1968 — July 18, Fire, Dwelling (9 children, 2 adults), St. Albans section, Queens, NY–   11

–11  UPI. “Eleven killed in Queens fire.” Times Herald Record, Middletown, NY. 7-19-1968, 6.

–11  UPI. “Fire Claims 11 Lives.” Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, NY. 7-18-1968, p. 1.

–11  NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1968.” Fire Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3, May 1969, p. 13.

 

Narrative Information

 

NFPA: “Nine children and two adults were killed in a dwelling in the Queens section of New York City when a fire of undetermined cause broke out in a 2 ½ story building on July 18. The children were members of three different families living in the dwelling with their mothers. One of the adults killed was the mother of four of the dead children; the other adult was a friend of the dead woman. The fire Department was delayed in responding to the fire call because the first-due fire companies were responding to a false alarm when the fire call was received.” (NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1968.” Fire Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3, May 1969, p. 13.)

 

Newspapers

 

July 18: “New York (UPI) – Nine children and two adults died early today in a fire that swept a tiny gray stucco house where four families lived. Fire officials said a false alarm delayed some units. The fire department, said the false alarm drew firemen from the nearest station to a building seven blocks from the blaze that engulfed the two-story house in the St. Albans section of Queens. Police said a suspect in the false alarm had been arrested.” (UPI. “Fire Claims 11 Lives.” Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, NY. 7-18-1968, p. 1.)

 

July 19: “New York (UPI) – Nine children and two adults died Thursday in a St. Albans, Queens, blaze which firemen were delayed in reaching because of a false alarm. Penny Coons, a medical corpsman attached to St. Albans Naval Hospital was arrested and charged with turning in a malicious false alarm. Police said the alarm, seven blocks from the small stucco house which burned, delayed firemen by at least seven minutes. “If It had not been for the false alarm, many if not all of these fatalities might have been avoided,” said Fire Chief John O’Hagan. Mayor John V. Lindsay immediately issued a public appeal for an end to a recent escalation of false alarms.

 

“The victims, all Negroes, were among 16 occupants of a house zoned for one family. The occupants included three women who were separated from their husbands and on welfare with their 12 children. The Welfare Department had given permission for the three families to live in the one-family house for which they paid a total of $300 a month in rent.

 

“O’Hagan said the fire apparently started in the kitchen on the first floor and flashed up a stairwell to the second floor, where seven bodies were found in beds or near exits. Four other bodies were found in the attic. The heat was so intense that only bones were found of some of the victims.” (UPI. “Eleven killed in Queens fire.” Times Herald Record, Middletown, NY. 7-19-1968, p. 6.)

 

Sources:

 

National Fire Protection Association. “The Major Fires of 1968.” Fire Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3, May 1969, pp. 12-14.

 

United Press International. “Eleven killed in Queens fire.” Times Herald Record, Middletown, NY. 7-19-1968, 6. Accessed 5-18-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/new-york/middletown/middletown-times-herald-record/1968/07-19/page-9?tag=queens+fire&rtserp=tags/queens-fire?psi=67&pci=7&ndt=ex&pd=19&pm=7&py=1968

 

United Press International. “Fire Claims 11 Lives.” Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, NY. 7-18-1968, p. 1. Accessed 5-18-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/new-york/canandaigua/canandaigua-daily-messenger/1968/07-18?tag=queens+fire&rtserp=tags/queens-fire?psi=67&pci=7&ndt=ex&pd=18&pm=7&py=1968/