1969 — April 6, Fire, Wood-Frame Tenement/Apartment House, Bridgeport, CT            —     11

— 11  Associated Press. “21 Die In Two Fires.” Greenfield Recorder, MA, 4-7-1969, p. 1.

— 11  NFPA.  “The Major Fires of 1969,” Fire Journal, Vol. 64, No. 3, May 1970, p. 37.

 

Narrative Information

 

NFPA: “Fire of undetermined origin that started on a second-story rear porch in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on April 6 was quickly fanned by winds into the second- and third-story corridors of the three-story frame building, which contained 12 apartments. A neighbor discovered the fire at 5:03 am, but before the occupants could be alerted and evacuated 11 had died, seven on the third floor and four on the second floor. Six of the victims were children.” (NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1969,” Fire Journal, Vol. 64, No. 3, May 1970, p. 37.)

 

Newspaper

 

April 7: “Two fires over the Easter weekend took the lives of 21 persons. Eleven died when fire swept an aging wooden tenement in Bridgeport, Conn., and 10 perished in a blaze touched off by a kerosene explosion at Oakwood Bayou, Ark. Police called the Bridgeport fire ‘the city’s worst fire disaster in memory.’ Most of the victims were trapped on the top floor of the 12 family frame house destroyed by the blaze. Six of the dead were children….

 

“Bridgeport, Conn. (AP) – Fire investigators today traced the source of the Easter morning fire that killed 11 persons to a second-floor trash barrel….The early morning laze ripped upward to the top floor and roof, destroying a stairway escape route and eventually sending the floor crashing to the level below…’Flames shot out to the middle of the street,’ said a resident of a neighboring building on Arctic Street. Firemen used aerial ladders to pluck to safety some of the members of the 12 families who resided there. Others were able to flee on foot.

 

“The building is the same one that was involved in complaints two months ago against the owner, Abraham Katz of Trumbull. He was arrested Feb. 5. The charges against him of several housing-code violations, however, have not come up yet in court.

 

“Fire officials continued their investigation today of Katz’ suggestion that the fire may have been set.

 

“The acting city fire chief, J. F. Gleason, said the upper floors of a three-story wooden tenement building were engulfed in flames when firemen arrived at 5 a.m. Most of the victims apparently were trapped on the top floor when a stairway collapsed. Shortly afterward, said Gleason, the roof and the floor of the third story caved in….

 

“The known dead…were Mrs. Tyrone Davis and her four children ranging from six months to four years of age. Also dead according to preliminary police reports were Amona Otero, her husband, Manuel Rivera, and their two sons, Juan and Carlos. The boys were thought to have been between four and five years of age…

 

“The owner of the tenement, Abraham Katz, said he thought the fire was set. The building ‘went up too quickly,’ said Katz….He said, however, he did not believe the alleged act was directed against him….” (AP. “21 Die In Two Fires.” Greenfield Recorder, MA, 4-7-1969, pp. 1 and 10.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “21 Die In Two Fires.” Greenfield Recorder, MA, 4-7-1969, p. 1. Accessed 5-21-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/massachusetts/greenfield/greenfield-recorder/1969/04-07?tag=bridgeport+fire&rtserp=tags/bridgeport-fire?pci=7&ndt=ex&pd=7&pm=4&py=1969/

 

National Fire Protection Association. “The Major Fires of 1969,” Fire Journal, Vol. 64, No. 3, May 1970, pp. 37-40.