Author, Advocate of Disability Legislation Dies Following Clinton Twp. House Fire

The disability rights movement lost one of its strongest supporters Friday with the death of Clinton Township resident Loreena Mary Minaudo.

The 59-year-old author and catalyst for Loreena’s Law, which allows Michigan residents who are unable to sign their name, due to disability or other reason, to legally use their fingerprint as a signature on official documents, passed away after suffering severe burns and smoke inhalation when her Biland Drive home caught fire Friday morning.

The fire is believed to have started shortly after 6:30 a.m. Jan. 18 in the home's kitchen, Fire Marshal Steve Conroy said. 

"It's my understanding that a relative was contacted by the alarm company at the same time the alarm company was contacting the fire department," said Fire Chief John Shea. "The relative lives in the area and went to see what going on. When he got there and discovered what going on, he was able to crawl in and locate the occupant and remove her from the home."

Minaudo was pulled from the burning home by her nephew and treated by Clinton Township emergency personnel at the scene and en route to McLaren Macomb hospital. She was later transferred to Detroit Receiving Hospital where she died, according to the Clinton Township Fire Department.

There were no other occupants in the home at the time of the fire, Shea said.

While the fire appears to be accidental, the cause is still under investigation, Conroy added.

Minaudo was born with cerebral palsy but never allowed her disability be a barrier to her goals. On May 10, 1991, she received her associate of arts degree from Macomb Community College and became a first-time author, receiving 500 copies of her book, A Cry for Education, from then-president Al Lorenzo, according to PublishedAuthors.net.

She later published two more autobiographies, A Life Of Struggles and Depression Has No Heart, and wrote countless children's stories. 

But her crowning achievement was arguably the passage of Bill 4258 into Michigan law. Sponsored by former state Rep. Fred Miller, D- Mount Clemens, "Loreena's Law" allows those who can’t write their name due to lack of muscle control to use a fingerprint as a legal signature.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed the bill into law on Dec. 14, 2005.

Visitation and funeral information is available at http://wujekcalcaterra.tributes.com/. 

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