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A residential fire in Ohio killed five people, four of them children.
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2008 MULTIPLE-DEATH FIRE INCIDENTS
NFPA Journal®, September/October 2009
By Stephen G. Badger
Read the 2008 Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fire story
Get NFPA's 2008 Multiple Fire Death report
RESIDENTIAL
Pennsylvania
April, 2:42 a.m.
Ten deaths, including four under age six
The fire occurred in a two-story, 1,800-square-foot (167-square-meter), single-family home of unprotected wood-frame construction. The house was occupied by 12 residents.
The fire broke out in a first-story living room and spread throughout the living room and up an open stairway to the second story. The house was heavily involved in fire upon the firefighters’ arrival. Two people managed to escape, one through the rear kitchen door and one out a second-story window. Both the door and window were left open, creating a natural draft that provided the fire with needed oxygen.
Four of the victims were found on the first floor, one in the kitchen at the back door, one in the living room, and two in a back bedroom. The other six victims were located on the second floor. One was in the hallway, one was in a bedroom, and four were in a second bedroom. All the victims were dead at the scene.
The house had two smoke alarms. One alarm was at the top of the basement stairs, and the other was on the second floor at the top of the stairway. The batteries had been removed from both. There was no suppression equipment.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
Ohio
March, 1:42 a.m.
Seven deaths, including three under age six
The building in which the fire occurred was a two-story, single-family home of unprotected wood-frame construction. The ground floor area was not reported.
This was an incendiary fire set at the rear of the structure. No additional information was reported, as the fire is still under investigation. Poor housekeeping and clutter added to the severity and rapid spread of the fire. It also hindered firefighters in their search for victims and in extinguishing the fire.
By the time firefighters arrived, passersby had removed three of the victims from the structure. Two other victims were found on the first floor at the base of the stairs, and two were located on the second floor, one in a bedroom and one in the hallway. Four of the victims were dead at the scene, and three died over the next four months.
A smoke alarm was located on the first story at the base of the stairs, but it is not known if it activated. There was no suppression equipment.
Tennessee
August, 5:40 a.m.
Seven deaths, including three under age six
The building in which this fire occurred was a two-story, 1,800-square-foot (167-square-meter), single-family home of unprotected ordinary construction. At the time of the fire, it was occupied by 10 people.
The cause of this fire is undetermined, but it broke out in the area of a second-story bedroom and burned into the ceiling/attic area. It then burned throughout the second floor and attic. A floor and roof collapse at the rear of the home blocked the back door, hampering firefighters in their attempts to enter the structure from the rear. During their interior attack, firefighters discovered the seven victims. Their locations were not reported.
The house had no smoke detection or automatic suppression equipment.
Pennsylvania
December, 10:55 p.m.
Seven deaths, including one under age six
This fire occurred in a three-story, 1,200-square-foot (111-square-meter), single-family home of unprotected ordinary construction that was being used illegally as a boarding home. The house was not equpped with automatic detection or suppression equipment.
The fire began when an occupant spilled gasoline he was pouring into an operating kerosene heater. The gasoline had been bought mistakenly, and the user knew it was the wrong fuel but used it anyway. Several illegal modifications to the structure allowed for a rapid fire spread; the report did not detail the modifications. The victims were all located in the basement. The report did not state whether there were additional occupants elsewhere in the dwelling. The fire blocked the occupants’ escape, although one managed to escape by running through the fire.
Ohio
January, 5:29 a.m.
Six deaths, including three under age six
The house in which this incendiary fire occurred was a two-story, 952-square-foot (88-square-meter), single-family home of unprotected wood-frame construction. The occupants were asleep at the time of the fire.
The fire was set on the front porch of the house and spread to the interior through a living room window and up the open stairway to the second floor, blocking the residents’ escape. All six victims were located on the second story, two in one bedroom and four in another.
Firefighters reported that the house was fully involved in fire on their arrival. They laid multiple attack lines to make way to the second floor where the victims were reported to be. The front door was blocked by a couch, leaving a side door, which was partially blocked by a hutch, the only other exit. However, these factors had no effect on the deaths, other than hindering firefighters’ access. Six firefighters were injured, as was one civilian while escaping the house.
There was no detection or suppression equipment present.
Louisiana
June, 4:16 a.m.
Six deaths
No information was reported on the origin and path of the fire in this single-family, manufactured home of unprotected wood-frame construction, or on the contributing factors, victim locations, or smoke alarms and other protection devices.
New York
October, 6:33 a.m.
Five deaths, including two under age six
This fire occurred in a six-story, 3,700-square-foot (344-square-meter), 18-unit apartment building of unprotected ordinary construction. The apartment of origin was occupied. No information was reported on the other units.
The fire broke out on a table in the kitchen where a juvenile was playing with a match or lighter and ignited paper products. All the victims were found in the sixth-floor apartment.
The house had smoke alarms, but they were disconnected and the backup batteries were missing. There was no suppression equipment.
Texas
January, 12:02 a.m.
Five deaths, including two under age six
Five residents occupied this 720-square-foot (67-square-meter), single-family, manufactured home of unprotected wood-frame construction.
The fire, which involved lamp oil, broke out in the middle bedroom near the entrance door, but investigators were unable to locate the ignition source. When firefighters arrived, the fire was smoldering because the home’s tight insulation kept it from bursting into flames. Fire damage was found only in the middle bedroom, but heavy black smoke soot was evident throughout the interior.
The five victims were found in a front bedroom with the door closed. Three were pronounced dead at the scene, and two died later.
There was a smoke alarm in the living room, but it had no battery. There was no suppression equipment.
Texas
January, 1:49 a.m.
Five deaths, including four under age six
The house in which this fire occurred was a 1,280-square-foot (119-square-meter), single-family, manufactured home of unprotected wood-frame construction occupied by 11 people.
The five victims were located in a bedroom. The other six occupants, three adults and three children, escaped.
The house had no detection or suppression equipment. The cause and origin of the fire is still under investigation.
Michigan
February, 4:34 a.m.
Five deaths, including two under age six
No information was reported on origin and path, contributing factors, or victim locations in the fire in this two-story, single-family home of unprotected wood-frame construction.
No information was reported on smoke alarms, and there was no suppression equipment.
Arkansas
March, 1:22 a.m.
Five deaths, including one under age six
This fire occurred in a two-story, 769-square-foot (71-square-meter), single-family home of unprotected wood-frame construction when overheated electrical wires ignited wood structural members in a wall between a second-floor bedroom and stairway. The fire spread to an attic crawl space, and from there, gases spread through ducts and registers to the second-story bedroom in which all five victims slept.
Five battery-operated smoke alarms had been installed in the house eight months earlier, three on the second floor and two on the first. Investigators found two second-floor alarms, both missing batteries. The third was not located. An alarm on the first floor woke the parents, who were asleep in a first-floor bedroom.
Ohio
April, 4:34 a.m.
Five deaths, including one under age six
This fire was caused by an electrical short circuit in wiring in the laundry room of a 660-square-foot (61-square-meter), single-family, manufactured home of unprotected wood-frame construction. There was no automatic detection or suppression equipment present.
The report contained no information about contributing factors or victim locations.
Ohio
December, 12:56 a.m.
Five deaths, including four under age six
A fire of unknown origin occurred in a three-story, three-unit apartment building of unprotected wood-frame construction. The ground floor area was not reported. One apartment was occupied, but no information on the other units was reported.
The fire broke out in a unit on the first floor. There was a delay in reporting the fire, and firefighters arrived to find heavy fire issuing from the building. They also found that a hydrant intended as a supply line was frozen, causing an inadequate water supply. The unit of origin had no automatic detection or suppression equipment, and no details about the other two units were available.
No reason for the delay in notifying the fire department was reported, nor were the locations of the victims.
MULTIPLE-DEATH FIRES: NONRESIDENTIAL
Georgia
February, 7:18 p.m.
Fourteen deaths
This fire occurred in a 97-foot-high (30-meter-high), 75,000-square-foot (7,000-square-meter) sugar refinery of brick, cement, and metal construction. The plant and complex, which covered 160 acres (65 hectares), was operating and 121 workers were on site at the time.
A massive dust explosion occurred in the packing house, followed by a secondary dust explosion that ignited fires on several stories of the packing house. The fires spread throughout the entire building. Also ignited were two sugar silos and an area of the distribution warehouse.
Upon arrival, firefighters were faced with the massive destruction caused by the explosions, a large amount of fire in several buildings, and a large number of victims in many different areas. Eight of the victims were dead at the scene, and the other six died over the next few months. Another 36 workers were injured, 19 of whom were sent to an area burn center. Several victims were not removed from the debris until days later due to unsafe conditions.
There was a system of heat and smoke alarms in the packing house, the main building involved in the incident. The system activated after the initial explosion, but the secondary explosion destroyed the electrical power system and the fire alarm system. There was also a complete-coverage combination wet- and dry-pipe sprinkler system, which alerted on-site personnel by way of a central station staffed 24 hours a day. The secondary explosion also destroyed the operating sprinkler systems.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation by state and federal authorities.
Wisconsin
July, 1:30 p.m.
Three deaths
This explosion, which was not followed by a fire, occurred at a pulp storage tank at a cardboard manufacturing plant. The tank was 80 feet (24 meters) high; its diameter was not reported.
At the time of the explosion, workers were welding near a vent on the top of the pulp storage tank. Flammable gases outside the tank ignited, and the flames traveled through the vent into the tank, causing the explosion. Three workers on a catwalk above the tank were killed when the explosion ripped open the tank lid. Two of them were found on the ground, and one was still on the catwalk after the explosion. Another worker was injured.
There was no automatic detection or suppression equipment present.
This explosion is under investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Colorado
November, 2 a.m.
Three deaths
This fire occurred in a restaurant that had an attached single-family residence. The report contained no information on fire origin and path, contributing factors, or victim locations, nor did it contain any information on detection or suppression systems.
MULTIPLE-DEATH FIRES: NONSTRUCTURAL
California
August, 7:30 p.m.
Nine firefighter deaths
Nine firefighters died during a wildfire that began when a lightning strike ignited grass and leaves. The firefighters were being evacuated by helicopter due to worsening weather conditions. The helicopter had flown two trips and refueled. After picking up the third load of passengers, its main rotor lost power and the vehicle crashed. The helicopter was consumed by a post-crash fire. Four firefighters survived. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation is ongoing.
Nevada
September, 6:10 p.m.
Three firefighter deaths
Three firefighters died aboard an air tanker that crashed on its way to drop fire retardant on a wildfire. An engine fire was seen just before the aircraft crashed. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation is ongoing.
Florida
July, 3:24 p.m.
Three deaths
Three people died when an airplane crashed adjacent to the runway on takeoff at an airport., according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Weather conditions were light wind and scattered clouds.
The aircraft collided with the top of a 49-foot (15-meter) high instrument landing system antenna, landing right side up. It caught fire immediately, trapping the victims inside the plane. The medical examiner determined that the victims died of thermal injuries.
Read the 2008 Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fire story