Reports: Father Settles Lawsuit in Deadly Stamford Christmas Day Fire

The father of three girls killed in the Christmas Day 2011 fire in Stamford’s Shippan Point neighborhood has settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the contractor who accidentally caused the fire that also killed the girls’ grandparents, according to reports.

Matthew Badger received $5 million in the settlement of the lawsuit that was filed in Hartford Superior Court on Dec. 10, according to an Associated Press report published by The Advocate of Stamford. The settlement agreed to by contractor Michael Borcina and his New York-based business Tiberias Construction resolves one portion of the suit Matthew Badger also filed against the City of Stamford, according to WTIC which also published the AP story.

The Associated Press reported it had obtained copies of the settlement that was confirmed by Badger’s lawyer.

Badger’s three daughters, seven-year-old twins Grace and Sarah, and nine-year-old Lily, and their maternal grandparents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson of Southbury, perished in the early morning blaze at 2267 Shippan Ave. The girls’ mother, Madonna Badger, who was estranged from Matthew Badger, Borcina.

Fire officials ruled that the fire that destroyed the home, built in 1895 and undergoing extensive renovations by Borcina’s company, began when hot embers from a fireplace where placed in a receptacle in a mudroom. The only survivors were Badger and Borcina, who officials said had to be restrained from trying to reenter the blaze in an attempt rescue the victims.

Madonna Badger and Borcina suffered smoke inhalation and four Stamford firefighters were injured while battling the blaze.

In 2012, Matthew Badger established the LilySarahGrace Fund to provide educational and art opportunities for students.

Last summer Madonna Badger eloped, marrying a longtime friend.

The WTIC report can be found here.

The Advocate report can be found here.

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Patch file photo.