Mike Labella
The Eagle-Tribune
HAVERHILL, Mass. — The niece of 84-year-old Phyllis Lamot, who died in a March 7 fire at 477 Washington St., has a message for Haverhill firefighters: “Don’t use my aunt’s death as a bargaining chip.”
Jeri-ann Batal of Methuen says firefighters made no attempts to try to save her aunt, then afterward pointed to staffing cutbacks by the mayor as the reason they could not enter the burning building.
“I don’t want my aunt’s name used in any way shape or form so that firefighters can get a new piece of equipment or more coverage or anything else,” Batal said. “They did wrong and I don’t want anyone to benefit from this.”
Just hours after the deadly early morning blaze that claimed Lamot’s life, firefighters held a press conference in front of the burned-out triple decker to say Lamot may have survived the fire if Mayor James Fiorentini had not cut two men from their rescue truck.
One firefighter went so far as to say the mayor should be charged with murder for taking the rescue truck out of service over a dispute with the union.
The mayor had made the cut the week before the tragic fire to cover a $200,000 deficit in the department’s overtime budget.
Greg Roberts, head of the Haverhill Firefighters Union, could not be reached for comment. Fiorentini was also unavailable for comment.
A few days later, firefighters apologized to the mayor and agreed to have two of their men work the rescue truck for free for two weeks. Firefighters who accepted unpaid punishment duty for their role in last year’s EMT certification scandal were to serve their hours on the rescue truck.
The mayor said the city may be able to find money to fully staff the rescue truck with paid firefighters in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
“In my opinion, they used my aunt as an example to prove their point,” Batal said. “I don’t want anyone in that union to mention her name or use her as a bargaining chip again. It seems like they got what they wanted, until the summer at least.”
City officials said Lamot lived with two younger relatives, Raymond Matthes, 55, and Sherry Matthes, 53, who were both injured in the fire. Public Safety Commissioner Alan Denaro said the two tried to put the fire out themselves instead of calling 911 immediately. He said that caused a crucial delay in the arrival of firefighters.
Denaro and fire Chief Richard Borden have said there were more than enough firefighters on the scene of the house fire when the rescue truck arrived to search for anyone in the building, but that fire officials in charge at the scene ordered them not to enter the building because it was engulfed in flames.
State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said the cause of the fire appeared to be accidental and that the blaze had spread quickly because of medical oxygen that was being used in the home. He said investigators determined that what witnesses described as an explosion was an oxygen tank exploding.
Batal said she and other family members believe Lamot died of smoke inhalation in the fire, although they are still waiting for an official report on the cause of death.
“My mom spoke to the funeral director and was told there were no marks on her body,” Batal said.
She said her aunt was in a first-floor bedroom at the right rear of the house and that the bedroom windows were within reach from the ground.
“I was told that neighbors were pleading with firefighters to get her out but they wouldn’t go in,” Batal said.
She said one of her cousins told her that Lamot’s body was not removed from the home until sometime after 5 a.m. that day. The fire broke out about 12:30 a.m.
Batal said Lamot’s death has been very hard for family members to cope with.
“I’ve been having nightmares about it,” Batal said. “The big question is why she (Lamot) wasn’t taken out of a fully intact room until almost five hours after the fire.”
A fire that broke out in a home on Harris Street in Methuen last Friday night served as grim reminder to Batal of what her aunt may have suffered. She said she lives close to Harris Street and was awakened by the smell of smoke.
“I went outside with my husband and all that came to my mind was that I was nowhere near the fire yet my throat was burning,” Batal said. “I can only imagine what it was like for my aunt. I can’t imagine what was going through her mind.”
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