1992 — Dec 5, Fire (apparently smoking in bed), Row House (8 children), Chester, PA– 8

— 8  Philly.com. “Fire Claims 8 Children Asleep in Chester Home…” 12-6-1992.

— 8  USFA. Eight Fatality Row House Fire…Chester, Pennsylvania, December 1992. Page 2.

 

Narrative Information

 

Philadelphia Inquirer: “Eight children, ranging in age from 1 to 11, died yesterday morning when fire ripped through their two-story Chester rowhouse. Chester fire and police investigators said the fire, which broke out at 524 W. Fifth St. about 7:30 a.m., was the deadliest in the city’s history…. The eight children were found huddled in a second-floor bedroom. Investigators said they died of smoke inhalation.

 

“The children were: Carnell Kimble, 11; Roxanne Kimble, 10; Ava Kimble, 9; Ashley and Larry Kimble, both 8; Denisha Kimble, 4; Jack Kimble, 15 months, and Paul Howard Freeman, 2. The Delaware County Medical Examiner’s Office said Paul was Gloria Freeman’s nephew….

 

“Chester Police Chief James Clark said the cause of the fire had not been determined, but the blaze was “consistent with a mattress fire.” Among possible causes, Clark said, were a cigarette and a space heater with a faulty cord.

 

“The landlords, Mac and Rachael Portal of West Goshen, Chester County, insisted in an interview that they installed detectors in the rental unit. “We put them in ourselves. We installed them all,” Mac Portal said last night. “They may have removed them, I don’t know.” Chester requires housing to have operational smoke detectors before the city will issue an occupancy certificate, said attorney Ann Torregrossa, executive director of the Delaware County Legal Assistance Association. She called it “highly improbable” that a rental house could be legally leased without originally having smoke detectors.

 

“Clark said investigators have determined that the fire started in the first-floor rear bedroom – originally a shed – that John Freeman occupied….

 

USFA: “At 7:33 a.m., Saturday, December 5, The Chester Fire Department responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting a fire at 524 W. Fifth Street. When firefighters arrived on the scene two minutes later they found heavy smoke conditions and fire venting from windows on the side and rear of the west half of a brick and frame duplex… Three adults and two children had already escaped from the dwelling and were waiting outside when firefighters arrived. Two of the adults, Gloria Freeman and her friend, Louis Fryson, had escaped with two of her children out the second floor front windows onto the porch roof. The other adult, John Freeman, the woman’s brother, had

escaped by exiting through the front door.

 

“Firefighters entered the house through the front door and attempted to reach the second floor to

rescue the eight children who remained inside. The firefighters were driven back by intense flames spreading up the stairway from the kitchen and dining room, which were already fully involved.

 

“Second and third alarms were requested at 7:40 a.m. and 7:43 a.m., respectively, summoning an

additional three engines and one truck company to the scene. In all, six engines and two truck companies staffed by 50 personnel were used at the scene to control the fire, perform overhaul, and remove the victims.

 

“Investigation revealed that the fire started in the first floor bedroom at the rear of the dwelling, behind the kitchen. This room was used as Mr. Freeman’s bedroom. The cause of the fire remains undetermined; however, investigators are focusing on misuse of smoking materials.

 

“According to Ms. Freeman, the boys’ bedroom was in the rear of the house on the second floor and the girls’ bedroom in the middle. All of the children were believed to have been asleep when the fire started. In a statement to investigators immediately after the fire, Ms. Freeman said that even before Mr. Freeman shouted up the stairs to tell them there was a fire, the children said that smoke was coming through the floor in their bedroom. She indicated in a subsequent interview, conducted with her attorney present, that she first became aware that the house might be on fire when her brother called out that his bedroom on the first floor was on fire. Whichever account is more accurate, she took no action until after her brother shouted up the stairs that the building was on fire.

 

“Ms. Freeman’s later statements to investigators indicated that she attempted to dial 9-1-1 to report the fire but was unable to, so Mr. Fryson called to report the fire. His call was the first of several received reporting the fire.

 

“After dialing 9-1-1, Ms. Freeman and Mr. Fryson went from their bedroom at the front of the house into the second floor corridor where they encountered some of the children. Ms. Freeman grabbed the two closest children, boys ages 12 and 2, and retreated to her bedroom with Mr. Fryson due to the heavy smoke conditions. There they broke out the front windows and escaped onto the front porch roof. A passerby encouraged the adults to drop the kids to him and then jump to ground level and safety.

 

“Mr. Freeman told investigators he awoke to find his bed in the first floor bedroom afire. Before notifying other occupants, Mr. Freeman indicated that he made several attempts to put the fire out, using a bucket filled with water from the kitchen located adjacent to his room. When it became apparent that his efforts were proving fruitless, he reportedly ran to the front of the house and alerted his sister.

 

“When firefighters arrived, the rear bedroom, kitchen, and dining room had reached flashover, and fire was extending up the stairs to the second floor and through a balloon-frame wall at the rear of the structure. The fire took more than 45 minutes to control. Firefighters discovered the children’s bodies in the second floor center bedroom while controlling the fire. This room was not seriously damaged by the fire and none of the children were burned. All of the children were found huddled together on the floor at the front end of the room away from the partially open door to the hallway and stair. Another door to the hallway, toward the front of the house, was closed.

 

“Investigators checked the premises carefully but found no evidence that smoke detectors were installed in the building at the time of the fire. Although a bracket for a smoke detector was found on the ceiling, no smoke detectors were found in the fire debris. Ms. Freeman indicated that one detector had been installed in the building when she moved in five years earlier, but it had become inoperable and had been removed. Mr. Fryson confirmed that the smoke detector had become infested with insects and had been disposed of without replacement….” (USFA. Eight Fatality Row House Fire…Chester, Pennsylvania December 1992. 1992, pp. 3-4.)

 

Sources

 

Philadelphia Inquirer (Suzette Parmley and Larry King). “Fire Claims 8 Children Asleep in Chester Home. Three Adults and Two Children Escaped the Killing Smoke. It’s the Deadliest Fire in the City’s History.” 12-6-1992. Accessed 5-28-2016 at: http://articles.philly.com/1992-12-06/news/25992377_1_smoke-detectors-smoke-inhalation-mattress-fire

 

United States Fire Administration. Eight Fatality Row House Fire: Lessons Learned from Residential Fires with Five or More Fatalities – Chester, Pennsylvania (USFA-TR-067). Emmitsburg, MD: National Fire Data Center, USFA, FEMA, December 1992. Accessed 5-28-2016 at: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr-067.pdf