Fire Marshal: Cause of fatal Wakeman fire undetermined

The cause of a fatal fire in Wakeman in October was found to be undetermined, and the deaths of a mother and daughter were ruled to be accidental. Cynthia Jackson and her 12-year-old daughter, Nichole "Zoey" Senghas died in a fire at their home on Verlin Street in Huron County on Oct. 5. Jackson's son, Brady, 7, escaped out a window with the help of his mother. As of Feb. 12, the State Fire Marshal's investigation was closed, and the office sent a report on the fatal blaze to The Chronicle-Telegram. At the conclusion of a lengthy report, investigator Mark Cassidy found the cause of the fire to be undetermined. The documents shared with The Chronicle-Telegram also included the findings of the Lucas County Coroner's Office, which performed the autopsy on Jackson and Zoey Senghas. The Coroner's Office determined that both mother and daughter were killed by smoke and soot inhalation created by the house fire. Nick Senghas, the father of Zoey and Brady and ex-husband of Cynthia Jackson, has questioned the actions of the Wakeman Fire Department on Oct. 5, claiming firefighters were too slow in their response. Senghas could not be reached for comment Thursday. Marshal's report The report from investigator Cassidy begins with Wakeman Fire Chief Dave Wilson requesting the Fire Marshal's service in investigating the fatal fire. That request was made at 8:53 a.m. Oct. 5, very shortly after the fire. In the report, Wilson says that fire crews arrived at 43 Verlin St. to find fire breaching the front living room window as well as the roof at the center and rear of the home. Firefighters had been told there were victims trapped in the home. The report said that fire crews pumped water into the home through the front bedroom windows and two firefighters entered into the home to search for the victims. "Occupants were found but no attempt was made to bring victims out as they were determined to be deceased," the report said. Those residents were Jackson and Zoey, who were found lying next to a bunk bed and beneath a window in Zoey's bedroom on the northeast corner of the home. The door to the bedroom was "burned through" and the entire room was coated in soot, the report said. "Both victims were observed with soot covering their bodies with (Jackson) having a darker color staining," the report said. "(Zoey) was found next to the lower end of the bunk bed facing the east and towards the window laying atop her mother's legs. The mother (Jackson), was lying with her head pointing north and bent at the knees, underneath the east facing windows." The report also quoted family members who said that Brady told them his mother and sister attempted to leave through the front door but were unable to because of fire in the living room, so they returned to Zoey's room. Zoey had Angelman syndrome, a genetic condition causing developmental delays, problems with speech and balance and sometimes seizures. Cassidy wrote in the report that he determined the fire to have originated in the kitchen, possibly underneath the kitchen window. He added that Nick and Brady Senghas said in an interview that a printer was located "at or near the area of origin," but that no remnants of a printer were found anywhere in the fire debris. Ultimately, the report said that the cause of the fire was found to be undetermined. Autopsy reports The autopsies of both victims were performed Oct. 7, two days after the fire, by deputy coroners of the Lucas County Coroner's Office in Toledo. Both reports listed the time of injury as 8:17 a.m., which is the time at which Brady Senghas called 911 to report the fire on his mother's cellphone, which she had given to him. Jackson and Zoey were both found to have signs of smoke and soot inhalation in their nostrils, trachea and bronchi, the tubes connecting the lungs to the throat. This smoke inhalation was ruled as the cause of death for both mother and daughter, who were both also covered in soot. Both were also found to have other injuries consistent with exposure to extreme heat or flames. The Coroner's Office said Jackson had thermal burns on her face, neck and chest as well as her right forearm and hand. Thermal burn is a broad term for any burn caused by skin contact with extreme heat; including hot metals, scalding liquids, steam and flames according to the Stanford School of Medicine. The autopsy report said that the skin on Zoey's arms and legs had separated from the underlying tissue of her extremities, caused by the extreme heat from a fire. These external injuries were found not to be the cause of death though, as the Coroner's Office determined Zoey and Jackson both had carbon monoxide concentrations in their blood of above 70 percent, caused by smoke inhalation. Deputy Lucas County Coroner Dr. Carl Schmidt wrote in his report that a carbon monoxide concentration of 45 to 50 percent is usually fatal. Both deaths were also ruled to be accidental. The state Fire Marshal provided extensive additional investigatory documents which The Chronicle will continue to review. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.