1934 — Dec 11, Fire, Kerns Hotel, Grand Avenue, Lansing, MI                       —     34

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 12-11-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–40  AP. “40 Die in Lansing Fire.” The Escanaba Daily Press, MI. 12-12-1934, p. 1.

–35  Jones, Jon C. “A Brief Look at the Hotel Fire Record.” Fire Journal, May 1981, p. 39.

–34  Capital Area District Library. “The Hotel Kerns Fire, December 11, 1934.” 1998-2013.

–34  Lansing Fire Department. “Box 23.” City of Lansing, Michigan, 2008.

–34  MI Dept. of Natural Resources. Historical Marker L1468C – The Kerns Hotel Fire.

            –32  At the time.

            —  2  Later from injuries.

–34  Michigan Historical Markers. “Kern Hotel Fire.” Lansing, MI.

–32  Ironwood Daily Globe, MI. “No Criminal Neglect in Kerns Hotel Fire.” 12-29-1934, p. 1.

–32  NFPA.  Summary of Fire Incidents 1934-2006 in Hotel Fires in…U.S.  January 2008.[1]

–32  Ward, Neale. “Hotel Fires: Landmarks in Flames, History’s…,” Firehouse, March 1978, 41

Narrative Information

Lansing Fire Dept.:  “On December 11, 1934 at 5:30 am, the fire alarm outside the Kerns Hotel began to ring. The four story 211 room brick hotel had 215 registered guests, and was on fire. Before the fire was extinguished, thirty-two people were known dead and forty-four, including fourteen firemen, had been injured. Two of the injured people died later. Among the dead were seven Michigan legislators and five unidentified people. Many guests escaped by descending four fire ladders, and eight people jumped into life nets. However, the fire spread through the hotel’s wooden interior so quickly that many people were trapped in their rooms. Seventy-two members of the ninety-seven-man fire department fought the fire using eight of the department’s fire apparatus. To date the Kerns Hotel fire remains the worst fire disaster in the history of Lansing.

 

“The firemen who fought the Kerns Hotel fire were aided by the Lansing and Michigan State Police, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Volunteers of America and citizen volunteers, who brought the firemen hot drinks and dry gloves. Some of those volunteers later decided to form a club to support the work of the Lansing Fire Department. The club took its name from the fire Alarm Box 23, at Ottawa and Grand, from which the first alarm for the Kerns Hotel fire was sounded. The Box 23 Club was formally organized on December 11, 1937, the third anniversary of the fire. Its membership, which is limited to twenty-three people, pledges to support the Lansing Fire Department and to provide aid at fires when requested to do so by the Fire Department officer in charge of the fire.”  (Lansing Fire Department. “Box 23.” City of Lansing, Michigan, 2008.)

 

Michigan Historical Markers: “At 5:30 A.M. on December 11, 1934, the alarm outside the Kerns Hotel sounded. The 211-room four-story brick hotel that stood on this site had 215 registered guests. Before the last embers of the fire were extinguished, thirty-two people were known dead and forty-four, including fourteen firemen, had been injured. Two of the injured people died later. Among the dead were seven Michigan legislators and five unidentified people. Many guests escaped by descending four fire ladders, and eight people jumped into life nets. However, the fire spread through the hotel’s wooden interior so rapidly that many people were trapped in their rooms. Seventy-two members of the ninety-seven-man Lansing fire force fought the fire using eight of the force’s eleven pieces of fire apparatus.”  (Michigan Historical Markers. “Kern Hotel Fire.” Lansing, MI.)

 

Newspapers

 

Dec 11, AP: “Bulletin. Lansing, Mich., Dec. 11. – (AP) – Captain Laurence Lyon, of the Michigan state police, said this afternoon that ‘there must be between 20 and 50 bodies buried in the ruins’ of the Kerns hotel which burned this morning. He said 109 of the 190 persons registered had been accounted for, and that searchers probably cannot start digging in the ruins until tomorrow.

 

“Lansing, Dec. 11. – (AP) – Fire turned the Kerns hotel, filled with sleeping guests, into a roaring inferno this morning and the growing list of dead, standing temporarily at 13, threatened to triple that number.

 

“Those known to have died leaped from windows or the roof into the ice-coated waters of the Grand river, or to the streets, escaping death by fire only to die by drowning or from injuries. Five of them were members of the state legislature, here for an extraordinary session convened yesterday.

 

“Police and fire officials viewed the towering mass of smouldering debris, heard stories of witnesses about a huddled group of trapped guests on the roof when it gave way, and declined to estimate the total number of dead. Police Chief Alfred Seymour said that no more than half of the 200 guests were accounted for and that he feared there was a ‘heavy loss of life.’

 

Five Victims Are Legislators

 

“The five known to have died among the 20 legislators in the hotel were:

 

Representative Vern Voorhees, Albion, Mich.

Representative Donald E. Sias, Midland.

Representative Charles D. Parker, Otisville.

Representative T. Henry Howlett, Gregory.

Representative John W. Goodwine, Marlette.

 

“The other identified dead were:

 

David Monroe, assistant manager of the hotel.

  1. Wishneff, Los Angeles.
  2. S. McFarland, Dayton, O.

            Five known dead were unidentified.

….

“The hotel was well filled, due to the special legislative session, when the fire broke out, about 5:30 a.m. and within a few minutes the flames were raging through much of the building.

….

“Five of the known dead drowned when they chose the icy waters.

 

“Six others were killed or fatally injured when they jumped to the streets.

 

“A few threaded their way through pitch dark corridors and down flame-licked stairways. They had no time to dress and several suffered frozen or frons-bitten feet, for the temperature was near zero and snow and ice covered the streets.

 

“Police and firemen warned that it might be days before the full extent of the tragedy becomes known, for the hotel register was destroyed and anyone caught in the holocaust undoubtedly was burned beyond recognition. Police broadcast an appeal to all survivors to communicate with them.

 

“Of the missing, fear was felt for Senator John Leidelien, of Saginaw, who did not respond to warnings pounded on his door…

 

“For 20 minutes after the fire was discovered, a bedlam of shrieks resounded from the flame swept building. Then the screams either were silenced or were drowned out by the roar of collapsing walls and floors. Anyone who had not escaped by that time was doomed, firemen said.

 

“Many of the trapped persons were unable to reach the fire escapes. At the rear of the building, where the river flows, there were no fire escapes….” (Associated Press. “13 Dead, 100 Missing in Lansing Hotel Fire.” Ironwood Daily Globe, MI. 12-11-1934, p. 1.)

 

Dec 12, AP: “Lansing, Mich., Dec. 11 (AP) – Firemen poured streams of water into the flame-blackened shell of the Kerns hotel tonight while authorities, checking the lists of dead, injured and missing, estimated that the fatalities in the early morning holocaust would eventually total at least 40. With the list of known dead standing at 14, the state police announced tonight that they had accounted for 160 of the 190 persons known to have been in the hotel. More than 30 persons were in hospitals and the condition of many of these was reported critical. At least 20 bodies are believed to be buried in the ruins with the possibility that a number of others may be under the ice of the Grand River which flows past the rear of the hotel….

 

“Members of the Michigan legislature, convened in Lansing for a special session, tonight laid plans for new laws to require adequate fire protection for hotel guests. Six legislators died in the fire….

 

“The known dead: [We note only those not already noted above.]

 

Abraham Bosman, 37, Grand Rapids.

James Gratix, 50, Chicago.

_____Kohn, (first name and address unknown).

Clarence Smith, Coldwater, Mich.

Unidentified woman, about 60….)

(Associated Press. “40 Die in Lansing Fire.” The Escanaba Daily Press, MI. 12-12-1934, p. 1.)

 

Dec 23, UP: “Lansing, Dec. 13. – (U.P.) – Thue ruins of the ill-fated Hotel Kerns yielded another body shortly after 10:00 o’clock this morning bringing the total known dead to 24…

 

“…State Rep. D. Knox Hanna, of Caro [died] in a local hospital…

 

“A dental chart furnished by a Saginaw dentist today effected the positive identification of one of the charred bodies removed from the Kerns Hotel ruins as that of State Senator John Leidlein, Saginaw….

 

“A 32nd degree diamond set Masonic ring today identified one of the Hotel Kerns bodies as that of Robert E. Shepard, Grand Rapids….” (United Press. “23 Known Dead in Fire.” Marshall Evening Chronicle, MI. 12-13-1934, p. 1.)

 

Dec 24, AP: “Lansing, Mich., Dec. 13. (AP) – With the death list totaling 30 and probers still searching the ruins for more bodies, the Michigan state fire marshal’s office announced tonight delay in sounding an alarm was responsible for the heavy loss of life in the Hotel Kerns fire last Tuesday. Charles E. Gauss, state insurance commissioner, issuing a preliminary report on the fire inquire after questioning three hotel employees, said:

 

It has been definitely established that the fire was suspected 10 or 15 minutes and possibly longer before an alarm was turned in. Had the alarm been sounded at once there might have been much less loss of life.

 

“The preliminary report was based, said Gauss, on investigations made by himself and two deputy state fire marshals, E. M. Welch and Murray McKenna. The three hotel employees they said they questioned were Night Clerk Isaac D. Jones, Bellboy Cleo Evans, and William Blank, a janitor.

 

“Coincident with the report came the announcement that two more bodies had been taken from the ruins, one of them being identified as J. H. Byrnes of Grand Rapids who was already listed among the dead….” (Associated Press. “Delay Blamed For Heavy Fire Toll.” The Escanaba Daily Press, MI. 12-14-1934, p. 1.)

 

Dec 29: “Lansing, Dec. 29 – (AP) – A coroner’s jury which investigated the burning of Hotel Kerns on the morning of Dec. 11, with the loss of 32 lives, reported today that it had found no evidence of “actual criminal negligence” but recommended strengthening of Michigan’s fire protection laws.

 

“The report contained some criticism of the employes, asserting they did not make “reasonable efforts” to arouse the more than 200 sleeping guests.  It said there was a “woeful and almost criminal” lack of protection for hotel guests provided by Michigan statutes.  The hotel management was criticized for not maintaining an adequate night force and for failing to instruct its employes in their duties in case of fire. “The report failed to establish the cause of the fire.”  (Ironwood Daily Globe, MI. “No Criminal Neglect in Kerns Hotel Fire.” 12-29-1934, p. 1.)

 

Named Hotel Kern Fire Victims From Press Reports Above

 

  1. Abraham Bosman, 37, Grand Rapids.
  2. H. Byrnes.
  3. Representative John W. Goodwine, Marlette.
  4. James Gratix, 50, Chicago.
  5. Representative D. Knox Hanna, Caro (died in hospital, Dec 23)
  6. George Horteiling, Cedar Rapids, Ia.
  7. George Horteiling, Cedar Rapids, Ia.
  8. Representative T. Henry Howlett, Gregory
  9. _____Kohn, (first name and address unknown).
  10. Senator John Leidlein, Saginaw.
  11. S. McFarland, Dayton, O.
  12. David Monroe, assistant manager of the hotel.
  13. Representative Charles D. Parker, Otisville.
  14. Robert E. Shepard, Grand Rapids.
  15. Representative Donald E. Sias, Midland.
  16. Clarence Smith, Coldwater, Mich.
  17. Representative Vern Voorhees, Albion, Mich.
  18. Israel Wishneff, Los Angeles.
  19. Unnamed victim 1 of 5 buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing.[2]
  20. Unnamed victim 2 of 5 buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing.
  21. Unnamed victim 3 of 5 buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing.
  22. Unnamed victim 4 of 5 buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing.
  23. Unnamed victim 5 of 5 buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing.

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “13 Dead, 100 Missing in Lansing Hotel Fire.” Ironwood Daily Globe, MI. 12-11-1934, p. 1. Accessed 12-11-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/daily-globe-dec-11-1934-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “40 Die in Lansing Fire.” The Escanaba Daily Press, MI. 12-12-1934, p. 1. Accessed 12-11-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/escanaba-daily-press-dec-12-1934-p-2/

 

Associated Press. “Delay Blamed For Heavy Fire Toll.” The Escanaba Daily Press, MI. 12-14-1934, p. 1. Accessed 12-11-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/escanaba-daily-press-dec-14-1934-p-1/

 

Capital Area District Library. “The Hotel Kerns Fire, December 11, 1934.” 1998-2013. Accessed 3-27-2013 at: http://www.cadl.org/answers/local-history/fires-hotel-kerns.html

 

Ironwood Daily Globe, MI. “No Criminal Neglect in Kerns Hotel Fire.” 12-29-1934, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=10903964&sterm=kerns+hotel

 

Jones, Jon C. “A Brief Look at the Hotel Fire Record.” Fire Journal, May 1981, pp. 38-40.

 

Lansing Fire Department. “Box 23.” City of Lansing, Michigan, 2008. Accessed 3-27-2013 at: http://www.lansingmi.gov/box_23.jsp

 

Lansing State Journal. “Ninety years after Kerns fire, Michigan’s deadliest hotel fire changed safety codes nationwide.” 12-5-2024. Accessed 12-11-2024 at: https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2024/12/05/hotel-kerns-fire-anniversary-downtown-lansing/76595319007/

 

Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “Historical Marker L1468C – The Kerns Hotel Fire / The Box 23 Club.” Accessed 12-11-2024 at: https://www.michigandnr.com/PUBLICATIONS/pdfs/ArcGISOnline/StoryMaps/mhc_historical_markers/pdfs/MHC331987008.pdf

 

Michigan Historical Markers. “Kern Hotel Fire.” Lansing, MI. Erected 1987. Accessed at:  http://www.michmarkers.com/Frameset.htm

 

National Fire Protection Association. Summary of Fire Incidents 1934-2006 in Hotel Fires in the United States as Reported to the NFPA, with Ten or more Fatalities. Quincy, MA: NFPA, One-Stop Data Shop, Fire Analysis and Research Division, January 2008, 4 pages. Accessed at:  http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/Press%20Room/Hotelfirefatalitiesreport.pdf

 

United Press. “23 Known Dead in Fire.” Marshall Evening Chronicle, MI. 12-13-1934, p. 1. Accessed 12-11-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/marshall-evening-chronicle-dec-13-1934-p-1/

 

Ward, Neale. “Hotel Fires: Landmarks in Flames, History’s Famous Hotel Fires,” Firehouse, March 1978, pp. 40-45.

 

 

 

[1] Thirty-two people died in the fire.  Two people died afterwards from their injuries.

[2] Lansing State Journal. “Ninety years after Kerns fire, Michigan’s deadliest hotel fire changed safety codes nationwide.” 12-5-2024.