Brother and sister die in Holyoke blaze

Officials: Child was playing with lighter

Firefighters responded to a blaze at a house in Holyoke on Thursday evening. The fire chief said the owner had left her children with a baby sitter and was at work in Springfield. (Jim Sears/The Republican)

HOLYOKE - It was a plastic lighter, and the 6-year-old boy was experimenting with how it worked. Before he knew it, investigators said, a bedroom footstool made of wood and fabric was engulfed in flames.

Angel Cruz's mother was at work, so when the fire started Thursday night, the boy ran to tell his 16-year-old baby sitter what happened, Holyoke Fire Chief David LaFond said yesterday.

But it was too late. The boy's 4-year-old brother, Daniel Cruz, suffered severe smoke inhalation and was pronounced dead at Holyoke Medical Center. His 9-month-old sister, Emily Aguire, suffered burns and was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she died yesterday afternoon. The two had been on the second floor where the fire started.

Angel Cruz was listed in good condition with undetermined injuries at Bay State Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said.

"The message here should be that people have to put away their lighters and matches," said LaFond, who urged federal regulators to make lighters childproof. "These are not children's toys."

The children's mother, Emily Orizial, 28, was working in Springfield when the fire started about 7:30 p.m. Thursday, LaFond said. He declined to release the name of the baby sitter because she is a juvenile.

Alison Goodwin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services, said the agency is investigating, which she said is routine after a child dies in a fire.

LaFond described how a man renting a bedroom in the house tried to rescue the children.

He said Xavier Vasquez, 20, was playing dominoes in the backyard when the baby sitter began screaming for help. He ran into the house and grabbed Daniel and Emily.

Vasquez suffered smoke inhalation and was recovering yesterday at Bay State Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening, LaFond said.

"He risked his life, and we think he was very courageous," LaFond said.

Outside the green three-story home on Beech Street yesterday, yellow police tape surrounded the house. Shattered glass littered the area, and most of the second-floor windows were destroyed. Someone left daffodils in a vase.

Joe Chimelis, 33, Orizial's uncle, was boarding up windows on the first floor. He said people had rummaged through the home, robbing the family of figurines, electronics, and jewelry.

"She's traumatized, really stressed out," Chimelis said as he pounded nails into wood boards. "And now this? People robbing the place? It's crazy. A lot of things look like they're missing."

He said Orizial had been separated about a year ago and was raising the children on her own. He said she was behind on housing payments and was working extra hours, sometimes cutting friends' hair for money, to avoid losing the house.

"She was having a hard time, but she was doing her best," he said.

Neighbors stared at the house in disbelief.

"What a mess," said James Krajewski, who lives next door. He said the family had moved in about six months ago.

"They were good kids," he said. "The mother seemed nice."

Joel Pagan, a friend of the family, looked at the damaged home and shook his head. "She's a good mother and a hard worker," he said. "It's really a pity what happened."

Two state troopers assigned to the state fire marshal's office sat in a van outside the house after concluding their investigation. Michael Mazza, one of the troopers, said it's unlikely any charges would be filed.

"This was a tragic event," Mazza said. "The nature appears to be accidental. To the best of our knowledge, from interviews with the boy and what we observed in the home, the boy appeared to be playing or experimenting. There was a curiosity factor."

LaFond did not have an estimate on the damage to the home..

David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.