Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1930-06-06
Six Die In Fire In A Home.

Either an electric iron or an overheated
cookstove was believed to have started the
fire which took the lives of a mother and
five children and destroyed th"i- II
Glen Echo this county, e: st Sunday
morning IL
The victims. trapped on the z ,.ond floor
of their home, were Mrs. Katherine G.
Monkey. 40; George Monkey Ia; Linda
Monkey. IL; Gordon Monkey, 8; Eileen
Monkey, S.
The father. William Monkey. AZ, one
armed Waterman at the amusement park
which adjoins their home, was severely
cut on the arm when he leaped from a
second story window. He also was badly
burned about the face in an attempt to
rescue three of the children who were
sleeping in a room over the kitchen.
According to the ffagmentary stories
which county police were able to gather,
the fire first was discovered at 1887 A. NJ,
about an hour after Mrs. Monkey finished
cooking and ironing in the kitchen.
Police believe that Mrs Moxley may
have left the electric iron turned on and
that it started the fire or that she may
have left too hot fire in the wood stove.
Two calls for the Fire Department were
sent in about las A. M. by Mrs. William
T. Dennell, who lives in house to the
rear of the Monkey home, and by H. z.
Seaton, conductor on a street-car line run
ming between the amusement park and
Washington city.
Mrs Dennell aroused her husband and
he attempted 10 reach the trapped family.
He saw one of the children leaning from
side window and he fought his way
through some smoke and flying emberS to
the child, finding it was one of the girls
but she was dead. He then went into the
house and tried to get into one OF the bed
rooms, but the smoke and flames drove
him back.
| Meanwhile, Seaton had seen the fam $
| as his car passed the house. which stood
at the edge of the tracks. He pounded on
the front door, but could not get any re-
Spouse, and then broke open first-flooI
window. He was driven back by burst
of flames He called the Washington Fire
Department, six miles away, while the
Dennells were calling the county Fire De-
partments.
BY the time the firemen arrived the
house was in flames and the fire had spread
to the home of Andrew A. Riley, next
door, which was almost destroyed.
The firemen concentrated their efforts
on the Monkey home. 1t was nearly
O'clock before they we're able to enter the
house. The bodies were recovered one by
one by the firemen and the fight to extin.
euish the fire resumed. Undertaken W
R. Humphrey, of this town, was called ant
removed the bodies as hundreds of persons
from the neiehborhood and Washington
drove to the scene.
Automobiles blocked the roads and ham
pered the firemen, who were having diff
Guilty getting sufficient water They finally
raised man-hole tops and dropped hos'
into the conduit through which Washing
toms water supply is piped from Grea
Falls to the filtration plant.
Monkey jumped from front room on thu
second floor after he had tried to enter on,
of the bedrooms and rescue three OF hi
children. His story told at Georgetown
Hospital was that he and Mrs. Monkey ha
been awakened to find the entire SECOND
floor on fire,
ave rushed to the two bedrooms at tn
rear. and found flames leapine through tn