1936 — Jan 31, prisoner fire ignites gas vapor in back of prison truck, Scottsboro, AL–  20

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 11-25-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–20  Kokomo Tribune (IN).  “Review of Major Events of 1936,” December 31, 1936, p. 7.

–20  NFPA. “Fires in Which There Was Loss of Life” NFPA Quarterly, 29/3, Jan 1936, 369.

–20  National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac.  1983, p. 140.

–20  UP. “20 Alabama Convicts Burned…Trapped in Cage Truck.” Anniston Star, AL. 1-31-1936, 1.

Narrative Information

National Fire Protection Association: “Twenty negro convicts were burned to death behind the locked doors of a motorized prisoners’ van. The prisoners’  cage also contained a drum and a small can of gasoline, some of which had  been spilled. The gasoline ignited when a prisoner lighted a piece of paper to warm his hands. The driver stopped the truck and unlocked the door, but could save only two of the convicts.” (NFPA. “Fires in Which There Was Loss of Life” NFPA Quarterly, 29/3, Jan 1936, p. 369.)

Newspaper

Jan 31, UP: “Scottsboro, Ala., Jan 31. (U.P.) – Twenty Negro convicts were incinerated today in a prison truck which burned swiftly when gasoline slopped from a drum onto a fire they had built to keep warm. Only two of twenty-two convicts en route to a highway project escaped the flames, which trapped them inside the truck, shutting off their only exit – a rear door. Two white guards, on the exposed front seat of the truck, escaped by leaping to the ground. They sped to the rear of the truck, opened the door, and frantically urged the Negroes to leap through the searing flames. Only two did so. They were badly burned, and were taken to a hospital, apparently in dying condition….

“The gasoline drum from which the flammable fluid slopped had been loaded onto the truck just inside the rear door. The fire the Negroes had kindled was in the front part of the truck. A stretch of icy road was reached. The truck skidded, not dangerously, but just enough to slop the gasoline. Fire immediately enveloped the interior of the truck, trapping the twenty-two Negroes.

“According to E. D. Eyester, resident highway engineer the Negroes had pulled the plug from the gasoline drum to get more fuel to go on their fire….

“The two guards who had been on the truck were held and allowed to talk to no one pending the investigation which the state officials were to make upon their arrival here….” (UP. “20 Alabama Convicts Burned…Trapped in Cage Truck.” Anniston Star, AL. 1-31-1936, 1.)

Feb 1, UP: “Scottsboro, Ala., Feb. 1 (U.P.) Hamp Draper, head of the state convict department, today termed the incineration of 20 negro convicts an ‘unavoidable accident.’ Draper’s announcement was made shortly after he arrived here today to investigate the worst tragedy in Alabama prison history. The guards on the wagon were ‘completely exonerated’ by their chief.”

(United Press. “Draper Opens Probe of Fatal Fire in Truck.” Anniston Star, AL. 2-1-1936, p. 1.)

Sources

Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Review of Major Events of 1936,” 12-31-1936, p. 7. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=80253148

National Fire Protection Association.  “Fires in Which There Was Loss of Life, Fourth Quarter, 1935.”  Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 29, No. 3, Jan 1936, p. 285.

National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983.

United Press. “20 Alabama Convicts Burned…Trapped in Cage Truck.” Anniston Star, AL. 1-31-1936, 1. Accessed 11-25-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/anniston-star-jan-31-1936-p-1/

United Press. “Draper Opens Probe of Fatal Fire in Truck.” Anniston Star, AL. 2-1-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-25-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/anniston-star-feb-01-1936-p-1/