1892 — Jan 21, Surgical Institute fire (patients), IL and GA streets, Indianapolis, IN — 19

— 21 Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. “Disasters.” Vol. 84, March 1892. p. 808.
— 20 Fort Wayne Weekly Gazette, IN. “The News Condensed.” 1-28-1892, p. 8.
— 19 Bodenhamer, D. J. and R. G. Barrows (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. 1994, p. 569.
— 19 Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, IA. “Perish in the Flames.” 1-22-1892, p. 1.
— 19 City of Indianapolis Fire Department. “The Surgical Institute Fire.”
— 19 Daily Journal, Logansport, IN. “The Surgical Institute Verdict.” 2-25-1892, p. 1.
— 19 Eastern State Journal, White Plains, NY. “History of 1892.” 12-31-1892, p. 1.
— 19 Hostetler, J. “Then & Now: NW Corner of Capital and Ohio.” HistoricIndianapolis.com.
— 19 Logansport Daily Reporter, IN. “No One to Blame.” 2-22-1892, p. 1.
— 19 Logansport Daily Reporter, IN. “Was Condemned…Indianapolis Hospital…” 1-25-1892.
— 19 Logansport Press, IN. “Blast Rivals Rail Wreck as Worst State Disaster.” 11-2-1963, p. 5.
— 19 Hyman, Max Robinson (Ed.). Hyman’s Handbook of Indianapolis. 1897, p. 108.
— 19 Smith and Nicholson. National Surgical Institute. “Historical Sketch.” 2007.
— 19 Washington Gazette, IN. “Things Talked About.” 1-30-1892, p. 5.
— 19 Waterloo Courier, IA. “Indiana’s Horror. Terrible Holocaust…Surgical…” 2-27-1892, 10.
–>18 Logansport Reporter, IN. “A Death-Trap…National Surgical Institute…” 1-23-1892, p. 1.
–>18 NYT. “Death in a Fire Trap. A Score of Lives Lost in a Burning Hospital.” 1-23-1892.
–>16 Logansport Reporter, IN. “Many Perished. The National Surgical Institute.” 1-22-1892, 1.

Narrative Information

Bodenhamer and Barrows: “Shortly before midnight, a janitor at Dr. Allen’s National Surgical Institute notice smoke coming from a secretary’s office on the third floor. The institute building, located at the northeast corner of Illinois and Georgia streets, included the upper floors of several old buildings connected by narrow passageways. It was later discovered that the fire had started in an office on the ground floor and quickly spread to the upper floors. Over 300 people were in the building when the fire started, and by the time firemen arrived on the scene 194 patients were trapped on the top floor. With the help of firemen and volunteers, over 250 persons escaped the building unharmed. But many of the patients, mostly invalids and children, remained trapped on the top floor. Some died in desperate leaps from windows, while others died of smoke inhalation or were crushed when a section of the roof collapsed. In all, 19 patients were killed and 50 injured making the fire the city’s third most fatal disaster.

“The tragedy at the Surgical Institute did more to stir public interest in building safety than any other fire in the city’s history. The building inspector had condemned the structure as a fire hazard in 1878, but few renovations had been made to meet the prescribed safety requirements. Indianapolis newspapers criticized the city government, the building inspector, and the fire department for allowing the institute to operate in violation of the safety codes. Public outcry spurred reform of the building code and the fire department.” (Bodenhamer, David J. and Robert G. Barrows (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indiana University Press, 1994.)

City of Indianapolis Fire Department: “Another and a greater calamity, attended with a larger loss of life, and an occurrence all the more heart rending in its horror because of the helplessness of the victims involved in it took place January 21, 1892. This was the burning of the Surgical Institute, northeast corner of Illinois and Georgia Streets, for which the alarm was sounded at 11:45 on that night of disaster. The institute was filled with helpless cripples, and there were few servants and attendants. The building was filled with smoke, and the brave firemen gave their chief efforts to rescuing the inmates, than saving of property being a matter of little consideration where so many precious lives were in jeopardy. Many of the firemen groped their way in deadly, stifling smoke, through narrow and intricate hall ways to save the helpless cripples, and by these efforts, coupled with the efforts of those of the attendants who did not become incapacitated by fear, many, who would otherwise have been lost, were saved. As it was, nineteen patients and inmates lost their lives. On this occasion the force merited and received the most cordial admiration and approval of their fellow citizens. With the memory of the dreadful disaster of the Bowen-Merrill fire still fresh in their minds, they entered this building, the construction of which had been frequently condemned in the public prints as unsafe, for the purpose of saving lives at the risk of their own; this, too, while the great throng of onlookers was calling out to them not to enter the burning building.” (City of Indianapolis Fire Dept. “The Surgical Institute Fire.”)

Hostetler: “On January 21, 1892 a disastrous fire destroyed the hospital, killing nineteen patients and injuring many others. The buildings had previously been cited as a fire hazard and public outrage over the deaths resulted in safety reform and improved building codes.” (Hostetler, Joan. “Then & Now: NW Corner of Capital and Ohio.” HistoricIndianapolis.com.)

Hyman: “About midnight, on January 21, 1892, it was discovered that the Surgical Institute, which then occupied several old buildings on the corner of Illinois and Georgia streets, was on fire. It was filled with crippled men, women and children, the children largely predominating. When first discovered it was seen that Indianapolis was to have a night of horror. The buildings were soon wrapped in flames, and it was found impossible to rescue the alarmed inmates. Nineteen perished in the flames, and a large number of others were more or less seriously injured.” (Hyman, Max Robinson (Ed.). Hyman’s Handbook of Indianapolis. 1897, p. 108.)

Nicholson and Alberty: “….The financial stress following the fire caused him to raise fees. This resulted in a dramatic loss of patients. Allen entrusted the operation of the Institute to his family and colleagues, left town (1895), and settled in Chicago where he established another institute. In 1898 the Institute, which had treated more than 50,000 patients during its 35 plus years went into receivership in November of that year. The building with its distinctive towers and ornate ironwork later became the Imperial Hotel. The building is now gone and a parking lot occupies the space to the north of the Indiana State House.” (Nicholson and Alberty. “Herman List Collection, 1897-1913.” Indiana Historical Society. Nov 2006.)

Smith and Nicholson: “Launched by Dr. Horace R. Allen in 1858 in Indianapolis the National Surgical Institute became an internationally famed clinic/hospital for congenital deformities…. The Institute paid special attention to treating limb, hip and facial deformities….A devastating fire occurred at the Institute on 21 January 1892 in which 19 people were killed and several other patients were injured. Allen rebuilt his Institute at the corner of Ohio and Capitol streets.” (Smith, Robert W. and Dorothy A. and Nicholson. National Surgical Institute Photographs, CA. 1892. “Historical Sketch.” Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, May, 2007.)

Newspapers:

Jan 22: “Indianapolis, Ind., Jan 22, 5 a.m. — One of the most appalling fires in the history of Indianapolis occurred early this morning. The National Surgical institute, one of the most famous institutions of its character in the United States, burned to the ground, and dozens of persons are believed to have perished.
Sixteen Bodies Recovered.

“Sixteen bodies have been taken from the main building, all from the upper floors. It is believed that many more bodies are on the upper floors and a great many more in the annex, where the fire originated.

“Three bodies were taken out of one room of the ruins at 3:15 a. m., one man and one woman and another so much burned as to make the sex indistinguishable. Six more bodies are believed to be in this room, and an unknown number in other parts of the building.

“During the fire two women threw out their babies, which were caught and saved by the firemen. One or two men jumped from the roof and were badly hurt. At least 125 persons were taken from the windows by the firemen and carried to adjoining storerooms.

Where the Fire Started.

“The fire started at midnight in the office building, and above the offices were the wards for babies and mothers, and known as the A B C departments. The origin is claimed to have been from the spontaneous combustion of some chemicals, which had been placed in the room, and in fifteen minutes the whole lower floor was enveloped in flames.

Panic Among the Helpers,

“The attendants barely awakened all of the patients and in the halls and upper rooms pandemonium reigned. Shriek after shriek for help went up as the inmates realized their terrible situation. In a few moments white and thoroughly-frightened faces appeared at each window of the large building and the lips could be seen beseeching succor from those below, yet their voices could not be heard. Prayer after prayer went up from the unfortunate creatures already the victims of cruel circumstances that they might not perish in the flames.

Carrying Out the Patients.

“The police and firemen and attendants all worked diligently and in perfect accord, and many were the patients taken from the upper floors by means of ladders and carried to places of safety by them. No attempt was made to save anything but life. The halls and the stairways just before the fire was communicated to the main building were filled with inmates wrapped in bed-clothing, who crawled and helped themselves along from one floor to the other.

Everybody Helped.

“The citizens turned out to help in the work of rescue. Cots were hurriedly constructed from mattresses, and strong-armed policemen picked up the unfortunate ones and carried them across the street to the new annex recently purchased by Drs. Allen and Wilson. An immense crowd gathered about, and great anxiety was felt, for it seemed improbable that everybody could have escaped from the burning building alive.

Fears More Are Dead.

“Dr. Allen, the proprietor of the surgical institute, feels almost certain that there are several dead bodies in the main building and several more in the annex. It is also stated that at least six children were suffocated in one of the rooms. Two of the women who jumped from a window have died from their injuries.
Many May Die.

“Quite a number of inmates suffered from exposure and some of them may die. The feet of one boy who was forgotten and lay helpless in bed were so badly burned that the flesh fell from the bones. His head was near a window, and this alone saved him from strangulation.

A Sickening Sight.

“At Weddel’s restaurant, where seventy or eighty of the patients were carried, the sight presented as one entered and looked upon the indiscriminate gathering of suffering cripples, many of them, maddened by pain and anxious for friends, was one that almost defied description. Stretched upon the improvised beds, spread on the tables, were little children moaning, crying and coughing, their faces blanched with fear, their throats rasped with pungent smoke they had inhaled. ‘Oh, mister, please don’t touch my leg; it will almost kill me if you do,’ pleaded a little girl. Whose bandaged feet extended over the edge of a table.

Young Kimball’s Experience.

“Said William Kimball, a young man with both legs crippled from the knees down and his head thrown to one side by a distorted shoulder joint:

“I was sleeping on the fourth floor. I don’t know how it was, but I awoke with a sense of strangulation. From less than a foot above my face and up to the ceiling was a dense mass of smoke. I just rolled out of bed; I could not move about with my braces, so I took them off, lying curled upon my side. It was so hot I thought I was going to die. I called as loud as I could: ‘Help, help, here, 99.’ Just then there was a crash at the door, and a big colored man fell over me. He picked me up bodily, dashed through the halls and down the stairways and brought me here. God knows I am thankful.”

(Logansport Reporter, IN. “Many Perished. The National Surgical Institute. Patients Roasted in Their Beds.” 1-22-1892, p. 1.)

Jan 22: “Indianapolis, Jan. 22 – The surgical institute burned last night at midnight. Seventeen helpless, crippled children, inmates of the institute, lost their lives and twenty other persons were injured, some of them badly, but most of them only slightly. Two hundred and forty-six patients and thirty nurses were sleeping in the two four-story buildings in which the Institute was located and were in imminent danger of their lives. Their rescue, the light with the flames and final discovery of the dead children make a story rarely paralleled.

“At 9:30 this morning: nineteen dead bodies have been recovered. Some killed by jumping, but others suffocated or burned to death. List of identified dead are:

Irma [or Irene] Payne, age 18, Dexter, Mo;
Minnie Arnold, age 17, Lancaster, Mo;
Wm. Ramstock, age 17, Milwaukee, Wis.;
Mrs. E. Earl and child;
Mrs. Lazarus, Chicago;
Stella Spiercle;
G. M. Ellis, age 40;
Kate L. Stranghan, this city;
Mrs. Barns and nephew, St. Paul, Minn.

“The missing are: Mrs. M. E. Lump, Arthur Bay, Mass.; Minnie Macdonald and Fred Dackendorf.

“Among the probably fatally injured are: Minnie Lazarus, Mrs. J. K. Guild, Mcdaryville, Ind.; Nellie Mason, Walworth county, Wis.; R. Conner, Wm. Widener, Miami county, Ohio; Mrs. Thomas, of this city; Fannie Freedon, Memphis, Tenn., Mary Stearns, Warner, Iowa, was terribly
burned about the feet.

“When the fire department arrived, cripples were seen in every window. Their heart rendering cries were terrible. Heroic deeds of rescue were performed and for two hours the delusion was entertained that all the inmates were saved. Soon after two o’clock when the fire was nearly subdued the police and firemen went into the building and found in one room a mass of roasted humanity. There were seven persons in that mass alone. Nearly all the bodies were found in the Georgia street annex.

“The list of dead it further swollen by four who died from injuries received from leaping from the windows. Identification is almost impossible, many dead being charred beyond recognition.

“What started the fire is not certainly known but it began in the office of the secretary about midnight.

“The scenes in Griffiths restaurant, at the Grant hotel and Weddell house, where the injured were taken, were very sad. By seven o’clock the news of the fire spread all over the city and hundreds of persons who had relatives or acquaintances in the institution began to join the vast crowd surrounding the burned buildings and commenced to search for dear ones among the living and dead. While all this was transpiring, firemen, police and volunteer citizen s were prosecuting the
search in the ruins for more bodies. In the upper room of the east wing of the building four bodies, burned to a crisp were found. At nine o’clock the dangerous task of removing the bodies began.” (Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, IA. “Perish in the Flames. The Indianapolis Surgical Institute Destroyed by Fire and Nineteen Crippled Inmates Burned.” 1-22-1892, p. 1.)

Jan 22: “Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 22. – A score of helpless human beings burned to death – that is the record of last night in Indianapolis. At 11:45 o’clock an alarm was turned from Box 92, corner of Meridian and Georgia Streets. The location being in the heart of the wholesale trading district of the city, people naturally expecting a great fire, but when Box 52, at Illinois and Louisiana Streets, was pulled and in a moment the second and third alarms were heard, it was plain that the conflagration was a dangerous one.

“The firemen found flames leaping from the roof and fourth-floor windows of the National Surgical Institute on the corner of Illinois and Georgia Streets, with an extension on the latter street. About 250 cripples people were in the institute at the time. The building was almost totally enveloped in fire, and when Chief Webster arrived his first order was: ‘Let the building burn, but run up the ladders and save the people.’ This was obeyed and the work of rescuing the imprisoned patients began.

“The fire when discovered was in the Georgia street building, at the rear of the office, in the advertising room. Whether it started there or nor cannot be said, as the kitchen and dining room of the institution were in the same section and further back. An alley separates the Georgia Street building from the one facing Illinois Street. A covered bridge connects them. The fire leaped up through the floors of the building in which it started, reaching a stairway about two feet wide, thus securing a draught, and sped through the second floor from room to room and hallway to hallway.

“Then the third and fourth floors were quickly reached, and across the alley the flames spread, firing the adjoining building. On the third and fourth floors the horrible work was done. The buildings were a network of narrow halls, entrances, and stairways. The fire could not have had a better place for its destructiveness.

“In the small rooms throughout the building were from one to four beds, all occupied by patients, many of whom were perfectly helpless. When they became aware of their peril their fright was terrible. They became frantic in their efforts to reach places of safety. Every effort was made by the fire, police, and ambulance forces to rescue the unfortunates, and acts of heroism were performed.

“Where the dining room and kitchen were the building was gutted. Above these two departments, on the third and fourth floors, were the sleeping rooms. When the fire was discovered every means of escape was cut off, and many perished there. The flames ate up the entire interior of the building. When the floors gave way and fell to the bottom there is no telling how many people were killed.

“The institute was a veritable fire trap. The stairways were narrow, the halls dark, and the whole structure a labyrinth. A winding stairway, not much over two feet wide, led up to a window of the third floor. This stairway was built of pine boards, and boarded to the height of a man’s head. It was next to impossible for two people to pass in it.

“Near the Illinois Street front of the main building was a stairway the people were surprised to see. It made a turn midway between two floors, and at that point there was a landing. From that landing to the top step of the lower section was a distance of at least two and a half feet. In some parts of the building the stairs were so old and worn that extra boards had been nailed on the steps. The halls and stairs in some places were so much of a puzzle that it was hard for a person to tell which was which. At one point four flights of stairs were in a bunch.

“Rooms on the third and fourth floors of the main building and nearest the alley were the scenes of the greatest fatalities. In one room were two women, both of whom perished. In another there was a man whose legs were paralyzed. Although unable to walk he dragged himself to a window at the rear of the building and threw himself out. He dropped about eight feet to a roof, then to another, and finally rolled off to the ground, saving himself from death.

“The entire rear half of the inside of the Georgia Street building fell in. The debris completely filled the first story, and when the firemen began their search for bodies they were obliged to begin work on a level with the second floor. It will be several days before they can hope to reach the bottom.

“The dead identified are:

Kate L. Strong of Salem, Oregon.
Mrs. Samuel Lazarus of Chicago, jumped from the second story of the rear building.
William Ramstack, Milwaukee.
Miss Kate Burns, Newport, Minn.
Frank Burns, Newport, Minn.
Stella Spees, Macomb, Ohio.
Minnie M’Donald, Negaunee, Ohio.
George Ellis, California, Ky.
Mrs. Erb and daughter, Shelby, Ohio.
Fannie Breeden, Memphis, Tenn., died of her injuries at 11 o’clock today.
Mortie Decko.
Frederick Dockendorff, Stillwater, Minn.
Hannah Brook, Taylorsville, Ill.
C. H. Gorman, McDonald, Mich. [Later found to be alive.]
Arthur Bayless.

“The Injured [omitted here]….

“The injured were taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital. A number of doctors were in attendance, and the victims received every attention. They were not allowed to talk.

“Five bodies were taken out this morning….These bodies were terribly burned….Three other bodies were found at the north-east corner of the rear building, on the third floor, where the inmates had huddled about the windows.

“Just as the department arrived on the scene a woman appeared at a third-story window. She wrung her hands and screamed for help, while the smoke rolled up in black wreaths about her. Chief Webster shouted at the top of his voice: ‘Hold on, hold on, don’t jump!’ Then the flames came nearer and the woman leaped from the window. She struck the stone flagging but a few feet from where the Chief stood and was picked up dying.

“At a window on the upper floor a panic-stricken mother was seen struggling to throw open the window. In one arm she clasped her child, which was a mere infant. She finally succeeded, after frantic efforts, in reaching the air. No ladders were at hand and the flames were closing in about her. She tossed the child out of the window and fell back into the flames. Pipeman O’Brien had watched the scene from below, and as the child left the arms of its mother he planted himself firmly with out-stretched arms underneath the window. The baby, wrapped in its nightclothes, tumbled into O’Brien’s arms unhurt by the fall.

“Fireman John Loucks of Chemical Company No. 2, while the flames were shooting from the windows facing on Illinois Street, ascended the extension ladder to the upper floor. As he reached the window sill he was met by Fireman Webber Robinson who had pushed his way through the smoke with a child in his arms. Loucks grasped the child and started downward. He had descended but a few feet when he missed his footing and fell head foremost, his leg catching in the runs of the ladder. He clung to the child pluckily although his injury was a painful one, his leg being broken. He called for assistance and in a twinkling he was reached by two other firemen, who carried the child safely to the ground and helped Loucks to an ambulance.

“Fireman Sim Hoyle of headquarters entered the burning building to help rescue the inmates. He found two women who were crying for help. Hoyle seized both and started for a window. When he reached it a ladder was near him, but a few feet to one side. Hoyle pushed one woman out of the window. With his teeth fastened in her clothing he kept her from falling. He held the other woman inside the room, hung himself out and drew the ladder to him with his foot and descended safely with the women. Hoyle’s arm was frightfully burned.

“Fireman Morris Donnelly and John Higgins were among those who did many acts of valor. The former went to a second-story room, where he found a number of female patients. He took one under each arm and ordering a third to cling about his neck he landed them on the floor below, out of harm’s way. Higgins stood on the sidewalk and seeing a woman leap from a window above him, determined to save her life at the risk of his own. He stood firm and caught her. The shock threw him to the stone walk with great force. He struck on his head and received a painful injury, but had the satisfaction of knowing that he had broken the fall of the woman sufficiently to save her life….

“`About two months ago,’ said Fire Chief Webster, ‘Dr. Allen requested me to go through the institute building with him and examine it thoroughly. I found that the building was well supplied with fire protection, such as rope escapes, chemicals, &c. Although the structure was somewhat of a trap, I will say that Dr. Allen took every precaution against fire, and provided the building well with hand apparatus. I cannot imagine how the fire could have gained such headway before an alarm was sent in.’….

“There was a total insurance of $51,500 on the Surgical Institute buildings, furniture, and surgical supplies, placed through the agency of McGilliard & Dark. The loss will be at least $40,000.” (NYT. “Death in a Fire Trap. A Score of Lives Lost in a Burning Hospital.” 1-23-1892.)

Jan 23: “Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 23. – In the surgical institute which burned Thursday night at midnight, a score of helpless, crippled children, inmates of the institution, lost their lives, and as many more persons were injured, some of them badly; most of them slightly. Two hundred and forty-six patients and thirty nurses, sleeping in the two four-story buildings at the corner of Illinois and Georgia streets, in which the institute is located, were in imminent danger of their lives.

A Sorrowful Story.

“Their rescue, the fight with the flames, and the final discovery of the charred remains of the poor dead children wrapped in each other’s withered arms, make a story rarely paralleled in the annals of modern cities. It was almost on the stroke of 12 when Janitor Gill gave the alarm, instantly followed by the second and third. The telephone had conveyed to the chief the news that the building of all others where fire was dreaded was in flames. This meant no ordinary danger. It proved to be a holocaust.
The Dead.

“Some were killed by jumping, but the others were suffocated or burned to death. The list of identified dead is:

Kate Strong, Salem, Ore.;
Mrs. Lazarus, of Chicago, jumped from the second story of the rear building:
William Ramstack, Milwaukee;
Miss Kate Burns, Newport, Minn.;
Frank Burns, Newport, Minn,;
Minnie Arnold. Lancaster, Mo.;
Irma [or Irene] Payne, Dexter, Minn.;
Stella Spees, Macomb, O.;
Minnie McDonald, Negaunee O.;
George Ellis, California, Ky.;
Mrs. Earb [or Earl] and daughter, Shelby, O.;
Frank Breeden, Memphis, Tenn.;
Mortie Deckko, died at 305 North Mississippi street;
Frederick Dockendorf, Stillwater, Minn.;
Hannah Brook, Taylorsville. Ill….
Arthur Bayless [age 6, Jamestown, IL (Davenport Daily Leader, IA. 1-24-1892, 1.)]

[Dr. D.A. Prayor, Ann Arbor Mich. Daily Journal, Logansport. “It was Another…” 1-24-1892.]
[Decloso baby, exposure afterwards. Logansport Daily Pharos, IN. “Inquiry…” 1-26-1892, p3.]

“….Five bodies were taken out Friday morning. Kregelo & Whitsett took four of them to their morgue and one was taken in charge by Powers & Blackwell. They were roasted alive, the skin having peeled off from the bodies. In a few instances their faces were burned off.

Origin of the Fire.

“The fire started just before midnight, and the first alarm was quickly followed by second, third and fourth calls. From all that can be ascertained it is probable that the fire originated in the room where the printing matter, circulars, etc.. were kept. This is on the ground floor in the rear of the main building. Mrs. Copeland, one of the rescued attendants, said that an hour before the alarm of fire was turned in the night watchman came to her room and asked her if she was burning paper. She told him that she was not and in a few minutes he again asked her. This proves that the fire had been smoldering for some time.

The Search for the Dead.

“As soon as the hallways had been sufficiently cleared of the smoke to permit an investigation some of the most horrible scenes were developed. In one room on the third floor four victims were found dead kneeling in the attitude of prayer. The windows in the room were up, but their occupants had apparently made no efforts to escape nor appeal for rescue. The stifling smoke had overtaken them, and seeing no avenue of escape had become resigned to their fate, and as a last hope muttered a prayer to heaven begging the interference of Providence in their behalf.

“In a room on the second floor a man was found in bed dead. The smoke had found its way into the room slowly and he was gradually overcome, expiring without a struggle. Further along the hallway a young man was found sitting beside an open window, his dead body leaning forward. There seemed to be no good reason for this loss of life, as all those who appeared at the windows were quickly saved.

“Although the occupants were nearly all more or less seriously crippled many of them became so frantic that they lost all self-control and almost invited death by their action. They would rush to a window, cast their eyes below, and realizing that a leap was almost certain death retreated at once, into the room and faced the result desperately.

Ghouls at Work.

“Early Friday morning ghouls began their work among the ruins and no small amount of jewelry and valuables was pilfered by the thieves. Detectives arrested a man who gave his name as Russell. They found him rummaging among the debris and in his pockets were money and other valuables which it was thought he had stolen from the effects of the patients.

A Death-Trap.

“The citizens are strong in their condemnation of the gross negligence of the management of the institute in the matter of exit, the building having only a narrow hall and staircases and being a death-trap. The owners will undoubtedly be censured in the investigation.” (Logansport Daily Reporter, IN. “A Death-Trap. Such the National Surgical Institute was said to Be.” 1-23-1892, 1.)

Jan. 23: “Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 23….When the fire department arrived the windows were full of screaming, moaning cripples, and the scene was one of horror. The work of rescue was begun at once with the ladders, and the inmates were removed with great rapidity. Without waiting for ladders to be run up the desperate inmates jumped from the windows or huddled together upon the fire escape, but the flames cut off this descent at the second story and here they threw themselves to the ground.

“Mrs. Gale, of Madison, this state [IA], jumped from a third story window with a child in her arms and was fatally hurt, but the child escaped injury. Miss Nellie Mason, of Walworth county, Wis., also jumped from a third story window and was so badly crushed that she will die. All who jumped from the fire escape and from the windows were placed in ambulances and taken to the city hospital….

“By this time a large crowd of citizens had assembled, and many of them disregarding the danger, rushed into the building and passed through the smoke and flames from room to room in the work of rescue. The children were brought out into the cold air without anything around them, but adjoining blocks were thrown open to them and they were made as comfortable as possible, considering their number and the hurried manner of their arrival. For half an hour the police and firemen went from room to room, ran up ladders where it was possible to enter, and continued the work of rescue. A fireman would enter a ward from a ladder and hand out three or four of the little ones to another fireman upon the ladder, and many citizens came out from the building carrying three or four children on their backs and in their arms. J. M. Rice, of Cincinnati, vice president of the Duckworth club, rescued many of the inmates, and on one occasion brought out a woman and four children, the former in his arms and the latter clinging to his arms and back.

“The scenes about the burning building were heartrending in the extreme. Many of the children were attended by their mothers, who were boarding at the institute, and these were nearly frantic with fear when they were discovered. One lady refused to leave the ward till her child had been carried out, and a policeman had to drag her from the room. Her child had been taken out, and when she found it in an adjoining block, the transit from grief to joy was so sudden that she seemed like one deranged.

“The building was owned by Drs. Allen and Wilson, and it and the furnishings are estimated by Dr. Wilson to have been worth $250,000. The furnishings, including valuable appliances for all kinds of cripples, are a total loss, but the front building was partially saved. The loss will aggregate $300,000, with insurance of $150,000….

“The List Grows. Indianapolis, Jan 23….There were volunteers by the hundred, brave men who risked their lives time and time again in the brief period of fifteen minutes, to save the lives of poor, crippled children, who would arouse pity in the human breast any time, but the sight of whom in the midst of last night’s fearful holocaust caused strong men to shudder and grow sick at heart. Tenderly the rescued were carried to some temporary refuge and placed under the care of kind hands where the best physicians of the city were ready to lend their aid….

“One young man who had a relative, a little girl, missing, climbed into the third floor of the rear of the east wing, to look for evidence of the body of the one he knew. On his way over the roof connecting the north and southeast wings he stumbled over a pair of braces. He picked them up and looking at them said: ‘Those are her braces, where can she be?’ A little bit afterward the body of the one for whom he was looking was taken from under a pile of debris, a blackened and almost unrecognizable mass. Many pairs of braces were unearthed in the ruins showing that some of the unfortunates in their efforts to escape had unloosed their braces and thrown them away.

“The police took possession of trunks and many valuables that were left in some rooms undestroyed. The patients nearly all had considerable money with them which was left in their rooms in their haste to fly. During the forenoon four or five pocketbooks were found by the officers. In some of the books there was as much as $150. All of these valuables were turned over to the officers of the institution….

“Partial List of the Injured. Some of the worst injured are:

Mrs. Gales…Madison, Ind., fell from a ladder with a child in her arms, internally injured.
Kate Elstran, Indianapolis, fatally injured.
Mrs. Thomas, Indianapolis, fatally burned.
Fannie Breeden, Memphis, Tenn., badly burned; recovery doubtful….
Nellie Mason, Walworth county, Wisconsin, jumped from third story and is fatally hurt.
Mrs. Lazarus, of Texas, jumped from third story window, and will die.
Mrs. G. J. Simpson and child, seriously burned.
R. Connor, fell through hole in floor; fatally hurt.
May Ballinger, Indianapolis, terribly burned.”

(Waterloo Courier, IA. “Indiana’s Horror. Terrible Holocaust in The Indiana Surgical Institute at Indianapolis. Nineteen Dead Bodies Taken from the Ruins of the Infirmary…” 2-27-1892, p. 10.)

Jan 25: “Indianapolis, Ind., Jan 25. – Another body, that of Arthur Bayless, of Jimtown, Ill., aged 5, was recovered Saturday from the ruins of the National surgical institute. This makes nineteen killed. The boy had a slight club foot and came here with his mother for treatment.

To Be Investigated.

“The coroner proposes to make a thorough investigation to locate the blame, if any exists. Patients in braces requiring wheeled chairs to move about were on the fourth floor, and nine perished there. It has been a current prediction among the reporters for years that the institute would some day furnish a catastrophe. It was considered a fire trap and was condemned in 1879….

“Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 25. – In a majority of the Indianapolis pulpits Sunday the pastors were outspoken in their expressions relative to the recent surgical institute fire horror. Dr. Taylor, of the First Baptist church, said the occurrences could not be held to be one of those so-culled inscrutable decrees of Providence, behind which it is often to be considered the proper thing to screen criminal negligence and carelessness. Dr. Cleveland, of the Meridian Street Methodist church, sharply criticized the carelessness and lack of protection that made such an occurrence possible.” (Logansport Daily Reporter, IN. “Was Condemned. The Burned Indianapolis Hospital Long Ago Declared Unsafe.” 1-25-1892, p. 1.)

Jan 26: “Indianapolis, Jan. 26. – The coroner began an inquiry into the surgical institute horror Monday morning, but the evidence taken during the day had but little in relation to the cause of the fire. Mrs. Decloso, of Farmham, Neb., told the story of escape from the burning building and of the death, from exposure, of her babe a few hours later. She said that she crossed the hall and aroused Irene Payne, but the latter was a helpless cripple and perished before assistance could reach her. The headway gained by the fire is now attributed to the fact that the watchman was absent from the building and the coroner will call him as a witness.

The Doctor May Move to Chicago.

“Dr. Alien said in an interview: ‘The hundreds of letters and telegrams from old patrons and friends in the various cities and parts of the United States and Canada and from those who know us better and have had more personal dealings with us than many Indianapolis people are comforting indeed, as they all urge the continuance of the efforts which restored them. Feeling conscious that upon a cool and fair consideration of all facts in the case unkind criticisms will discontinue, it is the determination of the proprietors to prosecute the long-cherished work which they know has brought happiness to many homes.’ He added that the proprietors of the Institute are being importuned to move to Chicago.” (Logansport Daily Pharos, IN. “Inquiry Into the Holocaust. Dr. Allen Says He has been Unkindly Criticized.” 1-26-1892, p. 3.)

Jan 30: “The fire in the surgical institute at Indianapolis, which was filled with cripples and which resulted in the death of nineteen, is another terrible argument in favor of numerous fire escapes in public buildings. There should be a law making it an offense to operate and maintain a building that has no avenues of escape in case of fire.” (Washington Gazette, IN. “Things Talked About.” 1-30-1892, p. 5.)

Feb 22: “Indianapolis, Ind., Feb 22. – Coroner Manker has furnished the press with a copy of his verdict in the case of the recant Surgical Institute fire. The verdict is a complete whitewash. It is very voluminous and fills two columns of nonpareil. It finds that the nineteen victims of the institute met their death by suffocation and not by burning; that all might have escaped but for their fright and excitement; that adequate means of protection and escape were provided; that the police, fire department and employes of the institution did their whole duty in assisting the inmates to escape; that the management did not comply with the law requiring printed notices of the location of the fire escapes and how to use them to be posted, but it was held that ‘the acquaintance and familiarity of inmates with the construction of the building probably obviated the necessity of this.’ The conclusion of the coroner is that the management, furnished all reasonable appliances for protection and it is therefore held blameless.” (Logansport Daily Reporter, IN. “No One to Blame.” 2-22-1892, p. 1.)

Feb 24: “Indianapolis, Ind., Feb. 24. – The verdict of Coroner Manker in the surgical institute inquiry has led to the resignation of Deputy Coroner Dunn, and the latter event has caused an endless amount of comment about the verdict. The conclusion that the management was in no way responsible for the burning of the nineteen people is not warranted by the facts, which the coroner himself says were proved, and the whole verdict is such a mass of contradictions and such a labored effort to exculpate the management that few, if any, regard it as an unbiased judgment. That verdict is worth thousands of dollars to the surgical institute management, for it not only relieves it from the legal consequences of nineteen deaths, but advertises it as absolutely blameless in connection with the terrible catastrophe.” (Daily Journal, Logansport, IN. “The Surgical Institute Verdict.” 2-25-1892, p. 1.)

Sources

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Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, IA. “Perish in the Flames. The Indianapolis Surgical Institute Destroyed by Fire and Nineteen Crippled Inmates Burned.” 1-22-1892, 1. Accessed 2-6-1011 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=52003167

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Daily Journal, Logansport, IN. “It was Another Man.” 1-24-1892, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=83084223

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Hostetler, Joan. “Then & Now: NW Corner of Capital and Ohio.” HistoricIndianapolis.com. Accessed 2-6-2022 at: http://historicindianapolis.com/then-now-nw-corner-of-capital-and-ohio/

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Smith, Robert W. and Dorothy A. and Nicholson. National Surgical Institute Photographs, CA. 1892. “Historical Sketch.” Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, May, 2007. Accessed at: http://www.indianahistory.org/our-collections/collection-guides/national-surgical-institute-photographs-ca-1892.pdf

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