May 17, 2008
Fatal fire on Cecil Avenue
Gesture to homeless mom, sons
Owners of house say they rented to three, tenant wouldn't leave
Oliver Carlest and his wife are owners of the Cecil Avenue house where a fire claimed six lives. They live nearby. (Sun photo by Glenn Fawcett / May 22, 2007)
Article tools
E-mail
Print
Single page
Reprints- Text size:
Around the corner from the charred remains of lives lost or forever changed, a man and his wife -- owners of the house on Cecil Avenue where six people were killed and seven others injured in an early-morning blaze yesterday -- sat in the gloom of their living room and wondered.
What if Oliver and Margaret Carlest had never met Deneen Thomas -- a woman they say showed up at their door one day last fall with her handicapped son, saying they were homeless?
What if they had never agreed to rent her the rowhouse they owned a few steps from their own home in the 1000 block of E. North Ave.?
What if Thomas had moved out when the Carlests warned her that they needed to make repairs? They say she refused to pay the $60 rent after October and did not return certified letters they sent her warning of possible eviction.
Related links
-
Ample valor, too little time for fire crews
-
First goal: prevent deaths from shock
-
Gregory Kane: Neighbors mourn the lives lost in fire
-
'Can't stop the tears from flowing'
-
East Baltimore fire
Photos
-
East Baltimore fire
Multimedia
-
Video: Fatal fire in East Baltimore
-
Eviction hearing, fire chief's remarks, 911 calls Audio
-
Site of fatal East Baltimore fire
"Right now I don't even know if she is alive or dead," Margaret Carlest, 60, said of the tenant.
"This is a day I wish I had never seen," said her husband, Oliver Carlest, 64.
"What happened here is a tragedy to everybody in the neighborhood," said the husband, who wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. "My family, my friends, my neighbors: everyone is suffering."
The Carlests said they found out about the fire from their grandchildren, who were on their way to school when fire trucks pulled onto the normally quiet street, one where on warm nights adults sit outside playing pinochle while their children ride bikes.
And while Margaret Carlest said she stopped by the fire scene to check on her renters and neighbors, her husband said he didn't have the physical or emotional strength to move from his sofa.
"I can't go there," said Oliver Carlest, a slight man who bought the house at 1903 Cecil Ave. for his daughter Sasennia Carlest and her children about a decade ago.
After Sasennia Carlest moved out of the house several years ago, it sat empty until Thomas showed up, the family said.
"She just came around and people started to feed her and her children," said Margaret Carlest of Thomas and her two young sons, one of whom used a wheelchair.
The Carlests said they felt sorry for Thomas and her children, especially the boy in the wheelchair, and offered to let her stay at the Cecil Avenue house.
They wrote up a month-to-month lease agreement, a copy of which was reviewed by The Sun, and both parties signed it.
City records show that the rowhouse was not registered as a non-owner-occupied dwelling, according to Michael Braverman, the city's deputy commissioner for code enforcement. Failure to register such properties and pay a $30 annual fee is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $500 or a civil citation carrying a fine of $100, he said.
But according to the Carlests, they had no intention of taking on a long-term renter. They only wanted to help a single mother and her boys.
"She was homeless," said Margaret Carlest. "My husband felt sorry for her and her sons."
Braverman said the house also had outstanding housing code violations.
Again, the Carlests said they were aware of problems with the house but Thomas' situation seemed desperate.
"We knew the house wasn't right, but we wanted to help her," Oliver Carlest said, referring to repairs the house needed.
Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun
 Baltimore City photos 2008 city homicidesHomicides since Jan. 1: 73Search our interactive database of homicides in Baltimore City Police Blotter A sampling of crime briefs from police reports in Baltimore City and Baltimore County |
Popular stories: Maryland News
- Next stop: Ocean floor
- Pair of accidents leave 3 dead, several hurt
- Jealous to become NAACP's new president, CEO
- Family reunions in the park
- Gregory Kane: They don't have a prayer
 | |
Charm CityscapesSubmit photos of scenes around the city and look at those from other readers Also see: My Maryland | |