I am also curious about the floor plan of the home. It has been stated that there were 2 bedrooms in the attic or on the second story. The girls room was at the front and opened directly to the stairway and had no door. The boys room was to the back and there was a door so one would assume a wall between the rooms. There was a cellar or basement. Was it a full or partial? I would have to assume that it was a full basement based upon the statement that "All that remained of the home was a basement full of ashes". What was the basement constructed of? Mud floor with bricks, blocks, wood, or mud for walls? What was the actual home constructed of? We know that the roof was tar paper and wood, what about the rest of the structure? What were the walls made of? They didn't have drywall in those days and based upon most the homes in my area it was made of a mixture of cement, limestone, and horse hair. West Virginia is obviously different and why I asked. When it came to plastering in those days, most folks used what was handy. Maybe all the walls were made of wood and that would make sense too on why the house went up so fast. Hang on please, I do have somewhere that I am going with all this, I would just like some more details.
Another tidbit mentioned that mom would put chicken and pork bones into her "wood" stove to see what they would look like, since no remains of her children were found. That basically brings me to another question. What were the primary heat source/s for this home back then? Did they soley rely upon wood to heat this home or did they use coal as the primary heat source and wood was used for cooking? Heat rises just like smoke, but I am curious because either/or source/s had to be stored somewhere. I would think that coal is far to hot to cook on and the wood stove was mentioned when mom was trying to destroy animal bones. In either case, that fuel had to be stored somewhere. The coal being in the basement and the wood stacked near the home for easy access.
The home is on fire and smoke does what? It rises. So the girls room should be filled with smoke by the time mom awakes to the smoke. Mom is awakened by the smell of smoke and when she opens her bedroom door, the adjoining room was filled with flames. That is a lot of smoke and the smoke had where to go, but upstairs into the girls open bedroom.
Now, does anyone know exactly how many beds were in each room? We know that baby Sylvia was still in a crib in mom and dad's room downstairs. What were the sleeping assignments for the others? Most of the kids were older and in our era, would be sleeping in their own beds, but in that time, were they still sharing beds? No Christmas tree was put up because Joe didn't make it home, so did the kids still believe in Santa, at their ages, in that era? They were staying up to hear about Santa's travels on the radio and playing with the toys Marian gave them. Marian fell asleep on the couch and that would free up a bed, if she had her own. That would give Maurice and Louis a place to sleep. Let's say that these 5 kids go upstairs and all go to sleep in the girls room. This is a happy family and they are all excited over Christmas and the gifts they will get in the morning. Who cares who sleeps with who. Now, they are all settled in for the night and are eventually overcame with the smoke from the fire in their sleep. Not uncommon from several internet searches. The majority of fire related deaths are due to the smoke and not the fire. As much as I hate to say it, we have 5 kids that may very well already be dead from the fumes and smoke, before the fire has even reached the room. The good part of that being, it happened while they were asleep and none the wiser of the horror yet to come. The smoke wakes up mom and when mom opens the door, the next room is filled with flames and being a great mom, she is screaming, no doubt to try and wake her kids up. Her screams finally awaken George Jr. and John and they had to open the door between their room and the girls room to gain access to the stairs to get outside. I am by no means an expert on firefighting, but lets try this scene. The boys open the door creating a flash fire. The house is on fire and once they open that door, the fire rushes for the fresh air to feed it. George Jr. and John barely escape with their lives.
Now once the family is safe outside, they are all trying to save the remaining kids. The water is frozen solid, the vehicles won't start, and the ladder is no where to be found. There are no screams and in the back of my mind that would be because of death due to smoke inhalation. They didn't smell flesh burning. That thought I really don't care to think about, but if I had to, how much more would it really differ to any animal? I'm sorry, I don't mean to be disrespectful saying that. I just have so many thoughts running through my head right now and just trying to keep each thread together with my thoughts. I was born in 1965 and things at that time compared to when my folks were born, had changed an awful alot and even more so by the time I had my daughter in 1984.
Was there any foul play noticed on the vehicles that wouldn't start that night? I am not familiar with the temps or living in the mountains where they lived, during this time frame. In my area in Ohio it's pretty flat and can get down right cold, so more details would be nice for that area.
Just a few more ideas for those still thinking