1989 — Jan 1, Rural Single Family House Fire, Remer, MN — 10

— 10  NFPA. The U.S. Fire Problem. Home Fires with Ten or More Fatalities (1980-2007). 2008

— 10  National Fire Sprinkler Association.  F.Y.I.  1999, 6.

— 10  USFA. Eight Children and Two Adults Die in Rural House Fire, Remer, MN.  1999.

 

Narrative Information

 

“Only two hours into the New Year, 1989, the small r u r a l town of Remer, Minnesota, located approximately 85 miles west of Duluth, Minnesota experienced the most devastating single-family house fire in the State’s history.

 

“Ten people perished, apparently as they slept, when a fire rapidly spread through an old two-story schoolhouse that had been moved onto the site and converted for use as a residential occupancy. Eight children from three families and the parents of two of the children died in the fire.  The surviving parents of four of the children had left the house at about 2300 hours that evening, New Year’s Eve, to celebrate a birthday at a local Pub. They came home at about 0230 to discover the house ablaze and firefighters on the scene.

 

“Specific cause of the fire was undetermined. Strong consideration was given to faulty electrical, over-fused circuits and human factors after extensive investigation and statements made by the victims prior to the fire and in statements written in a journal by Kimberly Smischney, one of the children killed in the fire. There were no smoke detectors present in the home when the fire occurred.”  (USFA. Eight Children and Two Adults Die in Rural House Fire, Remer, MN.  1999)

 

“The fire was discovered early New Year’s morning by a passerby. Much of the home had already been destroyed by the time the Fire Department had arrived.”

 

State Fire Marshal Investigators reported an insurance agent from Remer went to the home about four months prior to the fire to consider insuring it for a mortgage application on the property. The insurance agent told investigators, “There was absolutely no reason for anyone to live like that.” He also stated that he told the owners that if there were ever a fire the place would be gone. The general appearance and lack of upkeep turned him away without even considering writing the insurance requested. There had been no insurance for the past four years and no value was ever considered.”  (USFA. Eight Children and Two Adults Die in Rural House Fire, Remer, MN.  1999.)

Sources

 

National Fire Protection Association. Home Fires With Ten or More Fatalities. Accessed 3-20-2016 at: http://www.nfpa.org/research/reports-and-statistics/fires-in-the-us/multiple-death-fires/homes-fires-with-ten-or-more-fatalities

 

National Fire Sprinkler Association, Inc. F.Y.I. – Fire Sprinkler Facts. Patterson, NY: NFSA, November 1999, 8 pages. Accessed at: http://www.firemarshals.org/data/File/docs/College%20Dorm/Administrators/F1%20-%20FIRE%20SPRINKLER%20FACTS.pdf   [Not operable when checked on 6-16-2016.]

 

 

United States Fire Administration. Eight Children and Two Adults Die in Rural House Fire, Remer, Minnesota (January 1, 1989). Emmitsburg, MD:  National Fire Data Center, USFA, FEMA, 1999, 29 pages. Accessed 6-16-2016 at: http://www.interfire.org/res_file/pdf/Tr-028.pdf