1963 — Feb 21, Tenant farmer home Fire (defective heater or flue), near Luxora, AR      —     10

–10  Blytheville Courier News, AR. “Tenth Victim of Fire Dies.” 2-26-1963, p. 1.

–10  Bugbee. “Fire Protection Developments in 1963.” NFPA Quarterly, V57/N3, Jan 1964, 213.

–10  National Fire Protection Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).

—  9  Blytheville Courier News, AR. “Nine Die in Farm Fire Near Luxora.” 2-21-1963, p.1.^[1]

 

Narrative Information

 

NFPA: “Every winter there is a series of tragic fires in dwellings, usually located in rural communities. The winter months of 1963 were no exception…on February 21, 10 lost their lives in a dwelling fire near Luxora, Arkansas (defective heater or flue…” (Bugbee. “Fire Protection Developments in 1963. NFPA Quarterly, Vol. 57, No. 3, January 1964, p. 213.)

 

Newspapers

 

Feb 21: “Osceola – Nine persons were killed when a pre-dawn fire blitzed a farm tenant house here this morning. A tenth, now a patient in a Memphis hospital, is not expected to live. The fire occurred on the R. J. Gillespie farm, three miles west of Luxora. Several Negro families were involved. Dead are six children, who ranged in age from 15 months to eight years. Cause of the fire is undetermined, Deputy Sheriff Cliff Cannon said. The lone survivor – Corine Moody – said she jumped from a window just before the flaming rood of the house caved in. Doctors have very little hope that she will survive.

 

“Here is the list of the dead as compiled by the sheriff’s office:

 

“Robert and Elar Kyles and Beatrice Walker, all adults;

 

“Clarence Walker, 15 months, and the Moody children, A. C., 8; Margaret, 6; Lovie Lee, 5; Barbara, 3, and Emma, 2.

 

“Corine Moody, sheriff’s deputies reported, ran to a neighbor’s home after making her escape through the window. Cannon estimated the time of the fire at between 4 and 5 o’clock this morning.” (Blytheville Courier News, AR. “Nine Die in Farm Fire Near Luxora.” 2-21-1963, 1.)

 

Feb 25: “Memphis — Corine Moody, only survivor of a fire which killed nine others, died last night in John Gaston Hospital. An early-morning fire completely demolished her home three miles west of Luxora last Thursday. She suffered burns on 50 percent of her body. Cause of the fire has not been determined. Five of the victims of the fire were her children.” (Blytheville Courier News, AR. “Tenth Victim of Fire Dies.” 2-26-1963, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Blytheville Courier News, AR. “Nine Die in Farm Fire Near Luxora.” 2-21-1963, p.1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=88205477&sterm=fire+luxora

 

Blytheville Courier News, AR. “Tenth Victim of Fire Dies.” 2-26-1963, p. 1. Accessed 11-13-2014 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=88205503&sterm=fire+luxora

 

Bugbee, Percy (NFPA General Manager). “Fire Protection Developments in 1963.” National Fire Protection Quarterly, Vol. 57, No. 3, January 1964, pp. 212-213.

 

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

 

[1] Article notes that the one survivor was not expected to live.