1918 — June 29, Structural Failure, Ruff Store, Hedges Building, Sioux City, IA — 39

lornajarrettblanchard June 29, 1918

— 39 National Fire Protection Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).

— 39 Safety Engineering, “Sioux City Gives Lesson to Other Cities.” V36, N1, July, 1918, p. 4.

— 39 Sioux City and Sioux City Museum. Sioux City History (web). “Ruff Disaster of 1918.”

Narrative Information

Safety Engineering, 1918: “On June 29 the Ruff building, Sioux City, Iowa, collapsed, causing a loss of 39 lives and the injury of 40 persons. A verdict fixing the chief blame on the city authorities and the owners of the building, and charging contributory negligence against Oscar Ruff for overloading the upper floors of his building and against the Babue & Sons Contracting Company, was returned by the coroner’s jury called to investigate the disaster.

“A correspondent of Safety Engineering urges that publicity be given to the facts relating to the collapse of the building during remodeling and the explosion and fire that followed…. The verdict of the coroner’s jury:

Alfred J. Hanson and others came to their deaths by reason of a failure in the walls of the building known as the Hedges building, located at the northeast corner of Fourth and Douglas streets, Sioux City, Iowa, and the consequent collapse, crushing and burning of that building and the building occupied by the Beaumont-Braunger market, adjoining the said Hedges building on the east.

Causes.

The said jurors do find the evidence shows:

That the walls of said Hedges building have been in bad condition for many years, the brick showing evidence of rottenness, crumbling and disintegration; the mortar having lost its holding power of coherence. The evidence also shows that both the brick and the mortar were originally of a very inferior quality.
That the walls of both the Ruff and the Chain store have been materially weakened by remodeling.

On the Chain store side some years ago, by the severance of the first floor joists, the lowering of the first floor, the cutting into the walls for that purpose, and the removal of the joists wall anchors.
On the Ruff store side during the days immediately preceding the collapse of the building by the severance of the first floor joists, the lowering of the first floor, the cutting into the walls, and the removal of the joist wall anchors, said work being done by F.X. Babue & Sons, under the supervision of Joseph Awe, representing the Western Iowa Company, the owner of said building.
The possible overloading of the fourth floor, by reason of the removal of various materials, drugs and merchandise from the basement of the Ruff store to the fourth floor, and the consequent overloading placed upon the middle wall.
The evidence indicates that there was no explosion until after the failure of the walls had taken place.

“Responsibilities.

“The said jurors do find that the evidence shows the responsibility for the collapse of these buildings is both primary and contributory.

There was no adequate inspection of the building by the city department of public safety

at the time the permit for the remodeling of the building was under consideration. The building inspection department accepted the word of Joseph Awe, an employee of the Western Iowa Company the owner of said building, as to the nature of the work to be done, and the condition of the building, and no plans or specifications accompanied the application for a permit, as required by the ordinance. The representative of the inspection department made but a casual personal inspection. There was no examination as to the amount of load, or the placing of the load, carried upon the various floors. The department of public safety of the city, or any of its representatives, made no examination into, received no report upon, or had no knowledge of the changing of the load from the basement to the second and fourth floors of the building.

On the part of the owners and the agent of the Hedges building, there was no evidence of an examination of the above named conditions, or of the supervision or care or advice as to the possible loading or placing of loads or overloading of the various floors.

(B) Contributory.

On the part of F.X. Babue & Sons, and their agents, the evidence shows a lack of knowledge and care of the above named conditions as affecting the lives and welfare of their employees.
On the part of the Oscar Ruff Company, the evidence shows a contributory responsibility for the possible overloading of the second and fourth floors.

“The said jurors therefore recommend:

The thorough investigation of all of the above named conditions and responsibilities, and the fixing of the responsibilities for these deaths by the grand jury.

That the council of the city of Sioux City revise its building ordinance at once in such a way as to provide for a rigid inspection of all buildings by a thoroughly competent, technically educated and experienced inspector, and revise its present methods of building inspection, and that a report of each such inspection shall be placed on file in the city archives. The said jurors also further recommend the examination at once and the condemnation of all buildings that show conditions of insecurity, either to its occupants, to the public or to the general community welfare….” (Safety Engineering, “Sioux City Gives Lesson to Other Cities.” V36, N1, July, 1918, p. 4.)

Sioux City, IA: “The “Ruff Disaster” was one of the worst catastrophes in Sioux City history. Thirty-nine lives were lost and countless others were injured when the Hedges Block collapsed and fire started in the ruins. On June 29, 1918, the building that housed the Oscar Ruff Drug Company at Fourth and Douglas was being remodeled. The first floor was actually being lowered to the ground level, but the work was not considered dangerous. In fact, stores in the building were open for business.

“At 1:30 in the afternoon, the building collapsed in a thunderous catastrophe with shoppers, businessmen and workers trapped inside. A fire started among the rubble, hampering efforts to rescue the trapped and wounded. The Sioux City Fire Department fought the blaze for nearly thirty-six hours. The Journal reported, “Searchlights played over the burning debris while the rescuers, some wearing gas masks because of a persistently strong odor of ammonia, began chopping through the piles of brick and mortar to free the living and remove the dead.”

“The administration of Mayor Wallace M. Short received much criticism in the aftermath of the Ruff Disaster. Short, along with two of his commissioners, W.R. Hamilton and Henry Michelstetter, had lowered the qualifications for the office of City Building Inspector. They wanted to appoint their campaign manager, E.J. O’Connor to the post. The Sioux City Civil Engineers Club was against lowering those standards, stating that it would be “dangerous and objectionable.” While the controversy swirled, O’Connor held the post of Assistant Building Inspector. The plans for remodeling the Hedges Block crossed his desk, but O’Connor was evidently not knowledgeable enough to recognize the dangers in the project.

“However, in investigating the thirty-nine deaths, the coroner’s jury primarily blamed the owners of the Hedges Block for underestimating the deteriorated condition of the building. They also blamed the city building inspection department for not adequately overseeing the project.

“n yet another controversy, Commissioner of Public Safety, W.R. Hamilton (a supporter of E.J. O’Conner) was heavily criticized for providing whiskey to rescue workers. Sheriff W.H. Jones stopped this action, but Hamilton was later removed from office, a consequence of his acts at the disaster scene.” (Sioux City and Sioux City Public Museum. Sioux City History (website). “Ruff Disaster of 1918.”)

Sources

National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013.)

Safety Engineering. “Sioux City Gives Lesson to Other Cities.” Vol. 36, No. 1, July 1918, pp. 4-6. NY: Safety Press, Inc., 1918. Google digitized and accessed 12-14-2016 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=HCDOAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:LCCNsc80000582&lr

Sioux City and Sioux City Public Museum. Sioux City History (website). “Ruff Disaster of 1918.” Accessed 12-14-2016 at: http://www.siouxcityhistory.org/disasters/91-ruff-disaster-of-1918