March 29, 1953: Fire engulfs Largo nursing home, killing 33
Thirty-two elderly people and a heroic nurse were killed when a wind-driven fire swept rapidly through a rambling, old one-story nursing home south of Largo, according to news reports. It was the worst disaster in the history of Pinellas County, the St. Petersburg Times reported. Twenty-five residents escaped, including one who was rescued by the nurse who died. The fire started at about 3 a.m. and waged most of its destruction within 15 minutes. Ned Moren, 31, son in law of the nursing home's operator, said heavy winds prevented many rescues. "If the wind had been still, we might have saved all of them," he said. "But the wind kept shifting."
Many of the residents were senile and failed to make any effort to save themselves, he added. The St. Petersburg Times reported that none of the doomed made a sound. Fire officials said this may have indicated most of the dead were overcome by smoke or fumes while still asleep. Officials believed the fire started accidentally because one of the residents was smoking secretly in bed. The fire destroyed the nursing home's records, which hampered efforts to identify the victims. The nursing home had not been inspected in more than a year, the paper reported. The fire triggered calls for more inspections of nursing homes in Pinellas County, many of which were in "deplorable" condition, according to county health officials.
Read the story in the St. Petersburg Times: Largo Nursing Home Destroyed: 32 Dead In Fire
Read the story in the Palm Beach Post: 33 Persons Perish In Fire In Nursing Home In Largo
Read the story in the St. Petersburg Times: Largo Nursing Home Destroyed: 32 Dead In Fire
Read the story in the Palm Beach Post: 33 Persons Perish In Fire In Nursing Home In Largo