Norfolk, VA Kelman Trailer Fire, Nov 1965

Left Alone, 3 Children Die in Fire

NORFOLK, Va., (AP) – Three children left alone for a few minutes while their mother visited a neighbor died Thanksgiving morning when fire demolished their trailer home.

The father, a Navy enlisted man, was on duty aboard ship when his daughters died.

The victims were AUDREY, 3; ANNETTE, 1, and PAMELA, 2 months, children of JOSEPH E. KELMAN of Leicester, Mass., and JEANNE KELMAN.

KELMAN, a Navy fire controlman first class, was aboard the USS Dewey in drydock at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in nearby Portsmouth when the fire erupted. Due home about 8 a. m., and hour after the fire, KELMAN was told of the tragedy by a Navy chaplain before he left the ship.
MRS. KELMAN, blocked by flames when she attempted to enter the burning trailer to rescue the children, was hospitalized for shock.
Cause of the fire had not been determined.

The Post-Standard Syracuse New York 1965-11-26
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!