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Officials Search For Answers In Winter Haven Fire That Killed Mother, 2 Children

News Channel 8 photo by CHIP OSOWSKI.

Yellow police tape keeps spectators back from the scene of a deadly fire at the Camellia Motel, 820 Sixth St. N.W in Winter Haven.

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By MIKE WELLS and BILLY TOWNSEND of The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 15, 2008

Updated: 01/15/2008 04:38 pm

Winter Haven - Winter Haven - How were a mother and her two small children overcome by a Tuesday morning fire that failed to spread beyond a storage room at the motel where they lived?

That's the key question detectives and fire officials are trying to answer as they probe the deaths of 25-year-old Priyakumari B. Master, her 3-year-old daughter Mahi Bimal Master and her 1-year-old son Milan Bimal Master.

Gary Deel is asking a different question: What if he'd seen the fire sooner?

Deel, manager of the Tire Kingdom store across the street from the Camellia Motel, was putting out displays just before 7:30 a.m. when he noticed smoke rising from the rear of the horseshoe-shaped building across State Road 17.

When Deel went to investigate, he found Priyakumari Master lying dead just feet from the storage room that was burning. An unidentified woman was crying in the parking lot, and Master's 44-year-old husband, Bimal, was calling for help. Bimal Master is co-owner of the Camellia, and he lived there with his wife and children, said Capt. Lisa Albury of Winter Haven Police Department.

Deel and Winter Haven police Officer Joe Sarno, who saw the smoke while patrolling and arrived at the motel about the same time as Deel, used fire extinguishers to beat down flames in the storage room.

Fire crews arrived moments later and put out the fire. They found both children inside. The youngest, Milan Master, was still alive. He was flown to an Orlando area hospital, but died shortly after, said Joy Townsend, a Winter Haven city spokeswoman.

By mid-afternoon, at least two of the bodies had already been taken to the Polk County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies.

Deel said he was unaware anyone was inside the storage room as he worked to put out the fire while standing in the doorway. As firefighters arrived, he stepped back and learned the bad news later from Sarno.

"And then I find out there were children inside," he said, lamenting that he didn't learn discover the fire "15 or 20 minutes earlier."

Police have not said how Priyakumari Master ended up clear of the storage room, but Deel said someone must have dragged her free.

Police could not confirm that, nor could they explain how the fire started or why Master and her children were unable to escape. Townsend said investigators have confirmed there was an explosion inside the storage room. But she could not say how intense it was or whether it started the fire or was caused by it.

Damage to the motel appeared limited to the storage room.

The Camellia Motel is at 820 Sixth St. N.W., on a busy commercial stretch of what also is known as S.R. 17. It's a well-kept, single-story building with about 20 rooms. It has not been a trouble spot for law enforcement, according to Winter Haven police.

Throughout the morning, friends and family streamed in and out of the Camellia's office. Most declined to comment. A few described the Master family as friendly and social, well-known within Polk County's Indian community.

Albury said Bimal Master was at the motel when the fire broke out but didn't immediately realize what was happening. Master has been interviewed by detectives, but no information about what he said was released.

"He's very shaken up," Albury said.

Reporter Billy Townsend can be reached at (863) 284-1409 or wtownsend@tamaptrib.com.

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