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then from memory attendants and the manager identified the bodies due to location discovered. During the recovery of remains firefighters were told to spray the occupied metal beds holding remains lightly so that the remains would not be damaged. At least one set of remains was identified to have restraints still fastened to her arms. The remains of 21 residents not claimed by family members were buried in a single gravesite on
November 29.
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strong winds caused the flames to envelop the one-story building. A female attendant noticed the fire shortly before 5 a.m.: upon seeing a flash of light through the main entrance doors and thinking at first it might have been a car's headlights, she looked out of the window and saw flames at the corner
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Fred Rice. The investigation continued through
December 30, 1963 and required more than 3,300 man-hours; 100 people were questioned, including 39 firemen and police officers. The investigation concluded that the existence of a documented evacuation plan and familiarity with the plan by aides on duty
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when he saw sparks on the north end of the roof coming from arcing electric wires that had sagged through the pine trees in the front lawn. Dahman found a member of the staff, but on dialling for help, discovered the phone lines in the building were down. They were able to alert local officials, but
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Two other truck drivers also helped bring out residents from the facility. One of the patients who was ambulatory managed to evacuate himself and three others out an exit, but stated later the smoke was so thick he only got out as he knew where the exit door was. By the time firefighters arrived at
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Thirty-five of the home's thirty-six mental patients died during the blaze and many were so burned that identification was done based on the bed registration of the bed they were found in. Before any bodies were removed in the aftermath, each was numbered and the location was recorded on a chart,
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The building's owner, Robert W. Pollack, indicated that many of the residents could have been saved had they not panicked. "Instead of going out the doors, they went back to their beds," said
Pollack. However, the facility had an undivided attic and no automatic sprinkler system. It had three
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with a flat wood roof covered by paper and tar. Interior renovations were made initially in 1953 to convert it into a nursing home, with the lobby being constructed in 1955. The facility also had a 2-room addition that was made of wood,
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The blaze began so quickly that an attempt to call the local fire department proved fruitless when the facility's telephone wires were burned. A truck driver, Henry Dahman, was passing through the rural area between
320:, authored by Anderson, William A. and Quarantelli, E. L., August 3, 1964, for the Disaster Research Center, Office of Civil Defense, Office of the Secretary of the Army. Reference is to the archive at the
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the building around 10 minutes after the first call, the building was engulfed by flames from one end to the other. When the firefighters responded to the scene the fire was burning so hot that the
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paneling. Twenty-two residents lived in the addition. In late 1962, patients who were not considered mentally ill had been transferred there after being removed from the
Cleveland State Hospital.
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that killed 95 people. It also marked the second fire in less than a week involving the elderly, following the
November 18 disaster that claimed 25 people at the Surfside Hotel in
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It was also reported that some of the victims were restrained to their beds, or trapped in wheelchairs that were too wide to exit the rooms properly.
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The L-shaped, concrete block, one-story, 186-by-65 foot building had passed inspection the previous March. The original building was constructed by
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The three employees who were present and 21 residents survived. About 2/3 of the survivors were
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directed that the investigation be more intensive than usual, and for it to be headed by State
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Electrical fire that took place at an assisted living facility in late
November, 1963
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A Description of
Organizational Activities In the Fitchville, Ohio Nursing Home Fire
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The event was recounted in a three-page story entitled "Golden Years" by cartoonist
107:, United States, killing 63 residents. The news of the fire was overshadowed by the
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480:"1963 Fitchville nursing home fire haunts survivors, would-be rescuers"
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took place soon after 4:45 am on
November 23, 1963, a mile north of
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on the roof began to boil and fall onto the ground near rescuers.
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of the lobby section. This was the entry point for the building's
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413:"First Person : A Small Town's Double Grief 25 Years Ago"
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The fire was the United States' deadliest blaze since the
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Institutional
Repository Library (accessed May 28, 2006)
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232:and some had suffered burns and smoke inhalation.
383:"JFK's death overshadowed Ohio nursing home fire"
331:by Justin Zimmerman and Bricker-Down Productions.
560:Residential building fires in the United States
274:The fire was featured in the 2006 documentary
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199:Ohio Historical Marker memorial of the fire
109:assassination of President John F. Kennedy
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565:November 1963 events in the United States
312:Fire Protection: Infamous Fires, Part II
308:, March 28, 2006 (accessed May 28, 2006)
300:Filmmaker sifts through ashes of tragedy
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244:Due to the large number of lives lost,
353:"Ohio Nursing Home Holocaust Kills 63"
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119:on the previous day (November 22).
555:Nursing homes in the United States
451:"The Golden Age Nursing Home Fire"
449:Juillerat, Ernest (January 1964).
381:Seewer, John (November 22, 2013).
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478:Ashby, Cary (November 23, 2013).
67:41° 5′ 39.11″ N, 82° 29′ 17.29″ W
535:1963 fires in the United States
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256:would have saved more lives.
132:Our Lady of the Angels School
101:Golden Age Nursing Home fire
20:Golden Age Nursing Home fire
411:Walters, Jim (1988-11-23).
28:November 23, 1963
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288:Wincrest Nursing Home fire
111:, which had occurred in
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322:University of Delaware
265:Corporate Crime Comics
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508:Grand Comics Database
305:The Columbus Dispatch
278:by Justin Zimmerman.
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504:"Corporate Crime #1"
216:but no local manual
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550:Huron County, Ohio
269:Kitchen Sink Press
214:fire extinguishers
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190:electrical service
124:December 1958 fire
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63:Coordinates
529:Categories
489:2019-06-10
430:2019-06-10
392:2019-06-10
362:2019-06-11
336:References
152:foundation
32:1963-11-23
425:0458-3035
387:USA TODAY
271:in 1977.
240:Aftermath
212:portable
177:Cleveland
460:June 10,
329:Fireland
282:See also
276:Fireland
230:invalids
157:aluminum
150:on slab
142:Building
48:Location
513:24 July
224:Victims
164:plywood
128:Chicago
30: (
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181:Toledo
160:siding
113:Dallas
90:Deaths
186:eaves
117:Texas
82:Cause
515:2019
462:2019
421:ISSN
179:and
170:Fire
162:and
99:The
76:Fire
72:Type
40:Time
25:Date
263:in
206:tar
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126:at
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