THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 9, 1995 TAG: 9512090295
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
For the second time in four days, an inoperative smoke detector failed to signal a smoldering fire that later erupted into a deadly blaze, this time killing a woman and her son Friday.
After 11 months without a fire death, three Virginia Beach residents have perished in less than a week because their smoke detectors didn't have batteries, fire officials said.
The Friday fire in the 1500 block of Sangaree Circle in the Bridle Creek neighborhood began as a smoldering electrical problem in the space between the kitchen ceiling and the second-story floor, officials said. It later generated flames that gutted the upstairs bedrooms and killed Catherine L. Castelli, 49, and her son, Chester A. Castelli Jr., 26.
The fire was reported by a neighbor around 7:30 a.m. Firefighters found the son dead in an upstairs bedroom, but they rescued the mother in a bedroom across the hall.
Catherine Castelli was taken in critical condition to Sentara Leigh Memorial Hospital, where she died.
The blaze didn't spread past the two-story apartment and no one else was hurt.
On Tuesday, 76-year-old Maidie E. Williams was killed and her granddaughter was hurt in an accidental fire at their home in the 1000 block of Tradewinds Road.
Standing outside the Castelli's Bridle Creek apartment Friday, fire spokesman Chase Sargent held the charred, melted smoke detector in his gloved hand and pleaded for area residents to maintain the life-saving devices.
``We've gone all year without a fire fatality, and now we've had three in the last week,'' Sargent said. ``We will come to people's homes to make sure their smoke detectors are working.''
Virginia Beach firefighters and volunteers will check city residents' existing smoke detectors and replace batteries free of charge as part of a community service project called Operation Smoke Detector. Firefighters will even install free smoke detectors in homes without them.
Today, firefighters are scheduled to install more than 1,000 free detectors in Oceanfront trailer parks.
Any Virginia Beach resident who wants a new smoke detector, or wants an existing detector checked, should call 471-5826. The detectors are bought with corporate, private and government donations.
Fire calls jump during the onset of cold weather when residents rely on everything from kerosene heaters to electric blankets to supplement their homes' heating systems, said Deputy Fire Marshall Larry McInnis.
``The problem occurs when people who are not educated on the hazards of fire . . . basically make some human errors,'' McInnis said.
Some errors, like putting a heater too close to furniture or drapes, can take eight hours to spark a blaze. If residents are asleep during those hours, the fire could spread unnoticed, McInnis said.
``That's why it is all the more important to have smoke detectors present and working,'' McInnis said. MEMO: PREVENTION TIPS
Fire prevention experts say the number of house fires traditionally
jumps during cold weather, especially at the beginning of the winter
season. They suggest these tips to keep your home safe:
1. Have at least one working smoke detector in your residence and
check it often. It is a good idea to replace the battery twice a year on
memorable dates, like when you change your clocks to daylight-saving
time and then back to standard time.
2. Follow the manufacturer's safety precautions for portable heaters.
Use only the recommended fuels and keep heaters away from combustible
objects, like drapes, and away from pets that could knock heaters over.
3. Carefully maintain your home's heating and electrical systems.
Malfunctioning systems could lead to fires or dangerous carbon monoxide
emissions.
4. Have fireplaces and wood-burning stoves checked and cleaned
routinely, especially at the onset of cold weather. Frequent use may
require more than one cleaning a year.
5. Never put fireplace ashes into combustible containers, like
cardboard boxes, paper bags or plastic buckets. Ashes that appear cool
sometimes insulate smoldering coals. Accidental fires have ignited as
long as three days after disposal.
6. Don't stuff large boxes into a fireplace. The sudden flame surge
could overwhelm the fireplace and spread into the living area.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by MARTIN C. GRUBE, Tidewater Fire Photographers
Association
Firefighters and rescue workers try unsuccessfully to resusitate
Catherine L. Castelli, 49, of Virginia Beach. She was pulled Friday
from her burning home in the 1500 block of Sangaree Circle in the
Bridle Creek neighborhood. She was taken to Sentara Leigh Memorial
Hospital, where she died. Her son also died in the blaze.
KEYWORDS: FIRE FATALITY SMOKE DETECTOR by CNB