HARMONY – Tuesday was Michael Frost’s fourth birthday but his grandmother and her partner put off visiting him because the housing units they manage were due to be inspected by federal officials.

“They inspect us once a year and they picked that day,” said Francis McNally of Newport, who lives with Frost’s grandmother, Donna Lawler, at McNally Terrace.

With tears choking his voice, McNally said Wednesday, “We planned to visit today. We bought Mikey books. He loves for us to read to him.”

But about 10 p.m. Tuesday night, a defective clothes dryer sparked a fire that raced through the rural home on Route 154 in Harmony where “Mikey” and his family were sleeping. Michael Frost, 4, and his sister, Linda Frost, 2, attempted to escape but were overcome by smoke and heat and died.

Their mother, April Frost, and her boyfriend, Paul Corson, were awakened by a smoke alarm and escaped the fire.

McNally blamed unsafe living conditions for the children’s death and said he has made repeated complaints to the Maine Department of Human Services.

“They had no plumbing. No water. The well had been dry for over a year. We tried repeatedly to get those children out of that unsafe environment. Someone is going to pay for this,” McNally said. “[DHS] never, not once went out and checked on those children.”

Newell Augur, director of legislative and public affairs for DHS, said late Wednesday that if a complaint of neglect is received by DHS, it usually is referred to a community agency. He would not confirm whether any complaints had been received about the care of the Frost children, noting he would not discuss specifics of any case.

Augur said he would follow up on McNally’s claims, however, and look into whether any referrals were made.

State Police Fire Investigator Stewart Jacobs said three factors caused the fire. “The dryer was running and in use. It had no shut-off device, and it was vented against combustible matter,” he said. Jacobs said cardboard and papers were piled on top of the dryer, on both sides and behind it.

April Frost and Corson were awakened by a smoke detector but Jacobs said they were unable to reach the children due to heavy smoke and flames. Corson ran to a neighbor’s home and called for help while Frost continued to try to reach her children, said Jacobs. She was burned on the hands and suffered smoke inhalation. Jacobs said she was taken to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan and admitted.

Harmony Fire Chief Onie Lougee said that dozens of firefighters from Harmony, Athens, Cambridge and Wellington responded but found heavy smoke and flames pouring from the home. “What’s left is a shell. They lost everything,” said Lougee.

The last fatal fire in Harmony was in October 1966, when 4-year-old Richard Boutflier died in a house fire caused by an exploding oil burner, located next door to the scene of Tuesday’s fire.

Frost’s children, whose father, Michael Frost, lives in Glenburn, were found together in a bedroom by firefighters. “They tried to get away from the fire,” said Jacobs.

McNally said that he had been trying to convince Lawler’s daughter to move out of the home for months. He described it as an older mobile home attached to a small cabin. He said it had no working plumbing and the well had been dry for over a year. “We would go there six or seven times a month and bring water,” he said, hauling it in five-gallon pails and gallon containers from a nearby campground. He said the house was unclean and unfit for children and that Lawler would bathe the children whenever she brought water.

Lawler declined to be interviewed and McNally would not provide a telephone number for the residence in Canaan where Frost is temporarily staying.

McNally claims that repeated calls to DHS officials went unanswered. In protest, he said he is having 1,500 pamphlets printed that decry the situation and ask that DHS be held accountable for the children’s deaths. After the children’s funerals, he said, he will go to the Bangor Mall and pass out the fliers.

“This will not be swept under the rug,” McNally said as he cried in grief.