1962 — Jan 15 – Paladino home fire, Catholic Point community near Center Ridge, AR– 10

— 10 Barnes, Steve. “Together for eternity,” The Pine Bluff Commercial, AR, 1-23-2012.
— 10 Bugbee. “Fire Protection Developments in 1962.” NFPA Quarterly,
— 10 Columbus Daily Telegram, NE. “Family of 10 perishes in Arkansas fire.” 1-15-1962, p. 1.
— 10 NFPA. “Multiple-Death Fires of 1962.” Quarterly, V56, N4, Apr 1963, p. 295.
— 10 NFPA. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).

Narrative

Jan 15: “Center Ridge, Ark. (UPI) – The Conway County sheriff’s office reported that a family of 10 – perished today in flames that destroyed their home. The victims were identified as Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Paladino and their eight children. Firemen had removed eight bodies from the ruins of the home and were searching the debris for the other two, the sheriff said.

“The house, a two-story home located in the Catholic Point community near Center Ridge in north central Arkansas, was already razed by flames when the fire was discovered and reported by Frank Rossi, a neighbor.

“The sheriff’s office immediately asked for an investigation by the state fire marshal’s office. Investigators were dispatched to the scene from Little Rock.” (Columbus Daily Telegram, NE. “Family of 10 perishes in Arkansas fire.” 1-15-1962, p. 1.)

Jan 16: “….Sheriff Hawkins said the cause of the fire could not immediately be determined. But he theorized that a gas heater in one of the bedrooms started the fire. The children may have died of lack of oxygen before their bodies burned….” (Billings Gazette, MT. “Family of 10 Die in Flames.” 1-16-1962, pp. 1 and 5.)

Jan 23, 2012: “….The why of what happened in the first moments of Monday has never been officially established. A butane leak? A delinquent ember? A short-circuit?” (Barnes, Steve. “Together for eternity,” The Pine Bluff Commercial, AR, 1-23-2012.)

Sources

Barnes, Steve. “Together for eternity,” The Pine Bluff Commercial, AR, 1-23-2012. Accessed 2-14-2020 at: https://www.pbcommercial.com/sections/opinion/columns-and-blogs/together-eternity.html

Billings Gazette, MT. “Family of 10 Die in Flames.” 1-16-1962, pp. 1 and 5. Accessed 11-8-2014 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=78122843

Bugbee, Percy (NFPA General Manager). “Fire Protection Developments in 1962.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 56, No. 3, January 1963, p. 197.

Columbus Daily Telegram, NE. “Family of 10 perishes in Arkansas fire.” 1-15-1962, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=56317344&sterm=ridge+fire+paladino

National Fire Protection Association. “Multiple-Death Fires of 1962.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 56, No. 4, April 1963, pp. 295-416.

National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013.)