Five Die in Camden Nursing Home Fire
Senior citizens boarding house, North 29th and Mitchell Streets, East Camden, on November 23, 1977. Second Alarm, with five deaths to elderly occupants. Chief of Department Edward Michalak is seen exiting the front of the building.
Five Die in Camden Nursing Home Fire
Trenton Evening Times —
CAMDEN (AP) — Five residents of a nursing home here were killed today in a two alarm fire, authorities said.
A sixth resident, an 80-year-old man, jumped to safety from a second floor window. Chief Kenneth Penn said. He was reported to be in good condition at a Camden hospital.
Penn said two caretakers who had been in the building apparently escaped injury.
The fire, which was reported at 5:25 a.m., was brought under control about 30 minutes later, he said. The cause of the blaze was not determined.
Penn said the fire started in an enclosed porch on the first floor of the 2½ story frame building.
The bodies were discovered on the second floor of the building, Penn said. The residents apparently had been overcome by smoke, he added.
Penn said the bodies were taken to a local hospital to be identified.
The name of the nursing home, which had been a private dwelling at one time, was not immediately available.
Fatal Fire Probed by Authorities
Trenton Evening Times —
CAMDEN (AP) — The owner of an unlicensed boarding home for the elderly who was fined three years ago for failing to install an adequate fire warning system was being investigated after a fire Wednesday killed five of six persons at the home.
Police Sgt. Albert Handy said owner Elizabeth Coleman “was being checked out.” She also was fined for operating without a license three years ago, and never has received permission to run the home, officials said.
The victims of the early-morning fire were found on the second floor of the 2½-story wood structure, dead from smoke inhalation, fire officials said. Fire officials said the burned building had no smoke detectors.
Camden Fire Chief Kenneth Penn said Walter Gatter, an 80-year-old resident, escaped death by jumping from a second-floor window. He was reported in fair condition at Cooper Medical Center with leg injuries. Authorities said two caretakers escaped uninjured.
State health department records show that in October 1974, Mrs. Coleman was ordered to close the ill-fated boarding home because it was unlicensed and didn’t have an adequate fire alarm system. Superior Court Judge Peter J. DeVine subsequently fined her $700 for failure to comply.
Authorities said the blaze broke out about 5:30 a.m. in an enclosed first-floor porch. The cause was still under investigation, fire officials said.
New Jersey Health Department spokesman Mitchell Leon said Mrs. Coleman also owns an old-age home adjacent to the destroyed structure. Leon said a state inspection of the old-age home in April listed 27 violations, including a jammed fire door, occupancy by more than the 10 persons permitted by the license, deficiencies in care and failure to submit proof of electrical inspection.
New Jersey Health Department official Anthony F. Marino and Peter J. DeVine commented on the case. The victims were: William Godwin, 56; William Robinson, 74; Margaret Quillan, 63; and Aida Folks and Beatrice Taylor, for whom no ages were given.
Cigarettes or Heater Sparked Fire
Trenton Evening Times —
CAMDEN (AP) — A fire that killed five residents of an unlicensed boarding home for the elderly was started by a cigarette or a portable heater, authorities say.
The Wednesday morning fire, which started on the front porch, trapped the five residents in their beds. Hospital officials said the victims died of smoke inhalation.
Fire Marshal Harold Pike said the 2½-story frame structure lacked a fire escape, smoke alarm and sprinkler system. But under the local fire code the devices only are required on buildings three stories or taller, he said.
State health department records revealed the building’s owner, Mrs. Elizabeth Coleman, was ordered to close the boarding home in 1974 because it was unlicensed and didn’t have an adequate fire alarm system.
A spokesman for the department said Mrs. Coleman also owns an old-age home adjacent to the destroyed structure. He said a state inspection in April discovered 27 violations at the old-age home, including a jammed fire door, occupancy by more than 10 persons permitted by the license, deficiencies in care and failure to submit proof of electrical inspection.
Authorities identified the fire victims as William Godwin, 56; William Robinson, 74; Margaret Quillan, 63; and Aida Folks and Beatrice Taylor, for whom no ages were given.
A sixth resident of the home, Walter Gatter, 80, jumped from a second floor window. He was hospitalized in stable condition.