Crime Writing Revised

DEATH AND FIRE/Ellis

CHILD DIES AND MATTAWAN RESIDENT ARRESTED FOR CONNECTIONS WITH FIRE

By Paul Ellis

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Tiffany Blanchard, 3, died this morning due to smoke inhalation suffered because of a fire at 1275 Monroe St. in the Oakwood Duplex.

A 33-year-old native of Mattawan and a juvenile were arrested by police early this morning as suspects related to the fire.

According to Deputy Chief Patricia Clarksen of the Kalamazoo Fire Dept., the events of this morning are as follows: firefighters of the 2^nd and 4^th companies arrived on the scene to the complex engulfed in flames. Of the 10 known tenants, seven were accounted for by the time the fire department arrived. Three children trapped inside the burning building were rescued by two firefighters, Samuel Walshe of 4^th Company and James O’Brian of 2^nd Company.

The children were taken to Bronson Memorial Hospital and admitted to the emergency room at 3:12 a.m. Tiffany Blanchard, 3, died due to smoke inhalation at 3:57 a.m. Her older brothers Tory, 5, and Terry, 6, were treated for minor injuries and released later that morning, according to hospital officials.

Lt. Regina Santarpio of the Kalamazoo Police Dept said neighbors saw a man

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running from the complex after midnight with a canister in his hand and a juvenile loitering around the scene. The police said they arrested Vincent DeNofrio, 33, from Mattawan, and a 16-year-old, also from Mattawan, as primary suspects in this case. Their arraignment is tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Santarpio said Marie Blanchard, 32, and DeNofrio were frequently at her apartment together according to tenants. They had seen him at her house on several occasions, and according to Santarpio, he is the estranged boyfriend of Blanchard.

“What I can say without question, there is a nexus between Marie Blanchard, Vincent DeNofrio, and the fire,” Santarpio said.

According to Fire Marshall Sam Johnson, an accelerant had been used that was sniffed out by Smokey, the fire department’s black lab. There also were no smoke detectors inside the building, and it suffered upwards of $250,000 in damages, according to Clarksen.

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