Shippan Fatal Fire Case: Fire Marshal Admits Home Knocked Down Too Soon

STAMFORD, CT — A city fire marshal admitted that the Shippan Avenue house that was the site of a fatal Christmas day fire in 2011 was knocked down too early, according to court documents.

Fire Marshal Barry Callahan agreed with the plaintiff's lawyer that debris from the fire shouldn't have been destroyed until it could be examined by Madonna Badger, the homeowner who escaped the fire, according to the Stamford Advocate.

The home was torn down the day after the fire and debris was disposed of three days later.

Badger's three daughters and two parents were killed in the fire. Her boyfriend and contractor who worked on the house Michael Borcina also escaped. Borcina and his company settled a $5 million lawsuit with father of the children Matthew Badger, according to the Hartford Courant.

Matthew Badger is also suing the City of Stamford and alleges that the city didn't properly inspect Borcina's renovation work and that the home was torn down too soon after the fire.

The lawsuit accused Borcina of creating a "fire trap" with his construction work. Borcina originally admitted to leaving a bag of ashes in a mudroom, but in May 2016 said that it was Madonna Badger who left the ashes.

Patch file photo