1984 — Feb 4, Home fire, boy playing with lighter, victims 1-8 years old, Tacoma WA– 9
–9 AP. “Boy playing with lighter started fire…killed nine.” Burlington Times-News, NC, 2-5-1984, 8A.
–9 AP. “Nine children killed in Tacoma fire.” Walla-Walla Union Bulletin, WA, 2-5-1984, p. 1.
–9 Seattle Times (Gene Balk). “The Puget Sound area’s deadliest fires.” 1-1-2011.
–9 UPI. “Three Fires Kill 18 People, Including 13 Children.” New York Times, 2-5-1984.
Narrative Information
Feb 4: “A boy playing with a cigarette lighter started a fire that raged through a small two-story home Saturday [4th], quickly killing nine youngsters who were trapped on the second floor, authorities said. The victims, five boys and four girls, ranged in age from 1 to 8 years old, said fire Capt. Lloyd Hanson. ‘Preliminary reports are that a 4 or 5-year-old child[1] was playing with a lighter in a closet,’ said Police Lt. Darrell Hughes. ‘When the fire started, he got scared and took off.’ The boy escaped the blaze and police talked with him, Hughes said. ‘The fire spread very rapidly and was inhumanly hot. They were all dead before firemen arrived,’ Hanson said.
“He said investigators found at least two places upstairs where they believe children had tried to start earlier fires ‘I’d say it seems the children were not well supervised,’ Hanson said.
“Four youngsters, aged 2 to 6, two men and a woman escaped unharmed, officials said, leaving one man ‘walking around the neighborhood in a daze,’ Hanson said.
“A neighbor reported the fire at 7:45 a.m. and when firemen arrived ‘there was smoke coming out of all the windows, cracks and crevices’ of the two-story, wooden home, said fire Lt. Arnie Johnson.
“Initial reports indicated the victims were members of two families, and may have died of smoke inhalation, Hanson said. ‘We had a report there were kids in the building. We saw smoke coming out of the upstairs windows and flames coming out of one window,’ said paramedic Scott Whiting, 26, who suffered burned ears. ‘There was heavy smoke inside and we couldn’t see. Flames were halfway down the stairwell.’….
“The house was owned by Helen Campbell, said Johnson. Eric Langlow, a Red Cross fire disaster coordinator, said Ms. Campbell, 37, who was one of the survivors, apparently was caring for the children but it was not yet known if she was related to them….
“The home, in a residential area on Tacoma’s south side, was built entirely of wood without fire retardant materials, said Hanson, who called it ‘a place waiting for a fire to happen.’….” (Assoc. Press. “Nine children killed in Tacoma fire.” Walla-Walla Union Bulletin, WA, 2-5-1984, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Boy playing with lighter started fire that killed nine.” Burlington Times-News, NC, 2-5-1984, 8A. Accessed 12-7-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/burlington-daily-times-news-feb-05-1984-p-8/
Associated Press. “Nine children killed in Tacoma fire.” Walla-Walla Union Bulletin, WA, 2-5-1984, p. 1. Accessed 12-7-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/walla-walla-union-bulletin-feb-05-1984-p-1/
Seattle Times (Gene Balk). “The Puget Sound area’s deadliest fires.” 1-1-2011. Accessed 12-7-2018 at: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/the-puget-sound-areas-deadliest-fires/
United Press International. “Three Fires Kill 18 People, Including 13 Children.” New York Times, 2-5-1984. Accessed 12-7-2018 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/05/us/three-fires-kill-18-people-including-13-children.html
[1] UPI piece in New York Times notes the boy was 5 years old.