6 Die in San Bernardino Fire Behind Welded Security Bars

Security bars welded shut on a San Bernardino home’s windows may have trapped six people, including three children, who died in an early morning blaze Monday that firefighters described as the city’s deadliest residential fire in nearly 30 years.

A smoldering cigarette apparently ignited the fire, which raced through the modest three-bedroom stucco home just after 3 a.m., fire officials said.

Frantic neighbors said they heard children yelling for help inside the house but could not reach them.

“One of the little girls was screaming to get her brother out,” said neighbor Juan Mendez, who tried to douse the flames with his garden hose. “We tried to help but we couldn’t do much.”

San Bernardino firefighter Jason Moore, one of the first rescuers on the scene, said he and fellow firefighter David Rose pushed their way into the home as soon as colleagues extinguished the flames. In a back bedroom with caged windows, they discovered two young girls on the floor and a boy on a bed.

The firefighters grabbed the children and carried them to the frontyard, where resuscitation efforts failed.

Minutes later, firefighters found the other residents, all deceased.

Two children were rescued from the burning home by Robert Henderson, a family member who was asleep in a converted bedroom in the garage, when he awoke to the sounds of kicking and screaming, according to neighbors and coroner’s officials.

The blaze killed homeowner Tina Marie Satterfield, 24, and Marcia Hood, 23, both of San Bernardino; Cynthia Morrow, 12, of El Monte; Kimberly Carter, 27, of El Monte and her children, Chantel Carter, 11 and Elijah Carter, 8, according to the San Bernardino County coroner’s office.

“The bars definitely had a huge impact on the people who are deceased,” said Grant Hubbell, a San Bernardino Fire Department arson investigator.

While some neighbors said the bars were on the home when Satterfield moved in, a friend, Jessica Lindsay, 20, said Satterfield installed the bars and an alarm system after a thief broke in a few years ago and took a stereo and television.

A coroner’s spokesman said Satterfield lived in the home with her daughter, Mia, and worked with Hood as an exotic dancer at Deja Vu Showgirls in Redlands. Club employees said Carter had also worked as a dancer at the establishment.

Hood apparently was Satterfield’s roommate at the home in the 2300 block of San Anselmo Avenue, and Carter was staying there overnight after a party, according to neighbors and friends. Carter had brought along her children and Morrow, her niece.

It was Satterfield’s 6-year-old daughter, Mia, and her 7-year-old cousin, Artist Burbank, who were rescued from the blazing home by Henderson, who looked after Mia when her mother was at work.

Bars Had to Be Cut

Hours after the fire had been doused, black wrought-iron security bars were still dangling from two bedroom windows.

Firefighters had used rotary saws to cut the bars away to enter the home.

They found welded bars on the room where the children were found and the bathroom where the two women died.

Heavy window bars are a security measure found in many poor, high-crime neighborhoods.

State law requires that security bars on bedroom windows have at least one window equipped with emergency release latches that allow the occupants to open the bars with a hand or foot lever. But in most cities, inspections of the security windows are infrequent.

For nearly 15 years, San Bernardino has required permits for the installation of security bars.

But building and safety officials said the city has no regular inspection program for homes with security bars that were installed before the law took effect.

The bars on Satterfield’s home had an emergency release mechanism, but the hinges were welded to keep them from opening, fire officials said.

Neighbors said Satterfield had worked briefly selling cruise trips but returned to her previous job, as an exotic dancer, because she could earn more there.

Johnny Mandivil, 49, a physical education teacher who lives across the street, said Satterfield worked hard to pay her mortgage and raise her daughter.

“She struggled, but she was determined to do it,” he said. “She was a good person.”

The bubble-gum pink exterior of the Deja Vu Showgirls club belied the somber mood inside Monday.

The club and stage were empty. Bouncers spoke quietly around a dim bar while dancers smoked in a back hallway.

They had just learned that three of their colleagues had perished in the fire.

Some were too shaken to speak.

“We’re totally shocked,” said manager Bob Monette. “It still hasn’t really set in. It probably won’t for a while.”

Strong-Willed Woman

Satterfield worked as a dancer and a doorwoman for more than three years, and was remembered as a sweet but strong-willed single mother who was trying to make a better life for her daughter.

“The reason she worked here, why she put up with working here -- ‘I’m doing this for my girl,’ ” said manager Jeremy Mojica, with tears forming in his eyes.

“Her main focus, her No. 1 goal, was her daughter. That’s what she strived for every day.”

Her maternal instincts spilled over into her professional life. Colleagues said she would take new employees under her wing and tried to cheer up friends who were down. Satterfield met Carter at the club years ago, and the two dreamed of buying a house together.

“I know it’s a business, but you spend eight to 10 hours of your day together, every day. It becomes family,” Mojica said.

Monette corrected: “It is family.”

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Times staff writer Joel Rubin contributed to this report.