1943 — Jan 31, Fire, Lake Forest Park Sanitarium,[1] Lake Forest Park, WA — 32
— 32 INS. “Seattle Fire Toll Mounts to 32.” The Salt Lake Tribune, UT. 2-4-1943, p. 3.
— 32 NFPA. “Fires Causing Large Loss of Life.” Handbook of Fire Protection (11th Ed.). 1954
— 32 National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996.
— 32 NFPA. U.S. Unintentional Fire Death Rates by State. December 2008, p. 26.
— 32 National Fire Sprinkler Association. F.Y.I. 1999, p. 6.
— 32 Seattle Times. “Worst Fires,” April 29, 1998.
—>31 Lima News, OH. “Where 31 Died in Sanitarium Fire.” 2-2-1943, p. 1.
Narrative Information
Seattle Times, 1998: “….Worst fires. The deadliest fires that have occurred in the Puget Sound area: — 32 people die Jan. 31, 1943, in a fire in the Lake Forest Park Sanitarium in what is now the city of Lake Forest Park.” (Seattle Times (Putsata Reang, et al.) WA. “Worst Fires,” 4-29-1998.)
Newspaper at the time
Feb 1: “Seattle, Feb. 1 — (UP) — Authorities intimated today that carelessness caused the fire which yesterday killed 30 patients of a sanitarium, most of them aged men and woman. One of the occupants, Rose Ayerssman, remained unaccounted for and coroner’s officers planned to probe the cold ruins of the home for her body today.
Match Falls
“Maurice Baird, 37, a plumber, was working in the basement on the Lake Forest sanitarium’s two oil burning furnaces, transferring their fuel connections from an inside storage tank to an outside one. He was assisted by one of the aged patients. Sheriff Harlan Callahan said a match was struck to relight one of the furnaces when the new connection was completed, that its flaring head broke off and dropped in a puddle of oil. Bird tried to beat out the flames with his coat. Then someone rushed up and flung a bucket of water on the flames, spreading them over the basement.
“After shouting an alarm, Baird said he burned his hands and arms carrying an aged blind woman to safety.
“Prosecutor Lloyd W. Shorett said he would begin an investigation ‘immediately’ to fix responsibility for the fire. Callahan said he would ask Shorett for permission to force every operator of a rest home or sanitarium in King county to comply with recognized safety standards to avoid future disasters.
“The blaze started at 1:10 p.m. (PWT), engulfed the entire two-story building in two or three minutes, and was brought under control two hours later, leaving only blackened walls.
“Many of the victims were trapped in their beds and cremated by the fast spreading flames. The sanitarium’s 49 patients all were aged invalids and mental cases. Many were old age pensioners….
“…L. M. McCoombs, emergency fire chief for the north district of King county, said there were only two exits to the building. McCoobs said the read door swung inward and that the frenzied patents apparently had not been able to open it. One body was found crumpled against the un-opened door, blocking it as an exit for other victims.
“Flames spread rapidly when a 55-gallon ail tank exploded, showering fire throughout the entire building.
“Three engine companies fought the blaze with the aid of equipment and men from the newly constructed United States navy hospital nearby….
“Twelve-year-old Barbara Mullen [neighbor living across the street] saved two persons, a woman in a wheel chair and an elderly man. One man escaped with his clothes burned off — except the cuffs of his coat and his sox. One of the victims could be seen with her head out of a second story window, a blanket around her shoulders….” (UP. “Carelessness Held Cause of Sanitarium Fire; 30…Dead.” Times and Daily News Leader, Burlingame, CA, 2-1-1943, p. 1.)
Feb 3: “Seattle, Feb. 3 (INS) — With the discovery of two more bodies in the blackened ruins of Lake Forest sanitarium Wednesday, the death toll of Seattle’s worst fire disaster rose to 32. Investigators sifting the sodden ashes of the wooden structure discovered the remains of Mrs. Rose Ayersman, 84, and Alfred Smith, 70.” (INS. “Seattle Fire Toll Mounts to 32.” The Salt Lake Tribune, UT. 2-4-1943, p. 3.)
Sources
Lima News, OH. “Where 31 Died in Sanitarium Fire.” 2-2-1943, p. 1. Accessed 7-1-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lima-news-feb-02-1943-p-1/?tag
INS (International News Service). “Seattle Fire Toll Mounts to 32.” The Salt Lake Tribune, UT. 2-4-1943, p. 3. Accessed 7-1-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/salt-lake-tribune-feb-04-1943-p-3/?tag
National Fire Protection Association. “Fires Causing Large Loss of Life.” Handbook of Fire Protection (11th Ed.). Boston, MA: NFPA, 1954, pp. 33-36.
National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996. Accessed 2010 at: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1352&itemID=30955&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Key%20dates%20in%20fire%20history&cookie%5Ftest=1
National Fire Protection Association. “Multiple-Death Fires in Nursing Homes & Homes for the Aged, 1921-1978 (list).” In: United States United States Congress, House of Representatives. Boarding Home Fires: The Tip of the Iceberg (Hearing before the Subcommittee on Health and Long Term Care, Select Committee on Aging, 96th Congress, First Session, April 25, 1979). Washington, DC, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979, pp. 312-314.
National Fire Protection Association (John Hall, Jr.). U.S. Unintentional Fire Death Rates by State. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 31 pages, December 2008.
National Fire Sprinkler Association, Inc. F.Y.I. – Fire Sprinkler Facts. Patterson, NY: NFSA, November 1999, 8 pages. Accessed at: http://www.firemarshals.org/data/File/docs/College%20Dorm/Administrators/F1%20-%20FIRE%20SPRINKLER%20FACTS.pdf
Seattle Times (Putsata Reang, et al.) WA. “Worst Fires,” 4-29-1998. Accessed 7-1-2017 at: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19980429&slug=2747905
United Press. “Carelessness Held Cause of Sanitarium Fire; 30 Patients Dead. Many Invalids, Aged Trapped in their Beds.” The Times and Daily News Leader, Burlingame and San Mateo, CA, 2-1-1943, p. 1. Accessed 7-1-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/san-mateo-times-feb-01-1943-p-3/?tag
[1] For elderly, invalids and persons suffering from mental disabilities.