Crime & Safety

Norwalk Bail Commissioner Escapes House Fire

Kelli Sequeira, a bail commissioner for the state at the Norwalk courthouse, discovered a fire burning in her Milford home and rushed to get her family out; the damaged house is uninhabitable for now.

Kelli Sequeira was brushing her teeth at about six this morning when she suddenly smelled smoke.

She continued to go about her business of getting ready for work at state , where she's a bail commissioner, but the smell grew stronger. Then she began to hear what sounded like the crackling of a camp fire. Not sure if it was her cat, she peered out the bathroom window and saw flames coming from the roof.

That's when Sequeira said to herself, "We have to get out of this house now."

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She rushed to get her mother, Estella, her 2-year-old nephew, Shawn, and her brother, Russell Jr. Her father, Russell, was already at work.

The five of them, along with Shawn's father, Shawn, stood together with their neighbor across the street shortly after 8 a.m. The neighbor had brought out coffee and water for the Sequeiras.

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The fire was out, but the damage had been done.

Milford Fire Capt. Ron Wetmore said the one-and-a-half story, wood-frame structure suffered extensive damage—from the fire, smoke and water. The fire appears to have started in the attic, he said, although the investigation into the cause remains open.

When firefighters arrived flames were showing from the house, Wetmore said. It took about 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze.

Kelli Sequeira carried her nephew out of the house. The 28-year-old said the toddler was resilient and didn't really get upset, maybe because she remained calm herself, she noted.

"You have to make it that way for them," she said.

The family was woring with an insurance adjuster to make arrangements to stay in a hotel, since the house is uninhabitable.

Despite being displaced and the grim prospect of personal belongings lost in the fire—her clothes closet is connected to the attic, which suffered the most damage, and the only outfit she has is the one she was wearing—Kelli remained positive.

She was thankful her family made it out unharmed. "That's all I care about," she said.


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