1959 — Jan 8, Home Wood Stove Fire (15 children and woman), Boswell, OK — 16

–16 Bugbee, P. “Fire Protection Developments in 1959.” NFPA Quarterly, 53/3, Jan 1960, 178
–16 Lawton Constitution, OK. “15 Children, Adult Die in Boswell Home Fire.” 1-8-1959, p. 1.
–16 NFPA. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959,” NFPA Quarterly, July 1960, p. 12.

Narrative Information

Bugbee/National Fire Protection Association: “….On January 8, sixteen persons lost their lives in a small dwelling in Boswell, Okla.” (Bugbee. “Fire Protection Developments in 1959.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, V53, N3, Jan 1960, pp. 177-180.)

NFPA:
“Dwelling of Booker T. Gardner
“Boswell, Okla., Jan. 8, 2:30 A.M.
“16 Killed: 1 Adult, 15 Children

“The father left his 1-story 4-room home at sundown for an all-night raccoon hunt. His wife was left to care for 15 children, ten of whom were her own, three were orphaned nieces, and two were visiting nephews. During the early morning hours, a fire occurred probably caused by an over-fired and thus overheated wood-burning stove. All occupants were asphyxiated before neighbors were alerted by the sight of flames. The mother had time to gather the children, but could not find a route of escape, evidenced by the fact that 15 of the victims were found in one corner of the rear bedroom. One child’s body was located outside the bedroom window where she appeared to have been pushed….The children ranged in age from twins 6 weeks old to 15 years and 10 of the 15 were girls.” (National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 53, July 1960, p. 12.)

Newspaper:

Jan 8: “Boswell (UPI) — Sixteen persons died early today when fire engulfed a small frame house near here today, trapping a woman and 15 children, who apparently had clung to her for protection. The father, farm laborer Booker Gardner, 45, was ‘coon hunting 12 miles away and was not located until the bodies had been removed. A charred refrigerator was all that poked up through the ashes of his home when he returned.

“The blaze was the worst residential fire in Oklahoma history, and was second only to a school house fire which killed 36 in 1924.

“City Marshal Stanley Shoemake said 13 of the children were found ‘piled on top each other on the bed.’ He said the woman, Mrs. Area Gardner, was underneath the pile, holding her newborn twins to her. Ten of the children were hers, three were nieces and two were nephews. ‘They all must have panicked and jumped on top her for protection,’ Shoemake said. ‘The bed looked like it gave way under their weight.’ Two more children were found a few feet from the bed, in the four-room, one-story wooden house that Shoemake said ‘burned like a matchstick.’

“Boswell Constable J. B. Richberg, who arrived first at the scene with the town’s only fire truck, said the roof had already caved in when he got there, and that the ‘sides were just burning slowly.’ Helped along by 20-mile per hour winds, the flames leaped to the roof of a neighbor’s home, that of Charles Ware, and firemen were forced to play their hoses on it rather than the Gardner home.

“The house was located about three blocks from the last water main in this little farming village of about 1,000 persons, located 24 miles west of Hugo in southeastern Oklahoma. When the water in the tank was used up, the volunteers had to leave the holocaust to return to town for a refill.

“Authorities waited until daybreak lo enter the ruins. The bodies were brought to Hugo, where they are to be taken this afternoon to the little Negro community of Oberlin about 13 miles south of here for a quick burial.

“Richberg said the fire apparently started from a wood stove.

“The neighbor, Ware, said he was awakened about 1:30 a.m. ‘by people hollering and screaming.’ He said he heard some glass breaking, and he looked outside to see flames shooting out the window of Gardner’s home. ‘I could see the fire was going to catch our house too,’ he said, ‘so my wife and I ran inside, grabbed a suitcase with some clothes in it, and two or three quilts, and hurried outside.’ Ware said he then ran to the city hall to report the blaze….” (Lawton Constitution, OK. “15 Children, Adult Die in Boswell Home Fire.” 1-8-1959, p. 1.)

Sources:

Bugbee, Percy. “Fire Protection Developments in 1959.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 53, No. 3, Jan 1960, pp. 177-180.

Lawton Constitution, OK. “15 Children, Adult Die in Boswell Home Fire.” 1-8-1959, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=59626973&sterm

National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 53, July 1960, pp. 7-38.