Evening star., 1949-10-04
Fire in Rockville
Fatal 10 Woman;
! Others Flee
Nurse Suffocuted
In Home Owned by
Town Councilman

A woman sun 11OcaLed To-Day IN q
fire that swept her Rockville
apartment, despite efforts of fire.
men who reached her before she
was badly, burned.
Seven other persons escaped in
the blaze that cost the life of Miss
Alta Ruth Matheney, "a, a nurse
at the Chestnut Lodge Santa
rum, Rockville.
Miss Matheney occupied an
apartment on the first floor of a
large two-story white frame house
owned by S. P. Hersperger, mem
ber of the Rockville Town Council.
The house is located at 212 Read
ing avenue.
Mr.. Hersperger said he was
awakened shortly after / am. by
a scream which he believes came
from Miss Matheney's apartment.
He ran downstairs and found her
door locked. 1t felt hot.
Firemen Summoned.
Mr.. Hersperger said he kicked
In the door and as he did so
flames leaped at him, singing his
hair.
Calling to his wife and daugh-
ter, he ran out of the house and
across the street to the fire alarm
box where he summoned f1remen.
For some reason he could not ex-
plain, he had three suits in his
arms.
Three volunteer flremen entered
Miss Matheney's fame and smoke
filled apartment to try to save her.
The f1remen, Thomas Slater, Upton
Carter and William Best, found
her body on the kitchen floor and
carried her through the kitchen
window.
The flremen tried to revive her
with artificial respiration and ad-
ministered oxygen.
Mr.. Hersperger's cries to his
family awakened the other oc-
cupants of the house. Those who
escaped from upstairs rooms were
Mr.. Hersperger's 9-year- -old daugh-
ter Nancy; 1t. G. w. Linthicum,
chief of the Montgomery County
Detective Bureau in Rockville
and his wife.
Couple Escape Through Window.
Mr.. and Mrs. Earl P. Turner.
who occupied another downstairs
room. and Mrs. Hersperger.
escaped from the first floor.
1t. Linthicum and his wife tried
to make their way down the front
stairs but were driven back by
smoke. They then went down the
back stairs. Mr.. and Mrs. Turner
made their way out through q
window of their room while Mrs.
Hersperger went out the back
door. Nancy also came down the
rear stairway and back door.
Firemen estimated damage at
$4,000 after they confined the
flames in Miss Matheney's two
room apartment.
Firemen said the fire apparently
started in Miss Matheney's bed
room because most of the fire
damage was there. They said Miss
Matheney must have fallen asleep
while smoking cigarette, then
tried to escape through the kitch-
en-. She was overcome a short
distance from the window.
Mrs. Hersperger said Miss
Matheney had told her she was
unusually tired last night when
returning from work.
Parents Live in Virginia.
Miss Matheney had been nurse
at Chestnut Lodge about five
years., She had lived at the
Hersperger's house about five
months.
Three of Miss Matheney's six
surviving sisters are Mrs. Perry
Neff, 504 Second street Sc, Miss
Elizabeth Matheney, of 1875 South
Fillmore street, and Miss Claudine
Matheney, 719 South Glebe road,
both Arlington.
surviving sisters live in Arlington.
They are Mrs. Mary Nef and Miss
Elizabeth Matheney. both of 825
South Fillmore street, and Miss
Claudine Matheney, TIC South
Glene road.
The other three are the Misses
Margaret Matheney, Pulaski. Va;
Daisy Lou Matheney, Bristol, Va.
and Vivian Matheney, who is with
the Red Cross in Trieste.
Three surviving brothers are
Herman Dean Matheney, Pulaski;
Glenn Matheney, Los Angeles, and
William Matheney, Bakersfield.
Calf.
Miss Matheney's parents, Mr..
and Mrs. j. c. Matheney, live at
Pulaski.
q