MD - Tech tycoon's Annapolis mansion destroyed by fire and 6 missing

[Elley Mae]

I heard earlier this morning on the news that there was no access to fire hydrants in the area.

Right about the fire hydrants, some people have sprinklers installed and lots don't because of the damage when they go off on a grease fire in the kitchen when it is under control, yet the home fills with water and the antiques and paintings and ruined. Being from the area and knowing people that build and own homes like that I am really surprised they didn't get out. I know of a home that recently sold for 15 million, safe room and all, irreplaceable items in the home, I mean absolutely beautiful craftsmanship in every detail, and no sprinkler system. This is a weird one, waiting for more info.

 

[Lamima]

http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/...outside-of-annapolis-20150119,0,1919234.story

Odd that so little info is being released yet the kids' school closed today 'to grieve'. Who are the 4 kids' parents and why aren't we hearing more? It's just so casual. Reports say 'if they were in there, well you can expect no survivors'. Well what if one or more of them were kidnapped?? Seems like it's dire to figure out the situation, no? The reports were like 'we expect to search the ruins on Wednesday'. If I were those kids' mom I would be screaming from the rooftops to find my children.

 

[Elley Mae]

I'm still searching but being local and one to read news alot that name(pyle) and arson ring a bell. jmo idk still looking

 

[Elley Mae]

Some neighbors had said the owners of the seven-bedroom house were supposed to head out of town Tuesday.

Neighbors say some of those who are missing could be children, as the couple who lives in the house was due to leave Monday on a trip with some of their grandchildren. The husband and wife, Don and Sandy Pyle, are still missing. Mr. Pyle, 55, is the COO of Virginia-based IT firm Science Logic.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/27882079/crews-battle-4-alarm-fire-in-annapolis

 

[Elley Mae]

Davies said it took several hours for fire department tanker trucks and a fire boat on an adjacent creek to bring the fire under control, he said.

http://whotv.com/2015/01/19/6-missing-after-fire-guts-annapolis-mansion/

 

[TTF14]

Thanks for posting the link to the home. Wow....amazing. So sad to think it's in rubble with innocent children inside .

 

[Elley Mae]

Thanks for posting the link to the home. Wow....amazing. So sad to think it's in rubble with innocent children inside .

Still nothing on finding bodies yet.

 

[1&2&3]

Just chiming in that another case where little information is being given out. Why?

<modsnip>

Also in that same article, it said it is believed the fire started on the second floor. How could that be when the master bedroom was probably on the first floor? Who was on the second floor to start a fire? Fire burns upward, so why start it on a second floor? Sure when it is hot enough, things will start falling and collapsing, but would the first floor not be the preferred spot?

 

[Elley Mae]

This isn't the same home that burned. The map location doesn't match, the home architecture is not the same, nor is the square footage, number of bedrooms, etc. The home that burned was built in 2005, the home in this listing was built in 1998.

You are so right, my bad.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

Do people find it odd that a house that size, that isolated, and that expensive didn't have it's own fire hose and pump in case of fire? Or was the fire raging too much for any of that to be of any use in a fire of this size? Also strange that none of the grandparents and grandchildren made it out, I really wonder if they were alive when the fire started, or if the fire was lit to destroy evidence. Sad, horrible and tragic

 

[Elley Mae]

According to the radio the fire chief is saying they will not be able to get in the home till tomorrow, too hot. jmo

 

[al66pine]

Any link to full text of the school's letter/announcement re no-school Mon (or Tues)?

Did all 4 g'children attend that school? Elementary, middle, or high school? (Missed it)

I've seen Mr Pyle's age given as 55 and 56.
Did Mr & Mrs P have other sons or dau's beside the 2 adult sons who lived w them, per DM article this a.m.? (Not to sleuth them, tho)

 

[Lamima]

Any link to full text of the school's letter/announcement re no-school Mon (or Tues)?

Did all 4 g'children attend that school? Elementary, middle, or high school? (Missed it)

I've seen Mr Pyle's age given as 55 and 56.
Did Mr & Mrs P have other sons or dau's beside the 2 adult sons who lived w them, per DM article this a.m.? (Not to sleuth them, tho)

In the article I linked, they said that the school won't release the letter. There is no talk of the kids' ages. I read that they had 2 adult sons and they lived in the home. It's all very mysterious. I also just read, and I will link, an article that states 'foul play not suspected'...huh??? http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/...-of-annapolis-20150119,0,1919234.story?page=1

I saw a picture, I think in the 1st article I linked at bottom, that showed the firetruck hoses in the water around the house and I read that they pumped water from the water around the house.

 

[Elley Mae]

Any link to full text of the school's letter/announcement re no-school Mon (or Tues)?

Did all 4 g'children attend that school? Elementary, middle, or high school? (Missed it)

I've seen Mr Pyle's age given as 55 and 56.
Did Mr & Mrs P have other sons or dau's beside the 2 adult sons who lived w them, per DM article this a.m.? (Not to sleuth them, tho)

iirc they went to this school, it's private, just the lower classes are canceled today.

http://www.severnschool.com/home

 

[Elley Mae]

The Capital-Gazette reports it has a letter from Severn School headmaster Douglas Lagarde saying that the Pyles and four children died in the fire. The school’s website says that the Chesapeake Campus lower school is closed Tuesday, and an open house planned for 9 a.m. Wednesday has been canceled.

http://patch.com/maryland/annapolis/school-says-four-children-dead-mansion-fire-0

 

[Elley Mae]

I would venue to guess that if the kids were suppose to be in school and the school didn't know they not going to be there, they would have known. jmo

 

[LietKynes]

Surely a house this size and cost would have sec. cams ??

If there were intruders---wouldn't LE release that info ?
If it is suspected this was an inside job.. maybe LE is keeping it under wraps ; so as not to tip off the suspects.
Doesn't seem like an accident. But then I've not studied fires at all.
<modsnip>

Just thinking out loud.

Rest in peace to the deceased ! What a terrible way to go !!

:moo:

 

[al66pine]

iirc they went to this school, it's private, just the lower classes are canceled today.
http://www.severnschool.com/home

EM
From your link: "Chesapeake Campus (Lower School PS-5) will be closed Tuesday, 1/20."
So ^ suggests that one - or more - of the g'children was/were in PS-5 and none of these 4 g'children was old enough for higher grades there.

Still curious about whether 4 g'children in home that night were all children of the 2 adult sons who lived there
or if one or some were children of Mr&MrsP's other adult-children (if any).

Did I miss anything about whether any of the 4 g'children lived in the home too?

 

[lucky181]

Relatives of six family members who remain unaccounted for after a massive fire gutted a waterfront mansion believe they were inside at the time of the blaze, a fire official said Tuesday.
Fire officials said nearly all of the structure collapsed into the basement. The mansion had no sprinkler system, officials said.
Davies said a search for the missing family members will begin when crews stabilize the wreckage and pump out tens of thousands of gallons of water from the basement — likely Wednesday.

http://wtop.com/national/2015/01/fire-official-6-unaccounted-for-in-maryland-mansion-blaze/

 

[lucky181]

The home did not have a sprinkler system because it was built prior to local sprinkler requirements, officials said.

The national team (ATF) hopes to enter the house Wednesday morning to begin a "very systematic process" that includes forensic mapping, photographing the scene, and releasing a canine "especially trained to detect accelerants."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/mystery-surrounds-maryland-mansion-fire/story?id=28344561