Milan – A family destroyed in a few seconds. Father, mother and son were suffocated by the smoke released by the fire in the workshop in via Fra Galgario 8, in the Gambara area of Milan.
Antonio Tolardo, 33 years old, victim with his mother and father of the fire in via Fra Galgario and the car from which the fire apparently started
Their third-floor apartment became a death trap: the firefighters found all three of them on the floor in the corridor, with their faces blackened by soot. They showed no signs of life. They were taken to the courtyard, where rescuers tried to resuscitate them in a last-ditch attempt to save them from death. But there was nothing more to be done. So they left Silvano Tollardo, who would have turned 67 on August 30th, his wife Carolina De Luca63, and their son Anthonyof 34.
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They were probably taken by surprise by the smoke and it is not excluded that the 34-year-old has tried to help his parents, compromising the possibility of saving his own life. The three may also have mistakenly thought it might be safer to stay indoors. When the firefighters entered the house (the door was closed), the bodies were lying a few meters away.
“They lived in via Fra Galgario 8 for at least 30 years – says those who knew them –. A respectable family, Discrete. He never caused any problems. “The son Antonio was very fond of his mother and father,” so much so that one of his wishes was to save to be able to buy a house to move into with his parents. He wanted one of his own, after a life as a tenant (the building in via Fra Galgario is owned by Immobiliare Sanitaria Ceschina, ed.)”. In his pocket was a master’s degree in food science and technology taken from the State University of Milan, from he worked for the Mipharm Spa company for just over a year.
“I’m a technologist food industry who, despite his young age, has had different experiences in different sectors of the food industry”. This is how he introduced himself on Linkedin. “He had studied with my son when he was little: together they attended elementary, middle and high school – underlines Giusy Cavallaro, the caretaker of house number 4 –. He was a very intelligent guy, always available for others“.
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Fabrizio Sharmukh, owner of the “Becco fino” restaurant, also in via Fra Galgario, says the same: “He had organized his graduation party here. A very good boy who also tutored my son.” Yesterday, at lunch, when customers asked him if he knew the Tollardos he replied: “Yes, I knew them very well. They were at home here. Today is a very sad day for me.” Nunzia, the caretaker of house number 6, reiterates that “Antonio was very fond of his parents and he took care of them“. Among his passions: football. “He was a great AC Milan fan.”
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Silvano Tollardoaccording to what Giorno learned, had been retired for a few years after having worked as garbage collector and bus driver. His wife, a housewife, “never left the house due to health problems”. All three left a positive mark on those who knew them. “Antonio always stopped by to say hello to me, every time he came back from work – he continues Giusy Cavallaro – and even dad stopped by to have a chat when he left the house for a walk.”
For them, yesterday, outside the door someone left a bouquet of yellow flowers. And there are those who think of them from miles away as Liliana Tosti, 67 years old, who was the caretaker of their building for 25 years and who has now moved to the province of Ancona, her homeland. “Antonio always wrote to me: “How are you and your husband?”. He was interested in us even though we now lived far apart. I now I have a weight on my heart that will never go away.”
