1973 — Sep 29, Arson Fire, Tenement building, Eleventh & Willow, Hoboken, NJ — 11

— 11 Halleron, Chris. “The Mile Scared.” hMag, 10-3-2011.
— 11 Hoboken Fire Department. Hoboken Fires: “Important Fires in Hoboken History.”
— 11 NFPA Fire Journal. “Multiple-Death Fires, 1973,” Vol. 68, No. 3, May 1974, p. 70.
— 10 Evening Observer, Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY. “10 Are Killed in Hoboken.” 10-2-1973, 25.
— >9 Aiken Standard, SC. “Tenement Fire Claims Nine Lives.” 10-1-1973, p. 1.
— >9 Chronicle-Telegram, Elyria, OH. “Nine are killed in tenement fire.” 9-30-1973, p. 1.

Narrative Information

Halleron: “A 1973 arson fire took the lives of 11 tenement dwellers on 11th and Willow.” (Halleron, Chris. “The Mile Scared.” hMag, 10-3-2011.)

Hoboken Fire Department. “1973: An arson fire at a tenement at Eleventh Street and Willow Avenue claims 11 lives.” (Hoboken Fire Department. “Important Fires in Hoboken History.”)

NFPA: “Apartment building, Hoboken, New Jersey. On September 20, 11 people were killed and two were injured when fire raced up an open stair well in a five-story wood-joisted brick apartment building. Most of the building collapsed during the fire, which started in a central stairway between the first and third floors. Flammable liquids are suspected.” (National Fire Protection Assoc. Fire Journal. “Multiple-Death Fires, 1973,” Vol. 68, No. 3, May 1974, p. 70.)

Newspapers:

Sep 30: “Hoboken, N.J. (UPI) — At least nine people died in a fire that swept a tenement building early Saturday [Sep 29], police and fire officials said. Firemen searching the wreckage of the half-collapsed, five-story building had recovered five bodies by Saturday evening. The bodies of at least four other persons believed trapped by the fire were buried beneath debris, officials said. Eight other people were injured and 150 persons were forced to flee their homes in the blaze, which spread to three adjoining tenements. None of the victims was identified. ‘It was such a bad fire they had to dig everybody out.’ Said Police Sgt. John Ferranti. “Everything was at the bottom of the rubble.” Lights were installed to permit diggers to work through the night in search of the missing. In addition, nine persons were injured in the blaze and one girl was hurt when she jumped from a fourth-floor window. The blaze spread to three nearby tenements, and Red Cross officials said 150 persons were given shelter in nearby motels.” (Chronicle-Telegram, Elyria, OH. “Nine are killed in tenement fire.” 9-30-1973, p. 1.)

Oct 1: “Hoboken, N.J. (AP) – “It was the kind of screaming that makes you sick … A man kept yelling, ‘I’m over here! My babies! My babies!’,” said a woman who lives around the corner from a fire that killed at least nine persons. Firemen were to resume searching today in the rubble of four burned-out tenements for the bodies of three persons missing since Saturday’s fire.

“Fire officials suspected arson.

“Authorities identified five of the victims as sisters Patricia Requena, 19, Jacqueline, 18, and Carola, 17; Francisca Lopez, 52, and her 55-year-old husband, Carlos. Police said the other four bodies were too charred for positive identification. All nine bodies were found in the five-story building where the fire started. Three persons were hospitalized, two of them in critical condition.” (Aiken Standard, SC. “Tenement Fire Claims Nine Lives.” 10-1-1973, p. 1.)

Oct 2: “Hoboken, N.J. (UPI) – Ten persons died from injuries suffered in a weekend fire in a slum apartment building. Police suspect arson and arrested an illegal immigrant from Ecuador Monday as a “material witness.”

“The 10th victim was Juana Requeno, 14, who died Monday night in a hospital. Three of her sisters also killed in the fire were buried earlier in the day.

“The fire broke out in the five-story building shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday. Police said the man they arrested, Joffra Soloranzo, 26, was seen running from the building about the time the fire started. Authorities said he has been living in the United States illegally for about three years. No charges have been filed in the case.” (Evening Observer, Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY. “10 Are Killed in Hoboken.” 10-2-1973, 25.)

Sources

Aiken Standard, SC. “Tenement Fire Claims Nine Lives.” 10-1-1973, p. 1. Accessed 3-5-2013 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=103948961&sterm=hoboken+fire

Chronicle-Telegram, Elyria, OH. “Nine are killed in tenement fire.” 9-30-1973, p. 1. Accessed 3-5-2013: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=7239775&sterm=hoboken+fire

Evening Observer, Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY. “10 Are Killed in Hoboken.” 10-2-1973, 25. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=130456512&sterm=hoboken+fire

Halleron, Chris. “The Mile Scared.” hMag, 10-3-2011. Accessed 3-5-2013 at: http://www.hmag.com/2011/10/the-mile-scared/

Hoboken Fire Department. Hoboken Fires: Important Fires in Hoboken History. Accessed 3-5-2013 at: http://www.hobokenfire.org/fires.cfm

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