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

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popsicle said:
Jan Jeffcoat ‏@janjeffcoat 1m1 minute agoWashington, DC
#BREAKING: 2 more bodies recovered in #Annapolis mansion fire. Spokesperson details family events before fire http://on.wusa9.com/1BKAJi9
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Thx sooo much for this. From your link:

http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/2015/01/22/annapolis-mansion-fire-investigation-family/22152017/

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, also released a statement on Thursday morning about the National Response Team working at the site of the fire. Special Agent in Charge William McMullan of the Baltimore Field Division, said in the press release, "ATF is committed to using our resources in conjunction with our state and local partners to determine the cause and origin of this devastating fire."

This team is one of four NRT teams in that nation that helps federal, state, and local investigators in meeting the challenges faced at the scenes of significant arson and explosives incident, according to ATF officials.

The ATF explained, "The NRT has been used predominately in the investigation of commercial fires; it has been activated to assist with residential fires, the scene of the West, Texas fertilizer fire and explosion; as well as explosives and ammunition manufacturing plants, legal fireworks factories, and illegal explosive device manufacturing operations.

"The teams are each composed of veteran special agents who have post blast and fire origin–and–cause expertise; forensic chemists; explosives enforcement officers; fire protection engineers; accelerant detection canines; explosives detection canines; intelligence support, computer forensic support and audit support."

"The teams work alongside state and local officers in reconstructing the scene, identifying the seat of the blast or origin of the fire, conducting interviews, and sifting through debris to obtain evidence related to the bombing/arson.

"Further complementing the team's efforts are technical, legal, and intelligence advisors. Moreover, a fleet of fully equipped response vehicles strategically located throughout the United States is available to provide logistical support."

We saw some of those vehicles and equipment arrive at the mansion fire scene earlier this week.
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This family is in so much pain. I hope that someday they'll all be able to think back on these victims and smile once again. So damn sad.
 
http://www.wbal.com/article/112982/...olis-mansion-fire-family-ids-missing-children

More Bodies Found In Remains Of Annapolis Mansion Fire; Family ID's Missing Children
Thursday, January 22, 2015
WBAL Radio and Associated Press

Special Agent David Cheplak, a spokesman for the ATF's Baltimore field office, said earlier this week there were no immediate signs of foul play.

However, Capt. Robert Howarth, commander of the county fire department's fire and explosives investigation unit, said Tuesday that investigators were treating the site as a crime scene. Howarth said that is a common practice when there are no eyewitnesses, and it means only that anything recovered in the investigation would be admissible in court.
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http://www.kabc.com/common/more.php...ticle=9F3BE1D2A27B11E4B51EFEFDADE6840A&mode=2

Pyle's company bio described him as a industry veteran who has held multiple CEO positions, with more than 25 years' experience in information technology infrastructure software and hardware management.

Pyle told The Washington Post last year that after holding positions in a family business, he decided to look for an "industry that was in its infancy and something that would have growth potential." He started in a sales position in a firm that connected computers over transmission lines, and later sold both hardware and software components for the Internet.

Pyle told the newspaper he eventually moved from sales to sales management to general management positions. In 1992, the company went public and was sold to Cisco Systems five years later for $4.2 billion, according to the Post.
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Special Agent Dave Cheplak, a spokesman for the Baltimore office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), said investigators deployed an “accelerant dog” at the scene for the first time Thursday.

The dogs are trained to detect the smell of gasoline and other materials that may spark fires in the same way canines are trained to detect explosives, Cheplak said. The dog could also help pinpoint where the fire started and why.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...e81394-a23c-11e4-9f89-561284a573f8_story.html
 
Very informative and interesting interview of Don Pyle for The Washington Post. It details his experience from beginning to present, in his very own words. This guy is serious hard earned well deserved $$$money$$$. Everyone that knew him says he was just an everyday Joe that happened to be wealthy. He is full of class, educated, and very giving with a ton of personality to boot. Sandy is his perfect match as she is regarded with the same esteem. Again, this is coming from people that are posting everywhere that know them. They are a very happy couple and their family is their world.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...f8e9ba-4e5d-11e4-aa5e-7153e466a02d_story.html
 
Jersey*Girl said:
Very informative and interesting interview of Don Pyle for The Washington Post. It details his experience from beginning to present, in his very own words. This guy is serious hard earned well deserved $$$money$$$. Everyone that knew him says he was just an everyday Joe that happened to be wealthy. He is full of class, educated, and very giving with a ton of personality to boot. Sandy is his perfect match as she is regarded with the same esteem. Again, this is coming from people that are posting everywhere that know them. They are a very happy couple and their family is their world.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...f8e9ba-4e5d-11e4-aa5e-7153e466a02d_story.html
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I looked and looked and can't find but I did see an article on line and in reference to the school the g kids went to there was/is a sign for "The Pyles" for private parking, I thought it was telling since the kids last name was Boone. They seems to great Grandparents. I am sure most are heart broken over this. jmo idk
 
Elley Mae said:
I looked and looked and can't find but I did see an article on line and in reference to the school the g kids went to there was/is a sign for "The Pyles" for private parking, I thought it was telling since the kids last name was Boone. They seems to great Grandparents. I am sure most are heart broken over this. jmo idk
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I saw that too! Yes, very telling. :( :angel:
 
Elley Mae said:
I looked and looked and can't find but I did see an article on line and in reference to the school the g kids went to there was/is a sign for "The Pyles" for private parking, I thought it was telling since the kids last name was Boone. They seems to great Grandparents. I am sure most are heart broken over this. jmo idk
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Jersey*Girl said:
I saw that too! Yes, very telling. :( :angel:
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Found it Elley!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...e81394-a23c-11e4-9f89-561284a573f8_story.html

By Lynh Bui and Dana Hedgpeth January 22 at 5:30 PM

In an interview with The Washington Post in October, Don Pyle described Rixon as “a company that connected computers over transmission lines and that company was the foundation of companies that started designing equipment to connect computers together.”

His work there became the foundation of his fortune and the foundation of his family.

He and Sandy married about five years after they met, Whelan said, and Don became stepfather to Sandy’s two young sons, Clint and Randy Boone. Together, the sons had given the couple five grandchildren, whom they treasured.

The four oldest children went to the private Severn School, where tuition for elementary students runs nearly $18,000 a year and where the family was such a fixture that one of the parking spaces was marked “Reserved for Pyle family.”

The Pyles’ friends were struggling to absorb what had been lost in the fire.

“All of us are numb. It’s just hard to talk about,” Shillinglaw said. “For someone as wealthy as [Don] was, he’s the most down-to-earth person I ever met. He treated everyone like long-lost buddies, like great friends.”
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Bouch said a home alarm alerted 911 that smoke was detected on the first and second floors of the mansion early Monday, but because of the home’s vast open areas, the fire probably spread rapidly and “overcame the space.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...987c94-a247-11e4-903f-9f2faf7cd9fe_story.html

Investigators are using specialty software that provides “forensic mapping,” which allows them to reconstruct a building’s layout in such detail that they could determine where drapes might have hung or a couch might have been placed, according to Special Agent Dave Cheplak, a spokesman for the Baltimore office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

They turned their expansive basement into a playroom for sleepovers and took the children on trips to Disney World and Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park.

bbm
 
Pictures from your link Blondie. I'll bet all the cousins were the best of friends and were so excited about spending the night with their grandparents on a holiday weekend. The grief must be utterly unbearable for surviving family...:tears:

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Wesley Boone, 8
2z9isl4.jpg

Charlotte Boone, 6

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Sisters Lexi Boone (L) 8 and Kati Boone (R) 7
 
Elley Mae said:
Bouch said a home alarm alerted 911 that smoke was detected on the first and second floors of the mansion early Monday, but because of the home’s vast open areas, the fire probably spread rapidly and “overcame the space.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...987c94-a247-11e4-903f-9f2faf7cd9fe_story.html

Investigators are using specialty software that provides “forensic mapping,” which allows them to reconstruct a building’s layout in such detail that they could determine where drapes might have hung or a couch might have been placed, according to Special Agent Dave Cheplak, a spokesman for the Baltimore office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

They turned their expansive basement into a playroom for sleepovers [/B]and took the children on trips to Disney World and Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park.

bbm
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So when the alarm went off, there was smoke already on both floors?
 
nycgrl said:
So when the alarm went off, there was smoke already on both floors?
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Right. When the alarm company got the alarm it signaled the first and second floor, from what has been said the layout of the home was open. With that siad I can imagine that the second floor alarm would not have been far behind the first floor alarm. IIRC (if I read correctly) it's a 15 degree rise in temp in a minute that signals the alarm. It would seem at this time that it was a first floor fire that quickly set off the second floor signal. jmo
 
Elley Mae said:
Right. When the alarm company got the alarm it signaled the first and second floor, from what has been said the layout of the home was open. With that siad I can imagine that the second floor alarm would not have been far behind the first floor alarm. IIRC (if I read correctly) it's a 15 degree rise in temp in a minute that signals the alarm. It would seem at this time that it was a first floor fire that quickly set off the second floor signal. jmo
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Plus it was a smart house. Sensors were probably everywhere. So I wonder how long it took for a reading to go through and then the call to the fd from the alarm/security company. From what I've read, the fd made it there in 2 minutes from the call. Maybe this is why the ATF is involved and they're looking into accelerants. In reading comments on various articles, neighbors that knew the Pyle's say they had gas and that their tanks were underground. That would make sense why the home didn't explode outward if the gas played a factor IMO.
 
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