’t want to stop at any cost. I was shocked and hurt because a family lost their four kids. I was really sad. I cried,” said Harris. “We had just watched the ball drop on New Year’s Eve, and now she has to watch her children get buried.”
Cynthia Harris said her son put out the call for donations on Facebook and the response was immediate and immense.
“A lot of the people seem to be connected to the children that passed. Some of the people volunteered to go through all the donations and separate the furniture from the toiletries and get everything where it needs to go,” she said.
The Human Services Department set up what Cox calls the Angel Fund. He’s asking for checks and cash, not clothes or furniture, because he said money is the quickest way to aid the families.
“We’re working with both families to provide basic needs to keep them going and make sure they’re stably housed, and then have essentials like winter coats, clothing, bedding and things like that. As we get further along, we’ll determine what the additional needs are,” he said.
When news of the fatal fire broke, Cox’s staff was overwhelmed by calls coming in from people who wanted to help.
“The phones were ringing off the hook with people asking how they could make donations,” he said. “If people left messages, it would take a couple of days to return the calls. It’s really devastating, especially for such a small town. It’s difficult to lose anyone by any means. But when it’s a number of children in such a tragic way, it makes it even worse.”
Checks or cash donations may be dropped off at the Human Services Building, 619 Main St. Somers, CT 06071 or Town Hall at 619 Main St. Checks can also be mailed to those locations. Checks should be made payable to the Town of Somers, with Angel Fund written on the memo line.
Detectives from the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit and the Eastern District Major Crime Squad are investigating the cause and origin of the fire and ask nearby residents who may have photos or video of the fire to send them to Detective Patrick O’Brien at patrick.j.obrien@ct.gov.