1992 — Feb 13, Fire (space heaters or smoking) Row House (5 children), Camden NJ — 8

— 8  Daily News. “Fire Kills 8 in Camden; 5 Children, 3 Adults Die in Fire.” 2-13-1992.

— 8  Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Day that Camden Cried; 1,000 Mourn 8 Killed…, 2-22-1992.

— 8  USFA. Appendix A: Briefs on 1992 Residential Fires with Five or More Fatalities…, p. 13.[1]

 

Narrative Information

 

Feb 13, Daily News: “Eight people – five children and three adults – were killed this morning as a raging, fast-moving fire swept through a large Camden rowhouse. At least four people, including two firefighters, were injured.

 

“Flames broke out in the house at the corner of Park Boulevard and Kenwood Street, in Camden’s Parkside section, shortly before 4 a.m.

 

“The first firefighters on the scene, seeing the intensity of the blaze, ordered a second alarm. The fire took less than an hour to put out and destroyed the interior of the house. Charred marks on the outside walls showed that flames had shot through every window of the house.

 

“The two-story brick home, at the end of a row, was owned by Evelyn Jackson, 43, one of only two apparent survivors of the blaze. She conducted a hairdressing business in the house, which had a deep front porch and featured high-ceiling rooms on the first floor and four bedrooms upstairs. Jackson was in critical condition at the Chester-Crozer Burn Center in Delaware County, to which she was transferred by helicopter from Camden’s Cooper Hospital University Medical Center….

 

“A daughter of Evelyn Jackson, Margo, 23, had left the home before the fire broke out, headed for a visit to relatives in Atlanta. However, she was located at Philadelphia’s International Airport before her flight departed and told of the tragedy. Four of her children were believed to have been in the house, along with one child of Keya’s. No children were listed among the survivors. Margo’s children range in age from 2 to 7, fire officials said. Keya’s child is 4, they said….” (Daily News. “Fire Kills 8 in Camden; 5 Children, 3 Adults Die in Fire.” 2-13-1992.)

 

Feb 22, Philadelphia Inquirer: “More than 1,000 mourners jammed St. Joseph’s Pro Cathedral yesterday to say goodbye to three generations of a Camden family killed in Parkside last week in one of the worst house fires in city history. Five of the dead were children….[who died] during the Feb. 13 fire at 1351 Park Blvd….

 

“The dead included…Robert Jackson, 72, and Jackson’s five great-grandchildren: Rakiemah Jackson, 2; Rakim Jackson, 3; Rabesha Jackson, 5 and Shawn Parker Jr., 7, all children of Margo, and Keyahna Jackson, 4, Keya’s daughter. Keyahna’s father, Roy Junior Jones, 28, lay with them in the…cathedral… A photograph of Sheldon “Wayne” Martin Jr., 18, also was on the altar. Muslim services were held Sunday for Martin….” (Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Day that Camden Cried…8 Killed in City’s Worst House Fire,” 2-22-1992.)

 

USFA: “A predawn fire in a brick row house in a working class Camden, New Jersey, neighborhood killed three adults and five children. Fire investigators ruled out incendiary causes and identified improper use of space heaters or careless smoking as possible causes of this tragic fire. Fire officials report that two kerosene space heaters and several electric space heaters were found throughout the dwelling. One of the kerosene heaters was found in the room of origin. And at least one electric space heater was found in each room of the house. Investigators report that these auxiliary heating appliances appear to have been used as the primary heating source at the time of the fire. A fuel oil tank in the basement was found empty.

 

“Camden firefighters responded to the scene at 3:46 a.m., and found heavy fire showing from the

rear of the building upon their arrival. A second alarm summoned additional companies at 3:52 a.m. Additional personnel were sent to the scene at 4:58 a.m., to relieve the first and second alarm companies. Firefighters reported that the fire spread rapidly from rear to front and from the first to second stories, trapping the victims. Stairways at the front and rear of the dwelling, one connecting the room of origin with the second floor sleeping area, contributed to the rapid fire spread. Fire damage was confined to the dwelling unit of origin; an adjacent unit separated by a brick party wall was undamaged.” (Appendix A: Briefs on 1992 Residential Fires with Five or More Fatalities Discussed in This Report. P. 13 in: USFA. Eight Fatality Row House Fire: Lessons Learned from Residential Fires with Five or More Fatalities… Dec 1992.)

 

Sources

 

Daily News (Dave Bittan). “Fire Kills 8 in Camden; 5 Children, 3 Adults Die in Fire.” 2-13-1992. Accessed 5-28-2016 at: http://articles.philly.com/1992-02-13/news/26040132_1_fast-moving-fire-burns-and-smoke-inhalation-rowhouse

 

Philadelphia Inquirer (Dwight Ott). “The Day that Camden Cried; 1,000 Mourn 8 Killed in City’s Worst House Fire,” 2-22-1992. Accessed 5-28-2016 at: http://articles.philly.com/1992-02-22/news/26038732_1_goodbye-fire-white-boxes

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Incorrectly has the date of the fire as February 3.