STATter 911

Watch the November 27, 1987 story

Watch interviews with those who fought and investigated the fire in 1987

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On Thanksgiving Day, 1987, I was scheduled to work. Having only been at Channel 9 for 2 years, I lacked the seniority to get the day off. Living in Pentagon City, Virginia, I had the scanners on and was taking my time about heading into work on what I hoped would be a slow day. That changed very quickly when PGFD dispatchers put out a call for a house fire, with children trapped, in Seat Pleasant, MD.

My apartment had a pretty good view across the Potomac River. Looking out the balcony and toward Northeast Washington, I could see the smoke even before the firefighters from Seat Pleasant took the short ride to the scene. I called the Channel 9 assignment desk and strongly suggested they send a crew that way. Even if there was no one trapped, a working house fire often is the lead story on a holiday.

But there were people trapped. Listening in, as I drove toward 203 69th Street, it was clear the news was grim. It wasn't long before Prince George's County Fire officials confirmed that 6 children had died.

There were 15 people in James and Annie Mae Williams home at the time of the fire. The couple lost 5 of their grandchildren and a 10-year-old son.

Veteran Channel 9 photographer Kline Mengle (now retired) was the first of many of our people to arrive at the scene. The video above and the still images are mostly Kline's work.

What happened 20-years-ago, inspired a PGFD program that continues today. It is called the Post Incident Neighborhood Intervention Program (PINIP). It was an effort started by Chief Jim Estepp to make sure there are working smoke alarms in every home in Prince George's County. Firefighters go door-to-door after a significant fire and provide the alarms and fire safety tips to neighbors.

Prince George's County officials are planning to talk about the program and the tragic fire at a press conference on Wednesday, at 11:00 a.m., at PGFD Station 38 on Sheriff Road.

It is interesting to note that 17 years after the tragedy, on December 12, 2004, fire almost took another life in the very same block. It was at 205 69th Street, the house next door to the Thanksgiving Day blaze, that Seat Pleasant VFD Captain Joe Johnson became trapped in the basement and suffered critical respiratory burns (the house is exposure B in the 1987 video).

One of those expected at Wednesday's press conference is Wayne McBride, then a police corporal, who spotted the smoke and attempted to rescue the children. After retiring from the Prince George's County Police Department, McBride (seen below) has had a second career helping run the Public Safety Communications Center.

Investigators determined that the fire was started by three children playing with matches in the living room of the home. One of the children died in the blaze. For fire investigators, dealing with a large, extended family, many who barely escaped the fire, it was a challenge making sure the accounts they were hearing were accurate.

Danny Jarboe was PGFD's Commander of Fire Investigations in 1987. Jarboe led the team looking into the cause of the fire. Among the investigators then working for Jarboe was Lawrence Sedgwick, who is currently chief of the department.

In recent emails, Danny Jarboe mentioned how the press played an important role in helping verify the cause of the Seat Pleasant fire. Jarboe has written down his thoughts on that investigation and provided them to STATter 911.

Media Relations a Plus to Fire Investigation

On Thanksgiving morning, 1987, six young children perished in a tragic house fire in Seat Pleasant, Maryland.

In this case, positive media relations became an invaluable asset to Prince George’s County Fire Investigators.

In most cases, photographic evidence used by fire investigators comes from still pictures taken long after a fire begins. Also, twenty years ago, there was not a presence of cell phones equipped with cameras which today can capture video images early in an emergency incident.

On the morning of this tragic incident, news crews had been operating in Washington, D.C. only about a mile from the scene of the Seat Pleasant fire. Responding immediately, camera crews began filming at an early stage as fire fighters were actively engaged in knocking down fire and searching for survivors.

Fire investigators were provided with the uncut, raw video from the TV stations.

As any experienced investigator knows, gathering of witness information, particularly from family members, can be very sensitive and sometimes difficult, especially when the loss of children is involved.

Fire investigators managed to get initial statements from all surviving adults who were in the home and from neighbor witnesses.

Investigators gathered to review the film footage and to discuss the interviews obtained. Comparing witness statements with the live footage provided clear corroboration of some statements and seemed to contradict others.

The overall investigation could easily have been clouded early by speculation as to the fire cause.

1. Thanksgiving Day suggested a strong possibility that cooking might be involved.

2. The weather was cold enough that the mere presence of a kerosene heater led to an early report that it might have been involved.

3. Information surfaced from an outside witness, suggesting that one of the home’s occupants might have been the target of revenge and that the home may have been firebombed.
Some media actually released the possibility of the kerosene heater, stemming from a conversation on scene. This may have actually become a “benefit” to investigators, as everyone would feel more relieved to blame some inanimate object, rather than any form of human error or responsibility.

Using the film footage helped to eliminate several of the above possibilities, coupled with investigators’ findings and witness statements.

As the investigation began to narrow, it was apparent that the focus was back within the grieving family, making our approach extremely delicate before conducting new interviews and before even speaking with the surviving minor children.

Virtually everyone involved in this case held compassion for the family. Despite a desire to reach an early conclusion, there was no pressure from department or county officials to rush and our investigative team was given total support.

One portion of the news video kept coming up in our discussions and eventually became a major piece of the final outcome.

Using the video footage and reviewing all of the written statements, we were able to create a chronological chart, noting the whereabouts of every survivor when first awakened, means of escape, locations of the deceased children and efforts to save at least some of them.

The video clearly contradicted one of the occupants, a family member who we felt was not intentionally misleading the investigation, but was suffering such trauma and remorse for not being able to prevent the tragedy.

It was this piece of evidence which convinced other family members of our need to make contact with the surviving children and thus discover the true facts to close this case.

When the two young survivors described for us where and how the fire first started, the video, statements and on-scene cause & origin investigation were in total agreement.

# posted by Dave Statter @ 12:56 AM