Landlord Charged In Fatal Fire Where Grandmother, Girl, 5, Died: Prosecutor

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A landlord was charged with violating state fire code after a grandmother and her 5-year-old granddaughter died as a result of a fire that broke out in Little Ferry home last year.

Gary L'Heureux, of Tenafly, was arrested after authorities investigated the deaths of Margaret and Maribella Colon and discovered that he did not install hardwired smoke detectors and not providing a fire escape as required by state law, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced Wednesday.

The Colons died after a fire occurred at their multi-family Little Ferry home on Washington Avenue on Aug. 18, 2016.

Stephanie Colon, her mother Margaret and her 5-year-old daughter Maribella were forced to jump from a third-story window, Grewal said. Margaret and Maribella Colon later died from injuries they sustained.

Second-floor resident David Lucero was hospitalized with injuries; other second-floor residents were evacuated with minor injuries.

The Bergen County Arson Squad and Arson Task Force, along with the Sheriff's Department Bureau of Criminal Investigation looked into the cause of the fire, which started in the garage.

An explosion went off in the garage, which L'Heureux rented to a non-tenant to store motorcycles, Grewal said.

Investigators determined that L'Heureux did not install the necessary upgrades to the dwelling state law requires, including not putting in hardwired smoke detectors, providing a second point of egress and not having second- and third-floors doors with self-closing devices, the prosecutor said.

L'Heureux was charged with two counts of knowingly violating the state fire code, which led to Margaret and Maribella Colon's death and two counts of knowingly violating the state fire code that led to Stephanie Colon and another resident, Lucero, being seriously hurt, Grewal said.

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Photo: Gary L'Heureux, of Tenafly — Bergen County Prosecutor's Office