1973 — Sep 13, Fire, Washington Hill Nursing Home, Philadelphia, PA — 11

–11 NFPA. “Multiple-Death Fires, 1973,” Fire Journal. Vol. 68, No. 3, May 1974, p. 71.
–11 PA Gen. Assembly. The Feasibility of Retrofitting High Rises, College Dorms…, 2001.
–11 U.S. House. Fires in Boarding Home: The Tip of the Iceberg (Hearing). 4-25-1979, p. 314.
–11 U.S. Senate. Nursing Home Care in the United States. August 1975, p. 463.

Narrative Information

NFPA: “Nursing home, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eleven persons perished when fire swept through the Washington Hill Nursing Home at 4:56 am on September 13.” (National Fire Protection Assoc. “Multiple-Death Fires, 1973,” Fire Journal. Vol. 68, No. 3, May 1974, p. 71.)

PA General Assembly: “Licensed skilled nursing facility. The building was a two- and three-story structure of masonry and wood (ordinary) construction. Exits included two partially enclosed stairways near the front of the building, an exterior wood stairway from the second floor, and an escape chute from the second floor. Most interior surfaces were painted. However, some walls were covered with wood paneling. Doors were metal clad with wood veneer, and most doors were not self-closing. At the time of the fire, 51 patients and 3 staff members were in the building…

“The building’s fire detection system used rate-of-rise and fixed temperature detectors. The building-wide fire alarm system was activated by the fire detection system and by manual pull stations located throughout the building. In addition to providing a local alarm, the fire alarm system also sent a signal to a remote monitoring facility…

“The fire originated in a second floor bathroom that was being renovated. The cause was not determined. The area of fire origin opened into one of the building’s two interior stairways. Combustion products spread horizontally into second floor patient rooms. Combustion products also spread vertically through the stairway and horizontally into patient rooms on the third floor.

“Contributing Factors
• Lack of an automatic sprinkler system
• Open doors to patient rooms
• Ineffective staff actions
• Bathrooms that opened directly into exit stairways.”

(PA Gen. Assembly. The Feasibility of Retrofitting High Rises, College Dorms…, 2001, p. 38.)

U.S. Senate: “The fire in the Washington Hill Nursing Home began at 4:50 a.m. The fire department responded within 3 minutes and three nurses’ aides were on duty, but still 11 of the 51 patients died. The three-story facility was of masonry construction with wood joists and was built hear 1900. It had wood paneling and vinyl tile on the inside. It was equipped with manual and automatic alarm systems, the latter being tied to the fire station. Two months prior to the fire, the facility was cited for lack of a sprinkler system and was given until September 1 to get one—or close its doors. The home’s operator said the $20,000 cost was prohibitive.” (U.S. Senate. Nursing Home Care in the United States. August 1975, p. 463.)

Sources

National Fire Protection Association. “Multiple-Death Fires, 1973,” Fire Journal. Vol. 68, No. 3, May 1974, pp. 69-71 & 76.

Pennsylvania General Assembly, Legislative Budget and Finance Committee. The Feasibility of Retrofitting High Rises, College Dorms, and Certain Other Buildings With Fire Sprinklers, Volume II (A Report in Response to Senate Resolution 132). Harrisburg, PA: PA General Assembly, 1-18-2001. Accessed at: http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:KBzYm2dK2qIJ:lbfc.legis.state.pa.us/reports/2001/224.PDF+Fire,+Boarding+Home,+Connellsville,+PA+April+1+1979&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

United States House of Representatives. Fires in Boarding Home: The Tip of the Iceberg (Hearing before the Subcommittee on Health and Long Term Care, Select Committee on Aging, 96th Congress, First Session, April 25, 1979). Washington, DC, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979.

United States Senate, Subcommittee on Long-Term Care of the Special Committee on Aging. Nursing Home Care in the United States: Failure in Public Policy (Supporting Paper No. 5: The Continuing Chronicle of Nursing Home Fires.) Washington, DC: Senate Report No. 94-00, August 1975, 147 pages. Accessed 12-28-2021 at: https://www.aging.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/reports/rpt475.pdf