Investigators detail cause of fire that killed six children, amid - NEWS10 ABC: Albany, New York News, Weather, Sports

Investigators detail cause of fire that killed six children, amid mother's outburst

FORT EDWARD, N.Y. - The worst fire in memory for first responders in Fort Edward officially has a cause.

Tuesday investigators explained what led to the deaths of six children, ages one through 12, on Burgoyne Avenue back on June 26th.

News 10's Marie Luby explains why it turned extremely emotional for the mother of two of those children.

It was a difficult day for fire investigators giving their final conclusion on a June blaze that killed six children, while their parents escaped. The district attorney will not seek to press charges. Bill Cook, Public Information Officer for the Fort Edward Fire Department, said, "He also agreed based on the evidence that this was just a horrific accident."

The cause: a wire inside the wall that overheated and caught fire, spreading rapidly. The wire should have been protected by a 15 amp fuse but instead had a 30 amp fuse. Investigators say the children died of smoke inhalation within minutes, before firefighters even arrived on scene.

It was not enough explanation for the birth mother of two of those children, who had an outburst during the briefing. Florence Palazzo, mother of Hope and Mackenzie Smith, yelled at investigators, "Explain to everybody because I still don't hear anybody saying how Abigail Smith was found alone in her crib...," the same room where her parents were sleeping. Cook told Palazzo, "Ma'am we've been through this with you....you're welcome to exit the building right now."

Palazzo thinks her daughters' father, Lewis Carl Smith and his live-in girlfriend, Samantha Cox, should face charges.

Palazzo said, "This is a picture of Mackenzie. She was six years old. This is a picture of Hope. She was 12. They're dead now. Why? Because everybody sat back and watched as they died."

But firefighters are sure they did everything they could.

They found two smoke detectors in the basement. Smith told investigators there were more upstairs, but he never heard them.

Cook explained, "The resident (Smith) stated that there were smoke detectors in both of those living areas, the first floor and second floor. We just could not find...the remains because of the charring of the fire. They may have been there, we're not saying they weren't there."

Smith and Cox have declined to comment to News 10 since the fire.

Palazzo says she is taking her concerns to the Attorney General's office.

Firefighters are still visibly haunted by the memory, and said they called the media for one final news conference in an effort to give the whole community some closure.