1979 — April 1, Fire, Marietta Manor private care home for elderly, Connellsville PA– 10
— 10 National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. 1983, p. 138.
— 10 PA Gen. Assembly. The Feasibility of Retrofitting High Rises, College Dorms…, 2001.
— 10 U.S. Congress, House. Boarding Home Fires: New Jersey Hearing, March 9, 1981, p. 14.
Narrative Information
Pennsylvania General Assembly: “Small board and care facility (16 or less residents). The 2-story balloon-frame wood building was a renovated single-family dwelling. Bedrooms for residents were located in the basement, second floor, and attic. Basement rooms and the only stairway to the first floor had combustible wall and ceiling finishes. First and second floor rooms also had combustible wall finishes. Residents ranged in age from 30 to 84. Many required medications, one used a walker, one was mentally retarded, and two had impaired vision…
“The facility had no automatic sprinkler or fire alarm systems. Reportedly, five smoke detectors were provided, though, none were found after the fire. The basement had one stairway that led to the first floor. The only basement exit which led directly to the outside was located in one bedroom. The first floor exits were located in the kitchen and the owner’s bedroom. The second floor had an open stairway leading to the first floor and a metal fire escape outside one of the bedroom windows. Access to and from the attic was over a single stairway to the second floor…
“The fire originated in an electrical fuse box located near the basement exit. The fire in the fuse box ignited the combustible wall finish and quickly spread through the basement. The owner and her son attempted to rescue the residents in the basement and attempted to suppress the fire. They were not successful. The fire department was notified by a street box and arrived about 20 minutes after the fire was discovered. Five victims were found in the basement, one victim was found on the first floor, and four victims were removed from the second floor.
“Contributing Factors
- Lack of an automatic sprinkler system
- Lack of a fire detection and alarm system
- Combustible wall and ceiling finished
- Delayed fire department notification
- Inadequate exit design.”
(PA Gen. Assembly. The Feasibility of Retrofitting High Rises, College Dorms…, 2001, p. 42.)
US House of Reps (Tip of the Iceberg hearing): “Nine people, eight of them elderly, died in a fire at the Marietta Manor, Connellsville, Pennsylvania on April 1, 1979. Three people were seriously injured and an elderly woman died later in the hospital. Marietta Manor, located at 816 Franklin, was a private care home for ambulatory elderly persons. However, many of the residents were described as senile and some had to use walkers to move around. One of the dead was a 30-year old retarded man.
“The fire started in the basement in an electrical fuse box. The street fire box was activated at 8:32 pm and the fire department, 2 miles away, responded in 3 minutes. The home was grossly lacking in safety devices. In 1976 the Department of Labor and Industry cited the home for fire safety violations and gave the owner 30 days to respond. The owner ignored the notice and the State didn’t press for response. The same situation occurred in 1978.
“The home, a 2 story frame house was gutted-75-percent damage. It had been condemned in 1973. Mrs. Helen Marietta purchased the home and had all but the kitchen, living room and 2 bathrooms converted into bedrooms to accommodate boarders. At the time of the fire, 16 people were in the home, 13 were residing there. Several years ago, 18 people lived there.
“Neighbors had complained to local and State officials on numerous occasions about the overcrowded and hazardous conditions in the home. A neighbor, Gene Davis said, “We fought hard to get the place closed down . . . there were old men living in the basement like dogs.” Five of the dead were found in the basement. A photographer who entered the home several days after the fire reported that a steep stairway from the second floor led to a hole which led to an attic “bedroom.”
“Mrs. Marietta’s son and daughter said, “She took people nobody else would take. She took people nobody else knew what to do with.” In response to neighbor’s complaints that she was “collecting” elderly people and “cashing in on their presence in her home for their Social Security checks,” her son, William Marietta responded that his mother used the Social Security checks to give her residents total care . . . “but what could she do with only $221 a month?”
“One neighbor…was instrumental several years ago in seeing that a fire escape was installed. The fire escape, which led to a second floor window, was partially blocked by a heavy chest which was too cumbersome for any of the residents to remove. The firemen, however, were able to move the chest and removed 2 people through the window.
“Linda Spive, Connellsville’s health officer said there was nothing the city could do to close down the home because homes like these, which can be opened up by anyone, are not regulated by any State agency. When she visited the home last December and found cots in the basement, she called officials at the Uniontown Nursing Home and Lafayette Manor and they stated they would not continue to refer people to Marietta Manor. “The only way we could have cited her was for violation of city ordinances. The only thing we can do without a State regulatory body on private care homes would be to bluff the operators into thinking there indeed are rules .. . that wouldn’t work for long.”
“…another neighbor who had used the governor’s hotline to report such overcrowded conditions for four years, concluded, ‘Maybe now the State will listen. Nobody would hear us. We cried out but nobody would listen. There had to be this, and it is worse than sad.”” (US House of Reps. Boarding Home Fires: The Tip of the Iceberg (Hearing, 4-25-1979). 1979, pp. 9-11.)
Newspaper
April 2, Associated Press: “Connellsville, PA. (AP) – Nine of the 12 residents of a boarding home were killed and two were seriously hurt when a fire swept through the rear of the three-story frame house… Officials said all the dead were elderly except for a 30 year-old male resident…
“Assistant Fire chief Leland Williams said the fire started Sunday night in the basement where five elderly residents slept, killing all five. He said the flames spread rapidly, blocking the two exits from the basement – a door to the outside and a staircase to the first floor. ‘The fire started by the one door and moved across the ceiling to the stairway,’ he said. “They really didn’t have a chance to get out.’ Four other residents, pronounced dead at Connellsville State Hospital, were found on the first and second floors, firefighters said. Deputy Coroner L. John Powell said most of the victims died from smoke inhalation.
“The owner of the home…was hospitalized for shock. Her 76-year-old mother…was among those killed. The hospital said…[one of the residents’ was in critical condition, and…[another] was in poor condition….
“Williams, who said the cause of the fire was still under investigation described the residents of the home as people unable to find places in state nursing homes and unable to afford private homes. ‘These people just didn’t have any other place to go,’ he said. ‘The exits, the overcrowded conditions, that’s the whole problem. It’s not classified as a nursing home and we have no state regulations to cover it.’
“Mayor James Wagner said the home had been visited in past months by fire, building code and health officials and that a fire escape had been installed upon request. ‘She (the owner) was very cooperative,’ he said. ‘But you must realize she was dealing with people on limited incomes, and because of that, her reserves were very limited, too’.” (Daily Intelligencer (PA). “Nine Die as Fire Sweeps Through Boarding Home,” April 2, 1979.)
Sources
National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983.
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 Congress, House of Representatives. Boarding Home Fires: New Jersey (Hearing before the Select Committee on Aging, 97th Congress, 1st Session, March 9, 1981, Keansburg, NJ). Washington, DC: GPO, 1981.
United States Congress, House of Representatives. Boarding Home Fires: 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.