Evening star., 1951-09-26
County Officials
Hope oReopen
|JoIIiffe Home
Other Establishments
Overcrowded, McNoyr
Tells Council

Montgomery County officials
planned today to inspect Mrs.
Jolliffe's nursing home, where a
fire last week took four lives, to
determine whether part of the
home can be reopened tempo
rarily.
County Manager Irving G.
McNayr told the County Council
at Rockville yesterday that private
nursing homes that have taken in
many of the 46 old people left
homeless by the fire are extremely
overcrowded.
He said that. if certain precau-
tions are taken. it may be possible
to reopen the south end of Mrs.
Jolliffe's home on Colesville road.
"a mile north of Colesville. making
room for 19 patients.
Evidence pointing to burning
lcigarette. cigar or pipe as the
cause of the tragic blaze Septem-
ber 18 was presented to the coun-
Gil in report from Fire Marshal
Charles H. Howe.
Pointing out that the definite
cause" proSably never will be de-
termined, Mr.. Howe said that to-
bacco was used by all three of the
old men who occupied Room / in
the north annex of the home,
where the fire started in clothes
closet.
Furthermore, the report stated,
the patients in Room / were
known to rummage in the closet.
one had habit of saving cigar
butts in his pockets. and none Of
the three could be considered re-
sponsible because of their adj
Ivanced age.
Mr.. Howe's report said that
when the fire departments ar
rived on the scene all but four of
the homes so patients had been
taken from the building. Only
one of those four was rescued by
If1remen, the report added; the
other three were carried out dead.
OF the three who perished, ac-
cording to the report, lone went
back toward her room in the an
mex after being led into the hall,
another slipped away from the
nurse who was leading her down
the steps, disappeared in the
smoke and subsequently was found
dead on the second floor" and
the third could not be moved and
died in bed"
i Mr.. Howe said nurse and a
doctor made separate attempts to
; carry out the bed-ridden patient,
but could not lift her because Of
her weight.
/ The fire marshal recommended
. that the county code for hospitals.
Sanitariums. nursing homes and
! care homes be amended to provide
. that:
/. No patients be placed above
/ the first floor of any unsprinklered
/ frame hospital. present law al
lows ambulatory patients above
, the first floor)
2. No license be granted for
such an institution unless it is
within 600 feet of a fire hydrant
, and has adequate water storage
, facilities.
:. 3. No license be granted for
, such institutions in other than
, one-story buildings with a maxi
mum OF 1000 square feet of floor
area.
II 4. All such homes having a ca
pacity Of more than 10 patients
install local fire alarm system.
i 5. A safe fire resistant smoking
room be set up and that patients
be searched before leaving the
room.
Mr.. McNayr said a proposed
new building code for the county.
which will be presented to the
council soon by the Maryland
National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission, will require
flre-resistant materials in all new
hospitals, sanitariums and nurs-
ing homes.
l Police Chief Charles M. Orme
also submitted a detailed report
on the fire. but its contents were
mot disclosed. Mr.. McNayr said
the chiefs report praised the work
of many of the police. flremen and
employes of the home, particularly
Mrs. Louise L. Hill, colored head
nurse at the institution.
Mrs. Virginia B. Maxwell, pub
lie health nurse specialist for the
County Health Department, said
10 OF the patients from Mrs. Jol-
!, llfte's place are still in hospitals.
IL at Suburban and four at Mont
, gomery General. Twenty-Five
others have been put in private
nursing homes, one is in the guest
house at Walter Reed Hospital.
and the rest are with their FAM
lilies.
Mrs. Maxwell said Montgomery
General was crowed before the
aged patients were brought in
september 18 and by last Thurs
day the situation was acute. At
that time, she said, the Red Cross
appealed to the patients families
for help but there was a lack of
Interest on the part of the FAM
lilies to make adequate arrange
ments for the PATIENTS" so most
were moved to the private institu-
ltiayc