Evening star., 1947-02-17
Bureau Of Standards
Aid Sought in Probe
OF Fire Killing 7 Girls

The aid of the Bureau OF Stand
ards will be sought in an effort to
establish the cause of fire at the
Calvert Homes development, River
dale, Md, Thursday night, which
caused the death of two little girls.
This was decided today at a con-
ference held at 1887 L street NV.
headquarters of the National Capital
Housing Authority, among officials
of the NCHA and Federal Public
Housing Authority.
Preliminary discussions pointed to
a drape, which separated room
where the fatal fire occurred from
the rest of the house as being the
origin of the blaze.
John Ihloer, executive officer OF
NCHA, which operates Calvert
Homes, said the group decided TO in
vite the Bureau of Standards to in
spect the burned property and give
it's technical opinion on the cause of
the fire. Further, he said, the group
desires to have the bureaus recon-
mendations on what can be done to
prevent future blazes.
Police, Firemen's Aid Sought.
Leads from local police and fire
departments also will be welcomed
Mr.. Ihlder said, in an effort to estab-
lish responsibility for the fire and
recommendations on how to prevent
similar tragedies.
Mr.. Ihlder pointed out that the
drape may have been put up by the
tenant. He made clear that such
a curtain is not part of the AL
thority's equipment.
The electric wiring system evi-
IDENTIFY was not responsible, said the
executive officer.
A second possibility of the fire
origin, Mr.. Ihlder declared, was that
some wooden structure was too near
the chimney.
The basis of today's discussion
was the reports made by the stats
of NCHA and FPHA.
Officials Attend Session.
Attending today's session with Mr..
Ihlder were:
From the National Capital Hous-
ing Authority: Bernard E. Losh-
bough, deputy in charge OF opera
tions; Walter j. Kennevan, man
agement supervisor; Leroy Smith,
management supervisor OF all prop
critics have colored occupancy; Her
bert Schmitt, engineer, and Charles
Harris, supervisor of maintenance.
From the Public Housing Author
ity: Frank j. Duane, chief OF the
technical section of the general field
office, which has jurisdiction over
the Washington Metropolitan area;
Fred Andre, first and safety super
visor, and Harold F. Clark, chief OF
operations supervision.
After discussing theories as to
what might have started the fire,
three officials went to Riverdale to
make a flrst-hand experiment.
Mr.. Schmitt, Mr.. Harris and Mr..
Andre visited the fire scene and an
official from the Bureau of Stand
ards was to meet them there.
The party planned to start a fire
in the heater of the house to deter
mine first-hand the effect on the
chimney.
When the results of the expert
mental fire are known, Mr.. Ihlder
said the group will be reassembled,
probably tomorrow, to make a fur
ther study of the problem.
The fire victims were Sandra Kay,
a, and Jean Louise, az, daughters
of Staff Sergt. and Mrs. Alva Hoff-
man, 6625 Forty-seventh place,
Riverdale.
They were alone in the house at
the time of the fire. The father
was on duty at Boiling Field and
the mother away from home. Police
have filed two manslaughter charges
against the mother, who is at liberty
under bond.
Funeral services for the children
were held this morning in Hyatts-
vile.