Smoke detector search still on at apartment fire that killed three

By Jerry Sena

jtsena@wataugademocrat.com

Boone Fire Marshal Ronnie Marsh denied published reports that an apartment unit that burned last week, killing three young girls, had no fire detectors.

“It was wrong,” Marsh said Tuesday morning.

A syndicated news report published Sunday claimed fire officials found no working smoke detector at the Clyde Townsend Road apartment.

“What we said was we were unable to determine if a smoke detector was in the apartment,” Marsh said. “There has never been a statement that says there was not one in there.”

Marsh said investigators were planning to sift through a debris pile, seeking out clues to the cause of a fire last Thursday night that killed Clarita Cid Flores, 5, Dacy Cid Flores, 6, and Lilianna Cid Flores, 8.

The sisters were all students at Cove Creek Elementary.

“We’ll be doing an additional search [Tuesday], and [Wednesday] also, of the pile of debris we took out of the apartment, to try to locate other items,” Marsh said. “The smoke detector is one of the things we will be looking for.”

The cause of the fire remained unknown as of Tuesday, Marsh said.

Sheriff’s deputies found the building burning about 11:25 p.m. Thursday.

The deputies were able to help the girls’ father, Lazaro Rodriguez, out of the house. The mother, Lorena Flores, broke a window and escaped with the couple’s 14-month-old son.

The sisters were trapped in a back bedroom and rescuers couldn’t reach it because of the heat and smoke.

Lazaro Rodriguez was transported to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, in Winston-Salem, where he was treated for burns to his face and smoke inhalation.

Lorena Flores and her son were treated at Watauga Medical Center and released.

The Boone Fire Department, the Watauga County Fire Marshal’s Office, and the State Bureau of Investigation have been investigating.