Hide Article Text (OCR)
By TED WOOD OBERLIN — Seven children ranging in age from six months to eight years burned to death last night when a raging fire trapped them in a candle-lighted wooden house at 235 Lincoln St. Two four-year-old boys, believed to have run for help when the fire broke out, are the only surviving children of the families of Mary Malone and Mr. and Mrs. James Isom. . Dead are DIANE MALONE, 3, and her brother, MARTIN JR., 2, SHTELA ISOM, 8, LINDA, 5, DEN NIS, 3, MICHEL, 114, and WILLIAM, six months. The Isom children were not in their own home. The Isoms live in a small house at 145 Lincoln St., but Mrs. Lee Related Picture, Page 12. Isom had been staying with Mary Malone, a sister, for the past six weeks. Her husband, James Isom, is in the Lorain County Jail awaiting trial for traffic manslaugh ter in auto death of Mrs. Helen M. Gould last Nov. 13. The charred bodies of five of the children were found on the lower section of bunk beds that had been turned into a pyre in an eight-by-nine-foot room. Another was found on the floor and the seventh on a sofa behind a door in the 11-by-ten-foot living room. The door was the only exit from the rear of the building. Cause Not Determined . Cause of the fire has not been determined, accord ing to Fire Chief Clarence Van Ausdale and Assistant Fire Chief William Van Ausdale. William Van Ausdale said the blaze could have been touched off by a lighted candle. Power service in the’ rear section of the building had been discontinued when, the tenant was unable to pay the bill. ‘ Whereabouts of the mothers of the children when the fire broke out is unknown. Both are in Allen Hos pital where officials said they are still in a state of shock and cannot be questioned. Their condition is termed “fair” One report was that the two women were in the living room with their mother, Mrs. Sylvia Malone, watching television when the fire broke out. James Dotson, 218 Lincoln St., said he was the first to reach the burning building. He broke out all the windows in a rescue attempt but was driven back by the flames. He said he believed all the children were dead when he reached the building. Dotson theorized that the two four-year-olds ran to get help when the fire started and that the older chil dren probably tried to put it out. . The alarm was turned in at 8:01 p.m. and two pieces of fire fighting equipment rushed to the scene. Harold Edwards, fire truck driver, said, “There was plenty of water, but it had a head start on us.” Called Worst Fire The building did not burn down, and the front sec tion, used as a separate dwelling, was not noticeably damaged. Edwards and Kenny Bohrer were the first of 20 firemen to reach the burning building. Art Salo was the first inside the building with rescue equipment, but he found no use for it. James Clark, 17, of 273 Lincoln St., brought out the first two bodies, and the others were taken from the house by firemen. Bohrer said two or three were passed through a rear window. Fire Chief Clarence Van Ausdale said it was “‘the worst fire in Oberlin” since he joined the department over 50 years ago. Funeral arrangements are being made by the Cowling-Stang Funeral Home. A service for all seven children is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday. c-T Photo By Walt Glendean CHARRED INTERIOR OF HOUSE WHERE 7 CHILDREN DIED Fire Started By Candles Trapped Young Occupants 4-YEAR-OLDS WERE ONLY SURVIVORS James Malone and Anthony Isom Escaped Flames NEIGHBOR MADE RESCUE TRY James Dotson Tried To Reach Victims
Newspaper Details
The Chronicle Telegram
Elyria, Ohio, US
Sat, Feb 22, 1986
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
George S.
USA 09 Jun 2026
Other Publications Near Elyria, Ohio
Elyria Reporter
Elyria Evening Telegram
Elyria Chronicle
Elyria Lorain Constitutionalist
Elyria Constitutionalist
