In effort to save house guest, woman perishes in early morning fire

Update: In effort to save house guest, woman perishes in early morning fire. (Norwalk Hour)

Posted on 05/26/2009

email | print | link to this article

NORWALK

By STEVE KOBAK

Hour Staff Writer 


A 39-year-old yoga instructor died early Tuesday morning while trying to save a house guest from a raging fire that killed two in her second floor apartment at 13 Burwell St.
Melanie Weeks Sammarco, who owned Jyoti Yoga and Wellness in Stamford, escaped the 3 a.m. blaze with her husband Mattia Sammarco but decided to rush back into the burning building when she discovered her guest had not made it out, fire officials said. 
“The world lost a wonderful person today, someone who was irreplaceable,” said Sandra Schuyler, Sammarco’s longtime friend. “She was always helping people.”
The house guest, whose name has not yet been released, also died in the fire. Mattia Sammarco is currently being treated in the burn unit of Bridgeport Hospital.
Fire officials say they responded to a two family home 13 Burwell St. for a brush fire call at 3 a.m. but the fire was much larger than reported.
When emergency crews arrived on the scene, they saw flames shooting up into the air from the back deck and fire engulfing the second floor of the home, according to police reports. 
The people who resided on the first floor were outside of the home and they told firefighters that some of the second floor residents were still inside, fire officials said. 
Firefighters were also informed that Mattia Sammarco had escaped the fire through an exterior stairwell and his clothing was on fire as he ran to safety. Melanie Sammarco and a guest were still inside the burning house, fire crews were informed.
Firefighters rescued the house guest but were unable to locate Melanie Sammarco. The house guest succumbed to his injuries, fire officials said.
A few errant sparks of a discarded cigarette sparked the late night blaze, according to Fire Chief Denis McCarthy.
Neighbors said they were awakened by the smell of smoke and the sound of a woman screaming. 
“I keep hearing the screaming in my head,” said Christine Belcher, who lives two houses away from the site of the blaze “I kept hearing it last night. It was devastating.”
Belcher, who lives at 15 Burwell St., said a heavy scent of smoke wafted into her window and she thought her home was on fire. Belcher said she was about to kick in her roommate’s door to wake her up and get her out of the house when saw fire trucks responding to the fire. 
Melanie and Mattia Sammarco married about one month ago and had recently moved in together, according to Melanie Sammarco’s family. 
Schuyler and other members of Sammarco’s friends and family were supposed to move some of the couple’s belongings into a storage facility on Tuesday. When they arrived at the couple’s residence at 9 a.m., officials informed them about the fire, the family said.
Melanie Sammarco was a world traveler who enjoyed meeting new people and was “all about positive energy,” said her aunt Carol Sargent.
“You could hug her and it was so warm that it would stay with you for hours,” she said.