A mother who fled her burning house, believing her son and grandfather had already escaped, is now seeking answers regarding the fire’s origin.
Firefighters discovered 72-year-old John Morris deceased in his bed, with eight-year-old Aurelian Kamp, known as Baby to his family, underneath. Despite being rushed to the hospital, the young boy passed away about an hour later.
Aurelian’s mother, Tahia ‘Ty’ Kamp, managed to escape with her two older sons after being alerted by her mother around midnight on November 3, 2025, in Connecticut, US.
Initially, the North Haven Fire Department classified the house fire as an “accidental smoking-related” incident. However, a subsequent incident report labeled the cause as “undetermined after investigation.” The grieving mother is now seeking clarification on the fire’s circumstances.
Ty, an assistant director at Yale University, recounted being awakened by her mother’s cries shortly past midnight. “She was saying there is a fire, and she couldn’t get to John,” Ty explained. “I saw the fire, and it was massive. I urgently woke up my two eldest children and instructed them to evacuate.”
“I then rushed to get John and the baby out. Baby usually slept in my room, but that night he chose to sleep with grandpa,” Ty added.
Continuing, she said, “I ran to the door, screaming for John. The flames were engulfing the stairwell just a few feet away. Despite my frantic pleas, their bedroom door remained shut. In my panic, I thought maybe John had escaped with the Baby through a window and they were safe outside.”
“After running through the house, I couldn’t locate them outside. The fear that gripped me was unimaginable. I resorted to praying,” Ty recalled.
“Even after the firefighters arrived,” Ty shared, “I held onto hope that they would emerge safely.”
The firefighters reached the residence around 12:30 am, and Aurelian was transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:30 am.
Describing her son, Ty said, “Baby was brilliant, generous, kind – wherever we went, people adored him. John was the only real father figure I ever had, and we all cherished him for the remarkable man he was.”
“It provides some solace in this darkness that he and Baby passed away together, as they shared a deep bond,” Ty added. She is now questioning the apparent change in the North Haven Fire Department’s initial explanation of the fire’s cause.
Following the fire, the department released a statement attributing the blaze to a cigarette. Nonetheless, the incident report later listed the fire’s cause as “undetermined.”
Ty expressed, “The quick judgment by the Fire Chief on November 4th was premature, as evident by their department’s official report a week later stating the cause as ‘undetermined after investigation.'”
“The lives of Baby and John, who brought joy to all who knew them, deserve more than a hasty judgment,” Ty emphasized.
As of now, the North Haven Fire Department has not responded to requests for comment.
