RETURN BY LATE EVENING AND
INVESTIGATORS'
EXCLUSIVE...
"A CALL FOR HELP."
(MM)
JUST DAYS BEFORE A
FIRE TEARS THROUGH A
PROVIDENCE BUILDING -
KILLING A WOMAN - A
TENANT MAKES A CHILLING
PREDICTION IN A 9-1-1
CALL.
"It's illegal to have those
cords
running down the stairs like
that,
he's going to kill somebody,
it's
going to cause a fire!
(HE)
THAT 9-1-1 CALLER -----
BEGGING POLICE FOR
HELP AT 110 BOWDOIN
STREET --- AFTER HE SAYS
THE HOUSE WAS
LITTERED WITH
EXTENSION CORDS...
BECAUSE THE BUILDING
HAD NO HEAT.
(MM)
TARGET 12 INVESTIGATOR
TIM WHITE IS HERE NOW
WITH HIS EXCLUSIVE
DETAILS.
TIM...
IT'S RARE WE ACTUALLY
GET TO HEAR 911 CALLS --
BUT YOU WORKED TO GET
THEM BECAUSE---- IT WAS
A CRITICAL MOMENT IN
THIS TRAGIC TIMELINE.
(TW)
IT REALLY WAS, WE
WANTED A BETTER
UNDERSTANDING ABOUT
WHAT WENT ON IN THE
DAYS LEADING UP TO THE
FIRE.
(TW)
INITIALLY MY REQUEST TO
GET THE 911 CALLS WAS
DENIED BY CITY
LAWYERS....
THEY TOLD ME I HAD TO
TRACK DOWN THE
PERSON WHO MADE THE
CALLS, AND GET THEM
TO GIVE ME WRITTEN
PERMISSION...
SO WE DID.
NEW YEAR'S DAY AT 110
BOWDOIN STREET WAS COLD...
WITH NO HEAT IN THE HOUSE,
EXTENSION CORDS WERE
RUNNING THROUGHOUT THE
BUILDING POWERING SPACE
HEATERS AND HOT PLATES.
BREAKERS WERE CONSTANTLY
TRIPPING, AND AFTER THE
OXYGEN MACHINE HIS WIFE
WAS ON KEPT TURNING OFF...
RC: Hi. I have a complaint, my
landlord has bunch extension
cords
running out his door all the way
down the stairs.
RESIDENT ROLAND COLPITTS
FINALLY HAD ENOUGH AND
CALLED PROVIDENCE POLICE.
rc; It's illegal to have those
cords
running down the stairs like
that,
he's going to kill somebody,
it's
going to cause a fire. It's
going to
cause a fire ma'am. I have to
run
downstairs to the basement to
turn
the breakers on 10 to 20 times a
day
dispatcher: What's your address,
sir?
rc; 110 Bowdoin street
dispatcher: have you thought
about
finding a new place to live?
rc; How can I? How can I? He's
got
all of our money and everything
he
refuses to do anything.
THE POLICE DISPATCHER
REACHED OUT TO THE FIRE
DEPARTMENT...
Can the fire department see if
there
is a safety hazard?
WHAT FIREFIGHTERS FOUND
THERE WAS SO TROUBLING,
THEY CALLED A FIRE
DEPARTMENT INSPECTOR
Be advised engine 14 is also
going
to need you at 110 bowdoin
street
for an issue with electrical
wires.
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT
ULTIMATELY FORWARDED THE
COMPLAINT TO THE CITY
INSPECTORS OFFICE - WHO
SENT AN OFFICIAL TWO DAYS
LATER.
ON JANUARY SECOND,
COLPITTS CALLED 911, AGAIN.
rc; I need a police officer at
110
Bowdoin St.
Dispatcher: 110 Bowdoin?
rc; My landlord threatened me
with
bodily harm as a repercussion
because I called the inspectors
on
him.
rc; He's at my door threatening
to
kick it in right now.
dispatcher: Alright I'm going to
send
somebody your way.
In the end, Roland Colpitts
predictions to the police proved
true.
Five days after his call, the
building
burned down. Firefighters later
recovered the body of 49 year
old
Lucy Feliciano.
110 BOWDOIN HAD BEEN ON
THE CITY'S RADAR FOR
YEARS.
A PROPERTY REPORT
REVIEWED BY TARGET 12
SHOWS THE BUILDING - OWNED
BY DEXTER JACKSON -
ACCRUED A LONG LIST OF
VIOLATIONS. YET NONE OF THE
OTHER INSPECTORS NOTICED
THE HOME WAS BEING RUN AS
AN ILLEGAL "BOARDING HOUSE"
LIKE THE INSPECTOR
DISCOVERED DAYS BEFORE
THE FIRE.
AND ONE INSPECTOR - WHO
TARGET 12 HAS LEARNED IS NO
LONGER WORKING FOR THE
CITY - CLEARED THE PROPERTY
OF SEVERAL VIOLATIONS IN
2015, SIGNING OFF THAT ISSUES
HAD BEEN FIXED...
INCLUDING HEAT BEING
RESTORED TO THE ENTIRE
BUILDING.
BUT A NATIONAL GRID
SPOKESPERSON TELLS TARGET
12 ONLY ONE OF TWO
APARTMENTS WAS ACTUALLY
GETTING NATURAL GAS AT THAT
TIME. WE'VE LEARNED THE
OFFICIAL WHO SIGNED OFF ON
THE REPAIRS WAS A BUILDING
INSPECTOR - MEANING HE
DEALS WITH STRUCTURAL
ISSUES - NOT A MECHANICAL
INSPECTOR WHO EXAMINES
HEATING SYSTEMS.
(TW)
INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE
SPACE HEATERS OR HOT
PLATES IGNITED THE
FLAMES, THE
HOMEOWNER WAS NOT
CHARGED.
TARGET 12 WAS DENIED A
REQUEST TO INTERVIEW
THE HEAD OF INSPECTION
AND STANDARDS,
JEFFREY LYKINS, WE
WERE TOLD HIS
SCHEDULE WAS TOO
BUSY.
(TW)
BUT IN A PHONE CALL,
LYKINS TELLS ME THEY
ARE REVIEWING THEIR
POLICIES AND
PROCEDURES IN THE
WAKE OF THIS CASE.
(HE)
TIM, ONE OF THE
STRIKING THINGS WE
HEARD IN YOUR REPORT
WAS WHEN THE
DIPATCHER ASKED THE
TENANT IF THEY SHOULD
JUST MOVE OUT.
YOU'VE LEARNED THAT
CAUGHT THE ATTENTION
OF PUBLIC SAFETY
OFFICIALS.
(TW)
THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED
THERE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT
OF INCOME, SO SIMPLY UP
AND MOVING WAS NOT AN
EASY OPTION.
A SPOKESPERSON FOR
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
TELLS ME -QUOTE-
"APPROPRIATE
DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS"
WERE TAKEN AFTER
LISTENING TO THOSE
RECORDINGS.
(HE)
COMING UP NEW AT SIX...
WE BRING YOU THE
CHAOTIC 9-1-1 CALLS
FROM THE NIGHT OF THE
FIRE...
AND THE FRANTIC RADIO
CALLS BY FIREFIGHTERS
AS THEY SEARCH FOR THE
VICTIM.
"A CALL FOR HELP"
CONTINUES TONIGHT IN
sleet
on the grass is possible from
Providence and points north and
TARGET 12
INVESTIGATORS'
EXCLUSIVE: "A CALL FOR
HELP."
(MM)
WE'VE OBTAINED THE
DRAMATIC 911 CALLS AND
FIREFIGHTER RADIO
TRAFFIC FROM ---A FATAL
FIRE IN PROVIDENCE LAST
MONTH.
(0005) There is a big fire right
now
Dispatch: Are there people
inside?
Caller: there are people
screaming
outside (0050) There is like two
houses burning nright now
(MM)
AT FIVE WE REVEALED A
TENANT FROM THE HOUSE
CALLED POLICE NEARLY A
WEEK BEFORE THE
DEADLY BLAZE,
PREDICTING THERE WAS
GOING TO BE A FIRE.
(HE)
NEW AT 6: RADIO
TRANSMISSIONS FROM
FIREFIGHTERS THE NIGHT
OF THE BLAZE, SHOW THE
FRANTIC SEARCH FOR A
WOMAN -- WHO
ULTIMATELY LOST HER
LIFE.
(MM)
TARGET 12 INVESTIGATOR
TIM WHITE IS HERE NOW
WITH HIS EXCLUSIVE
FINDINGS.
(TW)
WHEN FIREFIGHTERS
ARRIVED AT 110 BOWDOIN
STREET, IT WAS A CHAOTIC
SCENE.
THREE BUILDINGS
ULTIMATELY BURNED
DOWN...
AND RADIO CALLS FROM
THAT NIGHT SHOW THEY
KNEW EARLY ON,
AT LEAST ONE PERSON
WAS UNACCOUNTED FOR.
911 RECORDINGS OBTAINED BY
TARGET 12 REVEAL FIVE DAYS
BEFORE A FATAL FIRE AT 110
BOWDOIN STREET IN
PROVIDENCE...
TENANT ROLAND COLPITTS
CALLED POLICE,
SEEKING HELP:
THE HOUSE WAS LITTERED
WITH EXTENSION CORDS TO
POWER SPACE HEATERS.
[1-1-18 bowdoin 2505-mp3.mp3]
rc; (0047) It's illegal to have
those
cords running down the stairs
like
that, he's going to kill
somebody, it's
going to cause a fire. It's
going to
cause a fire ma'am. (0054)
LESS THAN A WEEK LATER ON
JANUARY 6TH...
THIS CALL TO 911:
[106 bowdoin phone calls]
Dispatch: (0012) The house is on
fire?
Caller: We need police right
now,
yes.
Dispatch: Is the house on fire?
Caller: Yes.
Dispatch: The house is on fire.
Caller: The house is on fire.
Dispatch: OK get everyone out of
the house.
MULTIPLE CALLS BEGAN
POURING IN.
[106 bowdoin phone calls]
Dispatch: (0103) Are there
people
inside?
Caller: There are people
screaming
outside (0050) There is like two
houses burning right now
Dispatch: Ok sir, we have them
en
route.
TARGET 12 ALSO OBTAINED
TWO-WAY RADIO TRAFFIC FROM
THE PROVIDENCE FIRE
DEPARTMENT.
[106 bowdoin ch 1 & 2]
(0112) report of a house fire
with a
person trapped on the second
floor
FIRST RESPONDERS SOON
LEARNED ONE OF THE TENANTS
- LUCY FELICIANO - WAS
UNACCOUNTED FOR.
RESIDENTS WERE BEING
TREATED IN AMBULANCES
STAGED NEAR THE FIRE.
[106 bowdoin ch 1 & 2]
(1630) Rescue 2 has a patient at
Amherst and putnam crrently,
smoke inhalation.
(1645) Safety to Rescue 2, is
that
Lucy?
BUT IT WAS ANOTHER TENANT
- NOT LUCY FELICIANO - BEING
TREATED.
AS THE MINUTES TICKED BY...
[106 bowdoin ch 1 & 2]
(1859) Lucy is not present if
command is looking for Lucy
THEN,
FIREFIGHTERS WERE CALLED
OUT OF ONE OF THE BUILDINGS.
[106 bowdoin ch 1 & 2]
(2050) Command to special
hazards
on the second floor of the
original
fire building,
evacuate your position at this
time.
IN THE END,
FELICIANO'S REMAINS WERE
REMOVED FROM THE EMBERS
OF THE BUILDING THE NEXT
DAY.
INVESTIGATORS SAY THE LIKELY
CAUSE OF THE FIRE WAS
TENANTS USING SPACE
HEATERS AND HOT PLATES
BECAUSE THE BUILDING
LACKED WORKING HEAT.
(TW)
AS WE REPORTED AT FIVE,
THE CITY INSPECTION AND
STANDARDS DEPARTMENT
TELLS US THEY ARE
REVIEWING THEIR
POLICIES AND
PROCEDURES AFTER A
PREVIOUS INSPECTOR
GAVE THE PROPERTY A
GREENLIGHT FOR HAVING
WORKING HEAT TO THE
ENTIRE BUILDING,
BUT A NATIONAL GRID
SPOKESPERSON TELLS ME
ONLY ONE OF THE
APARTMENTS WAS BEING
SUPPLIED WITH NATURAL
GAS AT THAT TIME.
WITH THE TARGET 12
INVESTIGATORS TIM WHITE
EYEWITNESS NEWS