The fire, which took the lives of 63 of the home's 84 residents, was overshadowed by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy the day before. The fire spread so quickly that the telephone lines were burned before the fire department could be called. In addition, many residents were unable to escape on their own. Some were wheelchair bound and unable to negotiate doorways; others were tied to their beds, while others were simply too infirm to leave on their own.
"The day after John F. Kennedy's assassination, 63 elderly Ohioans lost their lives in one of the largest nursing home fires in United States history. In stark black and white, Fireland cross-cuts numerous witnesses with hundreds of primary remnants of the fire - from photos to the infamous Zapruder footage of Kennedy's assassination (the only color footage in the film). 'America's Holocaust,' as it was called in the few papers that reported on the fire, has tremendous historical and social importance." Because the video is age restricted, you can only watch it on YouTube.
