NAME:
Justina Page
DATE OF FIRE:
March 7, 1999
AGE AT TIME
OF FIRE:
31
LOCATION:
Houston, Texas
INJURY:
Severely burned
and lost one of her
22-month-old twins
“Do what you know to do — like change the batteries in smoke detectors — and be proactive, not
reactive. Sprinklers would have made a difference, and that’s why we’re currently looking to get them
installed.”
Awakened in the early hours of the morning by the sounds of explosions, by the time Justina Page
comprehended what was happening, all she could see was smoke and fire. Her family’s Houston, Texas,
house was fully engulfed. Before she could react, her husband had thrown her out the window and
disappeared to go after their six children. Justina got up and went back in to the house. In the confusion,
a burning bookcase fell and pinned Justina until her husband returned to help her to the lawn. While
waiting for the ambulance, Justina lost consciousness, as others realized that one of the children was still
in the house.
Six weeks later, Justina was awakened from a medically induced coma to the tragic news that Amos, one
of her 22-month-old twins, has perished in the fire. Benjamin, Amos’ twin, had spent four weeks in a
coma. Justina had missed Amos’ funeral and wasn’t able to comfort Benjamin or be supportive of her
other surviving family members. Prior to the fire, the twins were bright and active. Amos was mischievous
and constantly getting the two into trouble. He was an avid music lover with a nurturing side for his
siblings. Benjamin not only lost his twin brother that day, the lack of oxygen he suffered resulted in
permanent mental and speech impairments.
Justina, after more than 25 surgeries, is still working on rebuilding her family and her life. In recent years,
she has become more aware of the lingering grief, anger, trauma and survivor guilt her other family
members have been carrying around. Little by little, she sees that everyone is “getting ok.”
ABOUT “FACES OF FIRE”
“Faces of Fire” is a project of the National Fire Protection Association funded by a Federal Emergency
Management Agency Fire Prevention and Safety Grant. The campaign is a tool to help people and
groups across the country promote the use of automatic fire sprinklers in one- and two-family homes. By
containing fires before they spread, home fire sprinklers protect lives and property. The personal stories
told through the Faces of Fire campaign show the experiences of those who escaped or lost loved ones
in home fires and those whose lives and property were protected by home fire sprinklers.
www.firesprinklerinitiative.org/faces