Today in Fire History 5/16

On 5/16/1938 a pre-dawn fire at the Terminal Hotel killed thirty-eight on Spring Street in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The fire started in the basement of the five-story brick and frame building around 3:00 a.m. in the “$1.00 and up a day hotel” which was the home to many railroad men downtown. “The fire broke out in the kitchen of the hotel on the “Hotel Row District” on the corner of Spring and Mitchell Streets, the hotel mainly catered to travelers arriving and departing from the Terminal Station right across the street. The original Terminal Hotel was built in 1906. That hotel burned to the ground in the Terminal District fire that swept through the neighborhood in 1908. A new five-story structure was rebuilt on that site. The new Terminal Hotel was something of a fire magnet, if such a term exists, as there had been three fires in the hotel in the 30 years it was open. The other fires were fairly minor compared to the destruction and death caused by this one. At around 3:00 a.m. on May 16th, a fire was discovered in the basement of the hotel and the alarm bell was sounded. A longtime bellhop was doing his early morning/late night duties in the lobby when the blaze started. He heard a boy in the kitchen screaming “fire” and then heard a muffled blast below and saw a puff of flames travel upward very quickly. The desk clerk attempted to warn the guests of the fire, but the blaze had destroyed all connections. It may have been too late already. The venerable old hotel had a wooden interior and the flames tore through the place at a rapid pace blocking off fire escapes and stairs on the upper floor within minutes. Guests, sound asleep at 3:00 am were awakened by the smoke and flames of the conflagration tearing through the building. Firefighters arrived shortly after the alarm bell sounded and they were met by an inferno. The fire department diverted local traffic due to the fear that the blaze would cause the hotel’s walls to collapse in all directions. The firefighters tried to stop the blaze with all the hoses they could muster, but the blaze was too strong. After a short time, the interior and the roof collapsed…It was initially reported that 25 people died as a result of the disaster, but that number would rise. Over the next few days, ten more bodies were discovered underneath the rubble of the collapsed sections. The hotel had only between 60 and 75 guests staying there that night otherwise the loss of life would have been much worse. The cause of the fire was never officially determined but it was believed to be caused by an electrical spark from a ventilating fan in a grease vent in the basement kitchen. The wooden interior mixed with warm, high winds caused the rapidity of the flames.”

On 5/16/1896 a Chicago, Illinois firefighter was electrocuted at a fire.

On 5/16/1909 a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firefighter died from injuries he sustained after falling from a fire escape at 831 Arch Street.

On 5/16/1917 a Kansas City, Kansas firefighter “was killed when a wall had collapsed on him while he was operating at a fire at the Drought Hay Company and the Kansas City Stockyards Company. It was believed the fire that destroyed the two warehouses was intentionally set. A second firefighter would also die of the injuries he sustained three days later.”

On 5/16/1968 an Atlanta, Georgia firefighter “died as a result of critical burns sustained May 1st, when he was sprayed with flaming gasoline after the gas tank of a burning taxicab exploded at 1630 Peachtree Street N.W.”

On 5/16/1976 four Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firefighters were killed as a result of a basement fire and floor collapse at Barson's Deli at Bustleton and Castor Avenues. “On Sunday, at 12:06 p.m., Box 1656, Bustleton and Castor, was struck for a fire in Barson’s Overbrook Restaurant and Delicatessen in the Bells Corner Shopping Center on Bustleton Avenue, near Bergen Street. This was a one-story building owned by Samuel Barson, with an address listed at 8354 Bustleton Ave. The second alarm was sounded at 12:19 p.m. At approximately 12:40 as the companies were searching the smoke-charged building and had made it approximately 30 feet inside, the heavy terrazzo floor suddenly collapsed, sending four firefighters into the basement. Rescue efforts began immediately. The third alarm was struck at 12:59 p.m. and the fourth alarm at 1:14 p.m. As rescue operations progressed, the roof suddenly collapsed. All of the rescuers were able to escape. Battalion Chief 12 was taken to Nazareth Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and a hand injury. Sometime after the fourth alarm, the bodies of two firefighters were pulled from the debris. The fire was placed under control at approximately 2:22 p.m. At approximately 6:20 p.m. the bodies of the other two firefighters were removed from the basement. “According to investigators, the basement fire of May 16 raged for a half hour or perhaps three-quarters of an hour, undetected. It burned through the joists until the floor collapsed, plunging the four firefighters to their deaths. There was no warning. The concrete-terrazzo floor which was approximately 2 ? inches thick had insulated the customers, employees, and finally, the firefighters above from the heat approaching 1,000 degrees, enough to melt steel wound cables and copper pipe.”

On 5/16/2020 twelve firefighters were injured after an explosion and fire in downtown Los Angeles, California. “Twelve firefighters were injured in a fire and explosion in the Toy District of downtown Los Angeles on Saturday evening. A fire and explosion occurred in a vape and marijuana accessories wholesalers. The one-story structure was located at 327 Boyd Street. The explosion happened about 6:30 p.m. Saturday while firefighters responded to the initial call of a fire in a mercantile building between East Third and Fourth Streets. The business was called Smoke Tokes Warehouse Distributor, a supplier of smoking and vaping products, and related accessories. The explosion happened in the heart of a downtown L.A. business district known as “Bong Row'' because of the concentration of retailers selling rolling papers, butane, and other supplies associated with vaping, tobacco, and the extraction of THC for marijuana vape cartridges. Three firefighters were discharged and eight remain hospitalized the day after the fire. The incident began with a fire that was first reported around 6:26 p.m. As firefighters were responding to the blaze inside the building at 327 East Boyd Street, the site of a butane honey oil supplier called Smoke Tokes, there was a "significant explosion." "After the explosion, the fire intensified and it shot out 30 feet like a blowtorch right in the path of egress." The injured firefighters were transported to County USC Medical Center to be treated for burn injuries and smoke inhalation. Two firefighters were initially put on ventilators and four were sent to the intensive care unit for burns.”

On 5/16/2009 a Shell Knob, Missouri mobile home fire killed a 22-year-old man, a 20-year-old woman, and her three children ages three, two, and seven months.

On 5/16/1860 a train accident on the Florida Atlantic and Gulf Coast Railroad about thirteen miles from Jacksonville, Florida killed three and injured more or less every person on board when “the train encountered a drove of cattle which threw the train off the track.”

On 5/16/2010 a 5.8 magnitude earthquake was felt in Puerto Rico.

On 5/16/1849 New York City Board of Health establishes a hospital for cholera victims. “New York City's first street-cleaning plan was implemented in the face of the epidemic.”

On 5/16/1988 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled trash may be searched without a warrant.

On 5/16/1939 the first food stamps were issued.

On 5/16/1918 the United States Congress passes the Sedition Act, a piece of legislation designed to protect America's participation in World War I.

On 5/16/1868 the U.S. Senate votes against impeaching President Andrew Johnson and acquits him of committing "high crimes and misdemeanors."