Fatal Plainfield Fire Was Accident, Marshal Says

Oct. 21--A fire that killed a young girl and seriously injured her mother was an accident that may have started because of a malfunctioning kitchen appliance, the town fire marshal said Thursday.

The insurance provider and appliance manufacturer are trying to trace the origin of the Sept. 21 blaze in which 6-year-old Isabella Patterson died and her mother, Jeannette Lawyea, was badly burned, Fire Marshal Paul Yellen said.

After four weeks in Rhode Island Hospital, including three weeks on a respirator, Lawyea, 28, was released Wednesday, her mother, Laura Johnson, said. She is recovering from burns on her arms and back, Johnson said.

The fierce fire at the 1,100-square-foot, single-story home was reported at about 10:45 p.m. Police officers pulled Lawyea and her 18-month-old son, Myles, through a bedroom window. Because of the intense heat, they could not reach Isabella, who was in the living room, officials have said. Anthony Patterson, Lawyea's longtime boyfriend and father of Myles and Isabella, was at a neighbor's house when the blaze broke out.

The family had moved into the new home, built by Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut, in July.

Yellen said he could not comment about details of the investigation. He said he and a police detective spoke to Lawyea on Monday.

"It was a very good conversation," Yellen said. "It was helpful in some ways."

Engineers working for the insurance company and the unnamed appliance maker will perform a "forensic disassembly" of the kitchen appliances, Yellen said.

"We don't have the physical facilities to do that," he said. "The insurance companies have deep pockets, either to approve or defend a case. They have significant interest in this."

Johnson said her daughter does not recall much about the fire. She said the two spoke about 40 minutes before the blaze was reported.

"She remembers talking to me on the phone and then handing the baby to a police officer," Johnson said.

The conversation was mostly about a birthday party planned for that Saturday for Isabella, who had turned 6 on Sept. 19, and another of her grandchildren, Johnson said. Johnson described her "Bella" as a happy girl who loved the movie, "Monster High" and the color pink. The little girl looked after her baby brother "like a little mother hen," Johnson said.

On the night of the fire, Isabella may have gone to lay on the living room couch after her mother went to bed, Johnson said.

As for the fire, "I want answers," she said. "I don't understand how a house that was just built, how this could happen."

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