–6 Badger, Stephen G. Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires for 2006. NFPA, Sep 2007, p. 12.

–6 Lawrence Journal-World, KS. “Florida. Fire in mobile home kills six family members.” 4-8-2006, 3A.

Narrative Information

Badger: “This single-family, double-wide manufactured home was of unprotected wood-frame construction….This fire broke out in a kitchen nook/dining area when a propane lantern ignited unknown combustibles. The fire burned into the bathroom, then above the ceiling throughout the structure. The power to the home had been shut off the day before, so the family lit the lantern when they arrived home late from a trip out of state…. The lantern was left unattended when the family went to bed. Three 20-pound (9.1 kilogram) propane tanks and four oxygen cylinders were found throughout the home and contributed to the fire spread. The victims were located in the bedrooms.” [Notes there were no smoke alarms or other protection devices.] (Badger, Stephen G. Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires for 2006. NFPA, Sep 2007, p. 12.)

Lawrence Journal-World: “Fire spread through a mobile home early Friday, killing four young siblings and their grandparents just hours after the family returned from a trip to Louisiana. A family spokesman identified the victims as 6-year-old twins Jennifer and Jessica Church, their brothers Jarod, 7, and James Jr., 12, and their grandparents Franklin Church, 61, and Brenda Church, 57. The children lived with their grandparents, two doors from their father’s home, said family spokesman Tom Marcum, a minister at Mandarin Church of Christ. The children’s mother

lived in Louisiana.

“Neighbors said the family had returned home about 1 a.m., two hours before firefighters arrived

to find the home engulfed in flames. A burned van was parked in the driveway with a trailer attached to it. The fire started in the dining room, but its exact cause had not been determined, said Tom Francis, a spokesman for the Jacksonville Fire-Rescue Department.” (Lawrence Journal-World, KS. “Florida. Fire in mobile home kills six family members.” 4-8-2006, 3A.)

Sources

Badger, Stephen G. Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires for 2006 (NFPA No. MDS06). Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, Fire Analysis and Research Division, Sep 2007. Accessed 7-8-2013: http://www.nfpa.org/~/media/files/research/nfpa%20reports/overall%20fire%20statistics/catastrophic2006.ashx

Lawrence Journal-World, KS. “Florida. Fire in mobile home kills six family members.” 4-8-2006, 3A. Accessed 9-6-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=172813135&sterm

2006 — April 7, Fire, propane lantern ignites material in mobile home, Jacksonville, FL– 6