1943 — Sep 7, Fire, The Gulf Hotel (and inexpensive rooming house), Houston, TX — 55

— 55 Arnold. “Remembering the victims of Houston’s deadliest fire.” Click2Houston.com, 8-28-2018.
— 55 Cox. “Houston’s Gulf Hotel Fire,” Texas Disasters. 2006, 126.
–38 in the hotel.
— 2 jumped onto sidewalk outside.
–15 in hospitals from injuries.
— 55 Find A Grave. “Elmer Boyce Beard.” File uploaded 9-7-2013.
— 55 Haile. “Flophouse fire Texas’ deadliest hotel blaze.” Houston Chronicle, 9-4-2015.
— 54 Associated Press. “Fire Claims 54th. Abilene Reporter-News, TX, 9-15-1943, p. 14.
— 54 NFPA. Summary of Fire Incidents 1934-2006 in Hotel Fires in the United States. 2008.
— 54 National Fire Sprinkler Association. F.Y.I. 1999, p. 6.
— 54 Smith, H. Oram. “Gulf Hotel Fire.” NFPA Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 2, October 1943, p. 84.
— 54 Ward. “Hotel Fires: Landmarks in Flames…,” Firehouse, March 1978, p. 41.
— 53 UP. “Houston Hotel Fire Death Toll Up To 53.” Port Arthur News, TX. 9-13-1943, p. 6.
— 52 UP. “Another Victim of Houston Hotel Fire Dies.” Taylor Daily Press, 9-12-1943, p. 1.
— 51 Associated Press. “Houston Hotel Deaths Now 51.” The Paris News, TX, 9-9-1943, p. 10.
— 48 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 331.

Narrative Information

Smith/NFPA: “The Houston fire department responded to a midnight alarm from the older section of the business district on the night of September 7, 1943. It was a routine night run that would go into the records for a nominal fire loss to an old building of relatively small value. The unusual feature was the unexpected casualty list of 54 dead and 8 critically injured in a small fire of short dura¬tion. The building, which had been a rooming house for 25 years, was graced with the name Gulf Hotel, but it was literally a human hive where 145 ‘regis¬tered guests’ were bedded down on two floors, each floor having only about 4000 sq. ft. of habitable space.

“It was another tragedy of the rooming house class, one of several other ‘hotel’ investments under the same operating company that caters to the less fortunate class of men, many of them old, ailing or crippled, with arms or legs missing. There was about an equal number of regular roomers and transients. For 20 cents they could sleep side by side on rows of iron cots on the third floor; for 25 cents they could have a cot in a wooden box 5 x 8 ft., and for 35 or 50 cents a larger box up to 8 x 10 ft. with chair and table. The two small floor areas were arranged to accommodate 87 of the so-called rooms and 46 open space cots.

“The Gulf Hotel is an. old three-story brick building on a corner location with an overall size of 50 x 100 ft., but with a 10 x 35 ft. space cut out for a light shaft for second and third floors adjoining the building on the west. The outside walls are of brick, floors and roof of wood on light wooden joists, and ceilings of wood and plaster board. The grade floor space, 615-19 Preston Ave. and 314-20 Louisiana St., was occupied by seven small mercantile tenants separated by frame or plaster partitions, and the two upper floors by the rooming house.

“There was a single wooden stairway against the north wall, extending from the third floor to the sidewalk on Louisiana St. This interior stairway extended from the street to the second floor between a brick and plaster wall and a plaster partition, and from the second to the third floor between a brick wall and a frame partition. Both flights were open at the upper and lower end; the street end had a door frame and transom but no door (see photograph on page 89). The stairs were 58 in. wide between walls and 48 in. between hand rails on each side. A witness at the subsequent investigation of the fire testified that it was normally an adequate, unobstructed exit, but that because the fire started near the stairway, access to the stairs was soon cut off, and most of the roomers were forced to use the only outside fire escape on the south, or Preston Ave. wall.
“This fire escape was a steel stairway, 25 in. wide with hand rails 20 in. high, and with platforms 35 x 37 in, at the second and third floors, level with window sills. The escape was anchored at second and third floor levels, with a swinging extension from the second floor platform to the street. A steel scaling ladder extended from the top platform of the fire escape up over the coping of the roof.

“The fire escape was reached through narrow, 20-in. wide windows, of the two-piece lifting type, set in pairs, with sills 20 in. above the floor level. On the night of the fire it was unusually hot, and the windows were probably open to full height, but window screen wire mesh was tacked to the outside of the 24-in. frames. A witness said he kicked a hole through the screening and tore the wire off for others to follow. The second floor access to the fire escape was through one of the small room enclosures, but the third floor exit was from the open floor dormitory.

“These escapes complied with the state fire escape law for a building of this size, except for the lack of red exit lights; it is reported that the fire marshal ordered lights installed on August 24, but the order had not been obeyed.

“The second- -floor was a labyrinth of wooden partitions cut off below the ceiling, forming rows of cubbyholes from S x 8 to 8 x 10 ft. for sleeping rooms. They were arranged along the east and west walls facing narrow aisles, with other rows back to back facing the same aisles. There were a few similar sleep¬ing rooms on the third floor, but that floor was mainly an open ward. Similar wooden partitions enclosed shower rooms on both upper floors, and a 10 x 12 linen and baggage room behind the desk on the second floor. The lobby and desk was a small space at the north end of the second floor, separated from the sleeping section by a wooden partition. Access to the street and to third floor was by the one interior stairway from the lobby.

“Housekeeping conditions were poor; the congestion due to such crowded quarters contributed to a lack of cleanliness and order. There was the usual amount of electric wiring defects with portable cord extensions; cooking on hot plates was said to be general among the regular tenants, although supposed to be prohibited except in the shower bathrooms. There was no doubt an accumulation of old newspapers, clothing and personal junk in these compart¬ments, especially among the regular tenants. Something of that nature served as tinder to touch off the mattresses and partitions in quick succession, for the fire to travel so fast and trap inmates in their beds. There is no evidence of any regular ‘delousing’ system, but there was a 5-gal. can of insecticide with a naphtha base used to spray mattresses, and the iron cots were given an occasional blowtorch spraying to kill vermin. This insecticide was stored in the linen and baggage room, along with mops, brooms, rags, and odd junk. A few spray guns were available for the guests to use as they found necessary; it is possible that the mattresses and partitions had a film of residue from the spray material that served to quicken spread of fire. It was claimed that chemical fire extinguishers were installed on second and third floors, but none was found and none seen in use.

“It is reported that some time around midnight a mattress was ignited from a cigarette in Room 201 on the second floor near the lobby partition wall. The night clerk put the fire out with water and immersed the sheet in a tub in the bathroom. Sometime later, estimated to be from 30 minutes to an hour, he was attracted to the third floor by a disturbance and complaint that somebody was using a flashlight. He found nothing out of the way and was returning to the second floor by the stairway when he observed smoke and flame coming through the partition from the sleeping section into the lobby. It is apparent that the reflection from the flames through cracks in the floor above gave the impression of a flashlight to those on the third floor; this would indicate that the fire must have been burning for some minutes before the disturbance over the supposed flashlight started, and that the fire was already well under way when discovered.

“The city manager has accepted the fire department’s official report class¬ing the fire as ‘accidental’ due to carelessness. Testimony at the investigation of the fire seems to remove the re-ignition of the first mattress fire as a cause. The occupant of Room 201, who caused that first fire, was among the first to escape by the inside stairs. This occupant stated that he went to the linen room with the night clerk to get fresh linen and ‘believed’ the clerk threw the burned sheet on a pile of soiled linen; the clerk’s own story was that he took it to a bathroom and immersed it in a tub of water. The fire department is inclined to believe, as the linen room was the location of the fire, that the smoldering sheet caused the fire.

“There were 21 witnesses examined at the investigation, having had from 30 days to 4 months’ residence in the hotel. All of them testified that there were no exit signs or lights on either floor. It was also brought out at the investigation that the company which operates the Gulf Hotel made their own insecticide of. oil, kerosene and naphtha, mixing it in one of their other properties and sending the one 5-gal. can, stored in the linen and baggage room. The fire department report refers to this or similar material being used by other operators in this building for over 15 years, and believes that the walls and partitions as well as the mattresses were well saturated with residue that would cause rapid spread of the fire.

“The alarm was immediately sent in by telephone and recorded in fire department headquarters at. 12:50 A.M. Two stations within 8 to 12 blocks sent apparatus at once, but on arrival both upper floors were involved, so a second alarm went in from a street box at 12:53 and a third at 12:56. The fire was tapped out at 3:15 A.M., with the two upper floors completely gutted and the roof partially collapsed. The fire department made a good stop for such an old combustible building. The entire block is of similar construction, and there were similar rooming houses in adjoining buildings on two sides. Had the fire communicated, the loss of life could have been much greater.

“Among the tales of horror repeated by firemen and survivors there were plenty of comments on the progress and speed of the fire, but none were found who saw where or how the fire started. It is assumed that those close to the origin are among the dead. It evidently spread with great rapidity, and many were trapped in their beds to be suffocated or burned to death. Others fell over each other in the darkness and confusion of trying to reach an exit with¬out guide lights, amid a labyrinth of partitions and narrow passages. Bodies were found piled about the floors and around the windows. A few jumped from windows, others were assisted down ladders after the firemen arrived. The inside stairway was beyond reach of most inmates, for it was cut off by the fire starting at that end of the building. This caused a congestion at the one fire escape window exit on each floor; there were too many to use it in too short a time; fire and smoke overcame those struggling for a chance at the window, and they dropped where they stood. The death list has reached 54,. with 8 critically injured, 2 of whom are not given much chance to recover. There were others less seriously injured, the first hospital list being 25. The Red Cross held a mass funeral for the burial of 36 unidentified dead.

“Apparently, nobody is officially responsible for this disaster; the fire chief is quoted by the press as saying there was no local, law or fire prevention ordinance to govern. The building and occupancy does not conform to the present building code, but the code does not apply retroactively to a building and occupancy that has existed for many years, and neither the fire nor build¬ing department has any supplementary ordinance to apply. The state fire escape law requires only one escape on a building of 5000 sq. ft., but that law does not contemplate such an area being used as a dormitory for 145 people. The state does not maintain an inspection force, and it seems no department of the city assumes the responsibility of checking up on interior conditions in relation to fire escapes. The fire marshal claims to have made a ‘fire inspec¬tion’ of the premises on August 24, and apparently found no objection to the interior conditions, except the absence of exit lights. Under present conditions it is not likely that the owner could have had lights installed between August 24 and September 7, had he the wish to do so. It is just unfortunate that exit lights that would have been of value during the fire, but have been neglected for 25 years, were not ordered installed until two weeks before the fire. Pre¬vious fire inspections, if any, failed to note the need of them.

“This tragedy is a repetition of others that have occurred in the past under very similar conditions, and there is little in the way of comment or conclu¬sion that has not already been expressed. Obviously it is a condition that should not be allowed to exist, but one with which all cities have to contend. It is not simply a matter of making these places fire safe. Upper floors of old obsolete buildings with a rental value that hardly meets taxes cannot stand the cost load of structural improvement that would make them fully fire safe. The alternative of closing them is a harsh measure that city councils will not consider, and they do serve a purpose in providing indoor shelter at a minimum price for unfortunates who would otherwise resort to hovels on the river banks or under viaducts.

“As long as we are to have cheap lodgings in the upper floors of old buildings, it would be better to have proper regulations that the occupant can fol¬low under official supervision than structural requirements that the owner cannot and will not meet. Good fire prevention practice does not require that we insist on making old buildings into new ones or that modern specifications be fitted into old settings. But that is about the substance of all proposed ordinances regulating the use of old buildings. Owners and contractors fight them as impracticable, and city departments ‘pass the buck’ to the council, where the matter dies by default and we get no regulation at all.

“It is possible to have adequate rooming house regulations without undue hardship to owner or occupant; to control the number of inmates and the manner of housing in relation to the area and exit facilities, and with good housekeeping conditions. It should not demand fireproofing of ceilings, parti¬tions, stair enclosures and other impracticable measures that, prevent adoption of codes for this purpose. But it would prevent the installation of additional combustible material, and overcrowded conditions as in this instance. Even under these worst conditions more than half the inmates reached safety; under any reasonable restriction there would be no occasion for loss of life even in an old building. To avoid one such tragedy it would be a profitable invest-ment for any city to set up a special rooming house inspection department, with adequate regulations and frequent follow-up inspections to assure the end of these slaughter pens.” (Smith, H. Oram. “Gulf Hotel Fire.” National Fire Protection Association, NFPA Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 2, October 1943, pp. 84-92.)

Newspapers

Sep 7: “Houston, Tex., Sept. 7. AP. The death toll from a fire that ravaged the small midtown Gulf Hotel, rose to 48 today, making the disaster one of the costliest in Texas history. Others of the transient, old and crippled men who had crowded into the three-story structure, and who fought and clawed to get out through one exit, were in critical condition from burns.

“Police and fire officials said they believed all bodies had been removed from the smoldering, charred wreckage of the brick-and-frame building. Thirty-two men were taken to hospitals. Sixteen were soon released. Two of those who remained, identified as John Martin and L. D. Roy Muncaster, died at midmorning.

“Stories of horror came from the men who escaped the flames, which turned the building into a gigantic torch soon after midnight. Assistant Fire Chief George Richardson, for 50 years a fireman, said: ‘It was the most horrible thing that I have ever seen in my career as a fireman.’

“The hotel register showed that 133 men were listed as lodgers last night. Presumably about 50 of them were absent when the fire started or managed to escape.

“Eyewitnesses said many men jumped from the windows and a fire escape.

“The blaze, discovered shortly after midnight, quickly blocked off one of the two fire escapes to the three-story brick structure. An inside stairway likewise was made impassable for those caught on the two upper floors. Flames poured from every opening and crevice in the building, one of the oldest in Houston. Firemen could not lay ladders against it.

“W. A. Wheeler, occupant of a second-floor room, said he ran to one fire escape and found it cut off. ‘Then I and three other men went to the third floor trying for the other fire escape. We ran stumbling over bodies. At the fire escape men were jammed together fighting to start down. We begged them to let each man take his time and they did. Men started pouring down the escape. I saw one man run to the window and jump head first. He dropped straight down to the sidewalk. As we went down we saw men jumping off the fire escape at every level.’

“Police and firemen said it was probable that other bodies would be found in the wreckage.

“The Post added a description of ‘men clawing and fighting like mad to reach the one avenue of escape left open to them.’

“The body of one man who struggled to a window but did not jump was seen hanging half out of the opening. He burned to death as spectators below prayed for his deliverance.

“What started as a small blaze, apparently on the second floor, turned in five minutes to a three-alarm disaster, but firemen arriving with equipment for a major fire were unable to save the victims.

“William Bevill, who had lived on the third floor for two years, said: ‘The first we knew of it on the third floor was the screams of men. The fire ran up onto the third floor like it was running along a powder train. Men began piling out of cots and beds. They had been jammed in almost like sardines. The fire at the front cut us off from the front fire escape and there were only two ways out. One by the other escape and the other by jumping….” (Associated Press. “48 Perish in Houston Hotel Fire.” Galveston Tribune, TX. 9-7-1943, p. 1.)

Sep 8: “Houston, Sept. 8. (AP) – While funeral arrangements were being made today for 50 victims of the Gulf Hotel fire, the worst tragedy in Houston’s history, the city and other authorities continued their investigation of the early Tuesday morning blaze for the purpose of preventing a reoccurrence.

“Ten men remained in Houston hospitals in a critical condition, and some are expected to die. Sixteen of the injured were released from hospitals after receiving treatment.

“Of the dead, more than half have been identified. Funeral arrangements have been completed for some.

“Inspectors of the city health department and fire marshal’s office started inspecting lodging places similar to the Gulf Hotel, where 127 men, most of them elderly, were stopping when the fire, shortly after midnight, swept through the three-story brick building, killing and injuring some two-thirds of them….

“The death toll stood at 45 for several hours Tuesday afternoon but the finding of another body and the death of four more in hospitals brought the total to 50.

“A three-way investigation into the cause of the fire was under way, one by City Fire Marshal H. L. Matthews and the others by the state fire insurance commission and the national board of underwriters.

Identified Dead

“Fire victims who have been identified: [We rearranged list alphabetically and numbered.]

1. Elmer Boyce Beard.
2. Frank Mike Bilinsky, 76.
3. E. H. Black.
4. Ben D. Carver.
5. John Costello, 63.
6. Robert S. Dixon, 64, Gatesville.
7. John Galilee, 67.
8. John E. Heath…
9. J. J. Hebert…Lake Charles, La.
10. [Sam C. Henderson, 51; Jefferson Davis hospital.]
11. [Elton Joseph Hoffpauir; body found in hotel ruins, Sep 9.
12. Frank Fletcher Husk
13. A. L. Inman, a vendor.
14. Mr. Jaehne, tentative identification.
15. H. T. Leonard, 28, Duncan, Okla.
16. James M. Lewis, 69, blind paper vendor…
17. Bob Looney, tentative identification.
18. Mr. Lopez, tentative identification.
19. Walter Mains.
20. Raymond Martin, 52.
21. [Harry L. Moore. Died from burn injuries in a hospital Sep 11.]
22. L. D. Muncaster.
23. J. P. Murphy.
24. Mr. Price, tentative identification.
25. Will Rogers, 67.
26. E. G. Schmidt, 74, died Tuesday night in hospital.
27. Walter W. Spikes, 67.
28. Clyde Peter Spruell, 42, died of burns and injuries received in a jump from the hotel.
29. Harry Tyson, 58.
30. Mr. Woodhouse, tentatively, laundry marks on his clothing.
31. M. G. Worrall.
32. [Walter Zobject, 48; died at Jefferson Davis hospital from burn injuries at Gulf Hotel.]

(Associated Press. “Hotel Fire Death Toll Reaches 50.” Wichita Daily Times, TX. 9-8-1943, p. 5.)

Sep 9: “Houston, (AP) – Another body was found Thursday in the blackened and charred ruins of the Gulf Hotel at Preston and Louisiana, bringing the total casualty list of the Tuesday morning fire to 51. The body was that of Elton Joseph Hoffpauir, Brown Shipyard Company worker. The body was found under a bed which was under a pile of debris on the third floor by Deputy Fire Chief V. Dorsett who with other firemen were going back over the ruins, still searching for bodies.

“The body was found under a bed which was under a pile of debris on the third floor by Deputy Fire Chief V. Dorsett who with other firemen were going back over the ruins, still searching for bodies.

“A funeral procession of 35 hearses and attending cars will wend its way along the Alvin Road to South Park Cemetery, where mass burial services for 35 of the unidentified and unclaimed dead who lost their lives in the Gulf Hotel fire will be held at 5 p. m….

“Jay W. Stevens of San Francisco, chief of the Fire Prevention Bureau of the National Association of Life Underwriters, said an investigating committee at several Houston hotels found conditions
Wore than those which prevailed at the Gulf.’ The findings, assembled in a survey of Houston’s cheaper hotels, were not further elaborated.” (Associated Press. “Houston Hotel Deaths Now 51.” The Paris News, TX, 9-9-1943, p. 10.)

Sep 10: “Houston, Sept. 10. – A 100-foot common grave in South Park Cemetery holds the bodies of the 36 unidentified and unclaimed men who perished in the Gulf Hotel fire which took a toll of 52. Several hundred persons Thursday attended the mass funeral and burial at which prayers for the dead were uttered by clerics of three sects. The caskets, paid for by the Red Cross, were covered with gray cypress vine and flowers.” (Moulton Eagle, TX. “Fire Victims Are Buried Together.” 9-17-1943, p. 1.)

Sep 11: “Houston, Sept. 11 –(U.P.) – The death toll from Texas’ most disastrous hotel fire stands at 52 following the death of Harry L. Moore. Moore died of burns received in the fire which swept through the three-story Gulf Hotel last Tuesday.

“The Harris county grand jury meantime, launched its own investigation into the holocaust. The only statement from any investigating group was a declaration by Fire Marshall H. L. Matthews that it had been determined the fire started in a linen closet on the second floor of the cot-house hotel.” (United Press. “Another Victim of Houston Hotel Fire Dies.” Taylor Daily Press, TX, 9-12-1943, p. 1.)

Sep 13: “Houston, Sept. 13 (UP). – Texas’ worst hotel fire continued to claim additional victims today as the death toll rose to 53 with the death of Walter Zobjeck, 48, who died in Jefferson Davis hospital of burns received last Tuesday when fire swept through the three-story Gulf hotel.” (UP. “Houston Hotel Fire Death Toll Up To 53.” Port Arthur News, TX. 9-13-1943, p. 6.)

Sep 15: “Houston, Sept. 15 – (AP) – Sam C. Henderson, 51, died at Jefferson Davis hospital late yesterday, the 54th victim of the fire that a week ago Tuesday destroyed the Gulf hotel.” (Associated Press. “Fire Claims 54th. Abilene Reporter-News, TX, 9-15-1943, p. 14.)

Sep 18: “Houston, Sept. 18. – (AP) – The fire which swept the Gulf Hotel here Sept. 7 and killed 54 men was of accidental origin, Assistant Fire Chief George W. Richardson said today in a report to City Manager John N. Edy. Richardson said that the fire apparently started when a bed sheet which had become ignited then apparently extinguished was tossed into the linen and baggage closet on the second floor. In the closet were mops and insecticides which were ignited, he said.” (Assoc. Press. “Fatal Hotel Fire of Accidental Origin.” Corsicana Daily Sun, TX. 9-18-1943, p.9.)

Sources

Arnold, Robert. “Remembering the victims of Houston’s deadliest fire.” Click2Houston.com, 8-28-2018. Accessed 6-3-2020 at: https://www.click2houston.com/news/2018/08/29/remembering-the-victims-of-houstons-deadliest-fire/

Associated Press. “48 Perish in Houston Hotel Fire.” Galveston Tribune, TX. 9-7-1943, p. 1. Accessed 6-3-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-tribune-sep-07-1943-p-1/

Associated Press. “Fatal Hotel Fire of Accidental Origin.” Corsicana Daily Sun, TX. 9-18-1943, p. 9. Accessed 6-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/corsicana-daily-sun-sep-18-1943-p-9/

Associated Press. “Fire Claims 54th. Abilene Reporter-News, TX, 9-15-1943, p. 14. Accessed 6-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/abilene-reporter-news-sep-15-1943-p-26/

Associated Press. “Hotel Fire Death Toll Reaches 50.” Wichita Daily Times, TX. 9-8-1943, p. 5. Accessed 6-3-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/wichita-daily-times-sep-08-1943-p-5/

Associated Press. “Houston Hotel Deaths Now 51.” The Paris News, TX, 9-9-1943, p. 10. Accessed 6-3-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/paris-news-sep-09-1943-p-6/

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

Cox, Mike. “Houston’s Gulf Hotel Fire,” Texas Disasters. 2006, pp. 121-132.

Find A Grave. “Elmer Boyce Beard.” File uploaded 9-7-2013. Accessed 6-3-2020 at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116693027/elmer-boyce-beard

Haile, Bartee. “Flophouse fire Texas’ deadliest hotel blaze.” Houston Chronicle, 9-4-2015. Accessed 6-3-2020 at: https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/woodlands/opinion/article/Haile-Flophouse-fire-Texas-deadliest-hotel-9763996.php

Moulton Eagle, TX. “Fire Victims Are Buried Together.” 9-17-1943, p. 1. Accessed 6-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/moulton-eagle-sep-17-1943-p-1/

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

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

Smith, H. Oram. “Gulf Hotel Fire.” NFPA Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 2, October 1943, pp. 84-92.

United Press. “Another Victim of Houston Hotel Fire Dies.” Taylor Daily Press, 9-12-1943, p. 1. Accessed 6-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/taylor-daily-press-sep-12-1943-p-2/

United Press. “Houston Hotel Fire Death Toll Up To 53.” Port Arthur News, TX. 9-13-1943, p. 6. Accessed 6-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/port-arthur-news-sep-13-1943-p-6/

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