Security camera footage shows onset of deadly Stamford house fire
The footage captured a car passing by and stopping at 6:51 p.m. to alert a woman who was outside painting a fence nearby.
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A driver was one of the first to notice smoke coming from a house in Stamford—a fire that ended up killing the homeowner Friday evening—according to a neighbor’s home security camera. It happened at the house on the corner of Powell Place and Ivy Street. The footage captured a car passing by and stopping at 6:51 p.m. to alert a woman who was outside painting a fence nearby. The video showed her calling 911 and a neighbor running down the street and up the back steps of the house, trying to get inside, just as the first fire crews arrived.
“We were sitting down in the house, and we heard the sirens. And my wife said, ‘Don't go outside and look. You're so nosy,’” recalled James Bodrick. “So, I went outside and all of a sudden I saw smoke billowing out.”
Neighbors said the homeowner, 67-year-old Mark Palmer, lived by himself.
Marie Berrouet, who lives on Ivy Street, was among the people who came out to see what was going on.
“I said, ‘Oh, no! I hope he's not in the house because he's always in there alone, and he's sits on his porch sometimes,'” Berrouet told News 12, adding that she often passed him on her daily walk. “That is very sad because he's a sweet guy. He always talked to you when you're passing by. He always had something funny to say.”
Stamford fire officials said along with the flames, crews battled hoarding conditions, which caused the fire to spread. The amount of stuff inside the also hindered search efforts for Palmer, according to officials. They said they found him dead on the first floor, which was packed with items.
Stamford police were also called to the scene and said their preliminary investigation showed no foul play in Palmer's death. On Monday, they were still awaiting a report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner with the cause of death.
“It's scary. We’re going to miss him though,” Bodrick said.
