The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
City man dies days after 3-alarm fire claimed his wife
TORRINGTON — The city man whose wife died after a Jan. 3 three-alarm house fire died, according to Bridgeport Hospital
John Needham, 66, of Stoneridge Drive, had been on life support in the burn unit at the hospital for several days, his niece, Hilary Nicholson, said Wednesday afternoon.
They took him off life support Wednesday morning, she said. “He went into respiratory distress,” Nicholson said, once the life support was removed.
Nicholson said her uncle was up and talking on Sunday and had physical therapy that day, as well.
“We all thought he was getting better,” she said. But, “he went down quickly,” after he had appeared to be recovering.
Needham had been in a medically induced coma in the burn unit’s ICU since Jan. 3, the family said, and medical personnel revived him on Sunday.
“He kept asking where his
wife was. I think he lost his will to live when he found out she had died,” Nicholson said.
Needham’s wife Donna, 68, died the morning of Jan. 4 from her injuries.
Torrington Fire Chief Peter Towey said in a statement Friday that when fire crews arrived about 9:15 p.m. on Jan. 3, John Needham was “outside of the building with burn injuries.” Donna Needham was found inside the house at 37 Stoneridge Drive, Towey noted.
Both victims were taken by air ambulance to Bridgeport Hospital that night, the fire department said in a statement.
Several members of John and Donna Needham’s family were in John Needham’s hospital room Wednesday morning when life support was removed, Nicholson said. They included his two brothers, one of his sons and two of Donna Needham’s children.
Funeral arrangements have not been announced, Nicholson said. “We’ll address those issues,” on Thursday, she said.
“He kept asking where his wife was. I think he lost his will to live when he found out she had died.”
Hilary Nicholson
In a statement, Torrington Fire Chief Peter A. Towey said the department’s “thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
The department is continuing to work with the Connecticut State Fire Marshal’s Office to determine the origin and cause of the fire, he said in the statement. “There is no cause determined at this time.”
The fire was so intense that the Drakeville Volunteer Fire Department, Torringford Volunteer Fire Department, Harwinton Westside Fire Department, and Winsted Fire Departments assisted at the scene or with city coverage during this incident. Tankers from Harwinton, Litchfield, Norfolk, Winchester and Winsted assisted with water supply for the operations with the County Fire Coordinator.