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Five in U.S. family die in French train fire©Associated PressNovember 7, 2002 NANCY, France -- A fire on an overnight train in eastern France filled a sleeping car with smoke Wednesday, killing 12 people -- including five Americans from the same family -- and driving panicked passengers to smash windows and jump to safety. The train, like others in Europe, had no smoke detectors even though cigarette smoking is allowed in designated cars. The fire was initially blamed on a short-circuit. But the French rail authority SNCF said that was premature and the cause was under investigation. The owner of the sleeping car, German national railroad Deutsche Bahn, said the fire apparently started in the compartment of a train attendant. Smoke was blamed for the deaths. The fire began shortly after 2 a.m. as the train with 150 passengers passed through the city of Nancy on its way to Munich, Germany. The train had left Paris three hours earlier. An accountant from North Branford, Conn., and four members of his family were killed. Salvatore Michael Amore, 43; his wife, Jeanne, 43; daughter Emily Jeanne, 12; son Michael Bernhardt, 8; and mother, Susanne, 72, died in the fire. Also killed were three German men; a Russian man and woman; a Hungarian man; and a Greek woman. Authorities said one American was among nine people injured. All but one were treated at a hospital and released. A train worker alerted authorities about 2:15 a.m. when he saw smoke pouring from a car as the train passed the Nancy station. Flames shot 9 feet into the air, and thick black smoke billowed out of the car's windows. Survivors told of panic inside the train as screaming passengers escaped by breaking through the car's windows and climbing out once the train had stopped. Firefighters rushed to the train, which stopped on a track about 800 yards outside the Nancy station. All the dead were inside the charred sleeping car.
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