Thursday, 4:30 PM
Woman held without bail in fatal Brockton fire
By David Abel, Globe Staff
A woman, accused of setting a fire in Brockton that killed a woman last week, ignited drapes with a lighter after a dispute with a resident, a prosecutor said today.
Chiteara Thomas, 22, was ordered held without bail in the death of Orlinda Calderone, who was rescued from the third floor of the building by firefighters on Thursday, but died the next day after at Massachusetts General Hospital. Ten other people were injured in the fast-moving blaze.
The prosecutor said that Thomas told police she had threatened the first-floor resident. Police records show that neighbors called police to the first-floor apartment 29 times in the last six months to report disturbances, assaults, and other problems.
Calderone's relatives packed the courtroom for the arraignment today. Thomas's relatives defended her; her grandfather said he does not believe she started the blaze because she 's a fighter, not a firebug.
