Saturday, July 17, 1999

Fire kills disabled woman

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BY TANYA BRICKING and DAN KLEPAL
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Curlen Walker, whose deceased mother used to live in Kemper Lane Apartments, looks for personal items belonging to his mother's friend, Patricia Moon, who died in the fire. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        When Patricia Moon found out earlier this year she had cancer of the esophagus, she told her family she didn't want to die in a hospital.

        She wanted to stay at Kemper Lane Apartments in Walnut Hills, a Section 8 complex of mostly seniors and disabled tenants.

        She filled her one-bedroom apartment with plush white carpet, a collection of china, trinkets and a refrigerator decorated with dozens of magnets.

        The 61-year-old disabled woman died in her bedroom early Friday, trapped by a blaze in a building that has a rich and smokey past — a former hotel where firefighters have battled 10 blazes in the past five years.

        “I prepared myself that she was going to die from cancer, and I wanted to tell her goodbye,” said a granddaughter, Ming-Toy Baldwin, 18, of Wyoming, named after Mrs. Moon's china collection. “But having her go like this, it's something I just don't want to remember.”

        Food left on the stove by a daughter who came to help Mrs. Moon through her illness apparently started the fire. That was the cause of seven of the past 10 fires, District Chief Fred Prather said.

        Built in the mid-1920s as a hotel, the building once was known as “home of the ballplayers” because Reds such as Ernie Lombardi, Johnny Vander Meer and former manager Chuck Dressen stayed there.

        The last fatal fire was in 1987, when a tenant apparently fell asleep while smoking in a chair.

A worker surveys the damage in Patricia Moon's apartment. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        The Kemper Lane building had several code violations when building inspectors visited Friday, said Don Mercer, assistant director of buildings and inspections for the city.

        But none of the violations contributed to the fire or loss of life, he said.

        Fire doors, which act as a flame barrier at stairwells, shut but did not latch during the fire. Also, the ceiling in the boiler room had peeling fireproof plaster.

        “None of the violations had an impact on the fire, but they certainly could have,” Mr. Mercer said.

        Owner Winston Folkers, former economic development director for the city, will have 30 days to fix the violations. Mr. Folkers did not return phone calls Friday.

        Four other people were injured in the blaze, which caused $100,000 damage. Mary Wreppu, 68, was in serious condition Friday at University Hospital. Julia Hall, 80, was in good condition. Two others were treated for smoke inhalation.

        The American Red Cross found housing for 14 families as of Friday evening and helped another 13 with food, clothing and other essentials.

Willie Martin lies in a cot, as he and other residents of Kemper Lane Apartments watch firefighters. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Those who got out safely made it down stairways, out windows and down fire escapes.

        But in a building full of elderly residents who could not use elevators, the evacuation was difficult.

        “It's a lot of old people in there and long, open hallways,” Assistant Fire Chief Gary Auffart said. “So when the smoke gets in there and they open the doors, the hallway fills with smoke.”

        The blaze began about 1 a.m. after Mrs. Moon's daughter, Debrah Cole, had been cooking fish on the stove. She left to tend to a sister with muscular dystrophy who lived on the same floor, Miss Baldwin said.

        Before she returned, flames from the stove were pouring out of the apartment.

        Roy Moon Jr., Mrs. Moon's uncle, who was sleeping in the living room, climbed out the window onto the air conditioner until he could be rescued.

        Mrs. Moon, who used a wheelchair, was trapped.

        Neighbors and employees at the Kroger store around the corner said they'd remember her for her outgoing nature and polished look, down to her gold fingernails with glittering stones in them.

        Some said her tragedy made them fear for their safety.

        “I've been in three fires,” said Mildred Patterson, 76, who has lived in the building for 20 years.

        “There's a lot of people who think there's going to be another fire,” she said. “The only thing I worry about is my bird.”

       

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