Mom of fatal Christmas fire victim's to sue city

STAMFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- The mother of the three girls killed in a tragic Christmas day fire in Stamford is going to sue the city of Stamford.

The house was destroyed, the rubble carted away, and five months later, the cards and flowers left at the curb are long gone, but the lawsuits from the fire here are just beginning.

Last month it was Matthew Badger who filed notice that he plans to sue the City of Stamford.

Now, according to the Stamford Advocate , his ex-wife, Madonna Badger, has done the same thing.

The fire started early Christmas morning. While Madonna and her boyfriend made it out of the house, her parents and her three young daughters all died.

The waterfront house was under renovation and the smoke detectors were removed, even though the family was still living inside. The cause was carelessly discarded fireplace ashes, but Matthew Badger's lawsuit says the City of Stamford failed to inspect the on-going renovations and it may have destroyed evidence by demolishing the house just a day after the fire.

Now Connecticut law has already been changed to tighten up restrictions regarding smoke detectors, and there's already a criminal investigation into whether anybody did anything wrong before the fire.

News 8 wanted to find out from people if they thought the lawsuits were actually going to do any good.

"I don't know who really is at fault," said Joseph Greene. "They're just looking for a scapegoat, obviously, trying to get some money out of the deal because it was so horrific."

"Well, if the City of Stamford is going to be responsible for fighting these cases, well, it comes out of our tax money," said Frank Moretti.

What about the idea that city inspectors should have done more?

"You know, they should check more on permits and who's doing work," said Steve Pahoulis, "and if stuff is in place when people are living in these homes."

News 8 spoke to a neighbor who's been in construction for years, and he thinks no one should have been living in that house while the work went on.

"I don't think they can sue the city," said Luan Vrzivoli. "I don't think she was allowed to be in the house before it was finished."

"And you're in construction, so you know about this," questioned News 8's Kent Pierce.

"As far as I know, when you are doing construction in the house, you should be out from the house," Vrzivioli replied.