Fire marshal: No working smoke detectors found inside Garden City home

Molly Madigan was a senior at Garden City High School and was the youngest of four children.

News 12 Staff

May 7, 2021, 12:27 PM

Updated 1,078 days ago

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The Nassau fire marshal's office revealed Friday that investigators believe there were no working smoke detectors inside the Garden City home where three family members died in a fire.
The news comes after police identified two of the three victims of the fire as Gail Madigan, 60, and Molly Madigan, 18. A 62-year-old male was the third victim but has not been identified pending further investigation.
Cecilia Akel is just one of the Garden City residents who stopped by the home on Washington Avenue to leave flowers outside.
"It's devastating," says Akel.
Molly Madigan was a senior at Garden City High School and was the youngest of four children. She had plans to go to NYU in the fall.
Assistant Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro says the cause of the fire is still not known but the fire is not suspicious. Uttaro says it started in the rear of the home.
"We did find a smoke detector in the house, but it was not functioning," says Uttaro. "Unfortunately, in the areas most seriously affected by the fire, the first and second floor, it's not going to be able to be known whether or not there were working smoke detectors -- the damage was so significant. However, assumptions based on the victims of the fire, we don't believe there were working smoke detectors in the home."
There are also ribbons tied around all the trees on Washington Avenue. Neighbors say pink was Molly's favorite color, the blue and white is for Garden City, and the purple is for NYU.




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