1952 — Nov 26, Huntington State Mental Hospital fire, female ward, Huntington, WV– 17
— 17 Casto, James E. “1952 fire at State Hospital claimed 17 helpless victims.” 11-25-2012.
— 17 Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Hospital Fire Arson Hinted; 3 More Dead.” 11-29-1952, p1.
— 17 e-WV. “Huntington State Hospital.” The West Virginia Encyclopedia, 3-2-2012.
— 17 Herald-Dispatch. “Gallery: Huntington State Hospital fire, Nov. 26, 1952.” 11-27-2013.
— 17 NFPA. “Fires Causing Large Loss of Life.” Handbook of Fire Protection. 1954, p. 36.
—>15 Beckley Post-Herald, WV. “State Hospital Blaze Kills At Least 15.” 11-27-1952, p. 1.
— 14 Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Huntington Hospital Fire Kills 14.” 11-27-1952, pp. 1, 8.
— 14 Charleston Gazette, WV. “Huntington Hospital Fire Kills 14 Patients.” 11-27-1952, p. 1.
— 14 Raleigh Register, Beckley, WV. “14 Patients Killed. New Warning…” 11-28-1952, p. 1.
Narrative Information
Casto: “Huntington — It was Thanksgiving Eve, 1952. Most of the community was in a festive mood, already relaxing and looking forward to the next day’s holiday. Then, shortly after 7 p.m., the bells started ringing at the Huntington Fire Department’s old Alarm Headquarters on 9th Street. The automated alarm system indicated a fire at the Huntington State Hospital on Norway Avenue. No one knew it in those first hectic minutes, but the alarm triggered what would be one of the most horrific chapters in Huntington’s history.
“After 60 years, the death toll in the 1952 fire at the State Hospital remains Huntington’s worst in any fire ever….
“Sirens sounding, firefighters raced to the scene. There they found an old brick ward building in flames. A fire had erupted in the basement boiler room and quickly spread to the first floor….
“Fire Captain Harry Damron supervised the evacuation of 35 to 40 children from the third floor of the burning structure.
“Gene Wheeler, a 28-year-old firefighter at the time, later recalled making his way into the burning building and finding a young girl, maybe 7 years old, tied to her bed, unable to move. Wheeler managed to untie and rescue her. Wheeler also remembered seeing fellow firefighter John Cannon carry a teenage girl to safety. (Twenty years later, in 1972, Cannon suffered a fatal heart attack while fighting a spectacular fire at the former Standard Ultramarine & Color Co. plant.)….
“The ward building had been designed to lock patients in, with little thought given as to how they might get out in case of a fire or other emergency….
“Fire Chief Floyd E. Crouse said all Huntington firefighters who were on duty were deployed at the hospital, along with 15 others who were off duty but were called in to help fight the fire and evacuate patients.
“A number of volunteers aided the firefighters in the evacuation. Dr. Hiram Davis, the hospital’s superintendent, praised their efforts. “I cannot be too generous in my praise of the work of the firemen and volunteers,” Davis said. “I saw boys of high school age helping carry litters. No one had asked them. They just volunteered. The firemen were very efficient. We owe much to them.”
“No official ruling was made as to the fire’s cause, although widespread speculation suggested a carelessly discarded cigarette….
“…the institution’s operating philosophy remained much the same as when it first opened — to protect society from the mentally ill by locking them away in a place where they received little if any treatment.
“By the time of the fire, a hospital designed to accommodate 500 patients was home to nearly 1,800. Medical staffing was grossly inadequate, with only a handful of trained doctors and nurses and attendants who were few in number, virtually untrained and poorly paid. The hospital’s buildings were antiquated and poorly maintained….
“But despite new construction and other sporadic improvements, conditions at the hospital remained a subject of concern until the 1970s when the patient population began to decline as a result of deinstitutionalization. In 1988, Huntington State became the first state-operated psychiatric hospital in West Virginia to be accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
“….Today, the hospital is a 110-bed acute care mental health facility.”
(Casto, James E. “1952 fire at State Hospital claimed 17 helpless victims.” Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, WV, 11-25-2012.)[1]
Nov 27, 2013, Herald-Dispatch: “On Nov. 26, 1952, a ward building at Huntington State Hospital, now Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital, caught fire, killing 17 people….
“Established on a 33-acre tract in 1899 as the West Virginia Asylum, the state-supported hospital has evolved from the dark ages when as many as 1,800 patients were crammed into open wards and the staff included a superintendent and seven or eight physicians. Today, it is a 90-bed facility.
“In 1958, West Virginia had 5,500 patients placed in a half-dozen mental health facilities scattered over the state. Because of improved treatment and drugs, that number had decreased to 2,400 in 1976.
“The Hartley Act, which was brought on by a class action suit, caused more dramatic changes in the 1980s. The act mandated that all state hospitals eliminate open wards and provide only two-bed, semi-private rooms for mentally ill patients.
“West Virginia now operates just two psychiatric care hospitals, Huntington and Weston, W.Va.
“In 1999, Gov. Cecil Underwood announced that Huntington State Hospital would be renamed the Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital in honor of the retiring doctor and her dedication to bringing mental health issues to the state’s attention.” (Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, WV. “Gallery: Huntington State Hospital fire, Nov. 26, 1952.” 11-27-2013.)
Newspapers at the time
Nov 26: “Huntington, Nov. 26 (AP) — Fifteen women and children perished tonight in a fierce blaze that swept a three-story building at the Huntington State Hospital, a mental institution. President Joe F. Burdett of the State Board of Control, which supervises the state’s institutions, grimly told a reporter: ‘Frankly, we feel it will run to 20.’ Eleven of the victims were young girls, none believed over 16, who suffocated from the smoke that filled their third floor dormitory. Four were elderly women, occupying the first floor.
“An attendant said from 60 to 70 patients had been housed on each of the three floors of the gutted building. Older women were housed on the first floor, psychotic women on the second and the children, all apparently under 16, on the third….
“The first alarm was sounded about 7:10 p.m….
“An hour and 35 minutes after the fire started, an orderly told a reporter: ‘They’re still bringing them off the third floor. How they stood it, I don’t know.’
“Another doctor on the hospital staff said the building which burned had recently been criticized
by a newspaper as being a fire-trap….
“The patients brought out were described by newsmen as ‘extremely calm.’
“Correspondent Dick Boyd of The Associated Press reported from the scene that the interior of the structure, a T-shaped building with Norman towers, was completely gutted….
“The building that went up in flames is understood to have had windows covered with wire mesh. It was situated about 150 yards from the one to which rescued patients were evacuated.
“Boyd said the women and children were a pitiful sight. He said nurses and attendants did everything possible to make them comfortable, but that many were obviously cold and shaken as they were crowded into emergency quarters.” (Beckley Post-Herald, WV. “State Hospital Blaze Kills At Least 15.” 11-27-1952, p. 1.)
Nov 26: “Huntington, Nov. 26 – (AP) – Here is the list of dead [14 names] in tonight’s fire at Huntington State Hospital as released by Chief of Detectives Herman A. Frazier of the city police. [Rearranged in alphabetical order and with the addition of three later deaths on Nov 29.]
[Ruth Barnette, 34, Huntington; smoke inhalation.][2]
Elizabeth Bright [Bryte[3]], 31, Wellsburg;
Ada Carver, 89, Huntington;
Patricia Clark, 14, Vallscreek, McDowell County;
Geraldine Curry, 26, [Elk Creek[4]] Mingo County;
Evangeline Elzy, 15, Dunbar;
[Lettie Farley, 83, Harts; died Nov 29 from burns.][5]
Helen Findley, 33, Sistersville;
Lillian Gould, 36, Huntington; [Lillian E. Gould, 37[6]]
Avanele [Avanel[7]] Keifer, 15, Huntington;
Patricia Long, 15, Sutton;
[Miss Cleon Mitchum, 24, of Bee Three Hollow; died Nov 29, smoke inhalation.][8]
[Lillian][9] Ethel Munday, 68, Charleston;
Madeline Preston, 24 [25[10]], Maidsville, Monongalia County;
Cassie [Kessie[11]] Summerfield, 44, Huntington;
Joyce Tucker, 20, Fairmont;
Lena Wentz, 11, Cabell County.”
(Charleston Gazette, WV. “Here’s List of Dead in Huntington Fire.” 11-27-1952, p. 1.)
Nov 27: “Huntington, Nov. 26 — (AP) — Fourteen women and children perished tonight in a fierce blaze that swept a three-story building at the Huntington State Hospital, a mental institution. President Joe F. Burdett of the State Board of Control, which supervises the state’s institutions, announced the death toll as complete and official. Two hours after the fire roared through the 56-year-old building, Burdett said the blaze took 15 lives. After a thorough recheck, he brought the figure down one. Five of the victims were young girls, 15 or younger. The others were women, the oldest 89. There were about 275 patients in the three-story brick structure.
“The fire broke out in the basement shortly after 7 p.m. and burned for about two hours. The flames were confined to the first two floors but the thick acrid smoke played havoc with the youngsters trapped on the top level. Firemen had to cut through heavy wire mesh with acetylene torches to get inside the building when the front entrance became an inferno. The screaming patients had to be removed by means of an old wrought-iron circular stairway at the rear of the building. The rescuers couldn’t use stretchers on the narrow escape-way, so they bundled the patients — some alive, some dead — in blankets and carried them down on their shoulders. Fire Capt. C. C. Martin credited attendants on duty with a “heroic job” in getting the most of the patients out of the building. He said they tripped the latches on the ward doors so the patients could flee by themselves.
“The kitchen, one of the several buildings nearby, was turned into a hasty receiving station for the screaming, weeping, vomiting victims. One reporter called it a ‘sorry sight.’ The patients were sprawled on the kitchen floor, some of them dead, most with only a blanket covering them, reeking with the strong smell of smoke.
“One fireman said the blaze started in the basement. A staff physician who refused to be quoted said some of the patients sometimes went to the basement to smoke during off hours, which was against the rules.
“The hospital built in 1896, has been under recent scrutiny both through the press and the state legislature for its condition. ‘I know it’s too late to say this,’ Burdett said, ‘but we submitted to the budget director a recommendation for one million dollars for fireproofing all this — ward buildings one, two, three and four.’ It was ward building four which burned. Burdett said the requested appropriation was cut out somewhere along the line in the last legislative session.
“A new building was being constructed on the grounds nearby which was to house the patients in the structure which burned. They would have been transferred into the quarters within a few weeks.
“Two other fires have occurred at the state hospital within the last two years — one in a third floor sewing room and the other in a basement storage bin. Both were extinguished quickly.
“Burdett said: ‘The same situation exists at Spencer and Weston State (two other state mental institutions). Recommendations for fireproofing those two hospitals and Huntington have been approved by the budget director for submission to the 1953 legislature.’ He added that part of Spencer and Weston State Hospitals already have been fireproofed.
“Two elderly women were listed as in serious condition from burns. The only other person listed as injured was a Huntington fireman who suffered a broken foot when a battering ram fell on him.
“All three members of the State Board of Control were at the hospital during cleaning-up operations. They are, besides Burdett, L. Steele Trotter, treasurer, and Dell White, Secretary. State Fire Marshal C. A. Raper, also at the scene, said he had not had a chance to make an inspection or estimate of the damage.” (Charleston Gazette, WV. “Huntington Hospital Fire Kills 14 Patients.” 11-27-1952, p. 1.)
Nov 27: “The protecting law of averages finally ran out last night for the unfortunates who lost their lives in the fire of the female ward building at Huntington State Mental Hospital. In January of 1949, this reporter, in one of a series of articles which appeared in The Gazette under the title of ‘Forsaken and Forgotten,’ described the now-destroyed building as one of ‘five three-story brick, fire-trap structures.’ And everyone of the buildings was overcrowded with patients behind locked door and steel-screened windows.
“That was almost four years ago. At that time 67 mentally deficient and mentally disturbed girls were kept on the third floor of the females building. The only access then to the third floor quarters was described in this paragraph: ‘Turn and twist, turn and twist up three tortuous flights of narrow, steel stairs to a locked door at the top.’ This access, and exit, had not changed in the past four years. This reporter can visualize the horror, and disaster, plus the terror striking me men and women who attempted passage through the narrow inferno last night.
“Another paragraph of the 1949 article read: ‘Locked up like common criminals, the girl mentally deficients must find their play on the wooden, fire-hazardous corridor floor.’ The awful possibilities of life-taking fire were uppermost in my mind then, and reminders of the hazards have lurked in my thoughts ever since.
“In 1949, “Forsaken and Forgotten” had this to say about the third floor wards in separate buildings housing boys in one and girls in the other: ‘Two gloomy halls of horror in Huntington State Mental Hospital hold 153 of nature’s unfortunates — West Virginia’s completely neglected, mentally lost children.’ The gloom was erased from the girls’ corridor last night, and replaced by the terrible light of macabre flames.” (Armentrout, Charles R. “Reporter Forecast Disaster in 1949.” Charleston Gazette, WV, 11-27-1952, p. 1.)
Nov 27: “Huntington (AP) — The. blackened shell of a building officials knew was unsafe was all that remained today after fire swept a Huntington State Hospital building, killing 14 women and children inmates of the old mental institution. State officials began probing around in the ruins and questioned the more rational patients in the effort to learn just what started the disastrous blaze. Ten other persons — seven patients and three firemen – were hospitalized.
“Flames sprang from the basement of the 58-year-old building shortly after 7 p.m. and spread rapidly through the first and second floors. Firemen had to burn through thick wire mesh over the windows with acetylene torches to fight the blaze and rescue the near-helpless victims….All those who died were from West Virginia….
“The only hint to a cause for the blaze came from a staff doctor who refused to be identified. He said some patients, against strict orders, sometimes slipped down to the basement and smoked.
“State officials indicated they blamed the state itself for the conditions that prevailed at the obviously antiquated structure – and the 13 others that nestled around it on the 35-acre tract atop a hill overlooking Huntington from the southeast. President Joe E. Burdett of the State Board of Control, which supervises the state’s institutions, was brutally frank. ‘I can’t say I was surprised,’ he said. ‘If something isn’t done it won’t be the last.’
“And State Fire Marshal C. A. Raper said the burned building was found to be ‘inadequate’ as to fireproofing when inspected a year ago. He said another inspection was due next Monday.
“Burdett said a request for one million dollars to fireproof the hospital was shelved during the last legislative session. He said a request for funds to fireproof Huntington and two other state hospitals had been approved by the budget director for the Legislature meeting next January. Burdette said that ‘to my knowledge, there has never been a catastrophe as bad as this one in the history of the state….in all types of institutions – schools, mental hospitals – any kind of building the state owns or operates.’ He paused a minute, then added: ‘I know it’s too late to say this, but we submitted to the budget director a recommendation for one million dollars for fire-proofing all this….’
“A new building was just being completed on the hospital grounds that within a few weeks would have housed those who were in the old building when it burned, Burdett said.
“Associated Press reporters on the scene said the nearly 300 patients in the three-story building didn’t seem to know what was happening. Elderly women were on the ground floor, many unable to get around. Psychotic women were on the second floor. The young ones were on the top floor.
“There were three exits, but the regular front entrance became a raging inferno that defied approach. A back exit was a wrought-iron circular stairway that was so tight stretchers couldn’t be used. The third was the fire escape – a sliding pole similar to those in fire stations. But apparently few of the inmates knew how to use it.
“After firemen managed to get to the third floor where the children were trapped, they wrapped them in blankets and packed them down the circular stairway on their backs.
“All the patients were taken to a hastily devised receiving station in the kitchen, located in a separate building nearby. Some were weeping and wailing. Others were sick from the thick smoke that choked throats everywhere. The rest just sat, staring. Many had little on, except blankets thrown around them. Here and there among them were those covered with blankets all the way.
“The hospital has had two other fires within the past 18 months.
“The flames in last night’s fire did not reach the top floor where the children’s ward was. But the thick, choking smoke did. That was what killed the five up there.
“After it was believed all the patients had been removed, Fire Capt. Harry Damron said a women in her 20s was found wrapped in a blanket beneath bed on the third floor. She was hospitalized for shock….
“Newsmen at the scene said a ‘river of water’ ran down Norway Avenue, on which the hilltop hospital is located in southeast Huntington. Traffic became so congested near the scene that the police department broadcast an appeal by radio for motorists to stay away. Police headquarters said at one time it was almost impossible for fire fighting equipment to get through the jam. A score of doctors and as many nurses responded to a police call for help.
“The three-story building destroyed — Ward Building No. 4 – is in a group of four structures, all built near the turn of the century. It is T-shaped, with the cross of the ‘T’ paralleling Norway Avenue. On either side, only about five feet away, are two other ward buildings. To the rear, some 50 feet away, is the kitchen.
“It was in the kitchen that the dead and dying were separated from the living. Most of the patients were naked – its hard to keep clothes on some types of the mentally ill – but they were wrapped in blankets as firemen and other rescuers – there were many volunteers and scores of male patients on the job – brought them down.
“A physician met each stretcher and cit as it appeared. The doctors went from one bundled heap to another – listening, hoping for the faintest heartbeat. To the ones who showed a breath of life firemen gave artificial respiration and oxygen. When there was no hope, the head of the victim was covered and the body taken to a nearby makeshift morgue.
“There was hardly a free foot of space in the brick-floored kitchen. Delirious inmates lay sobbing and quivering near the bodies of their fellow patients. Many of the women patients, nearly all naked, were violently ill.
“Patients in one of the adjacent ward buildings were evacuated; those in the other ward remained. Newsmen could hear cries from the latter as the fire raged nearby but said the commotion probably was normal.
“….There was some confusion as a result of a report that the third floor, on which 13 of the victims suffocated, housed “children.” The list of dead showed only five of these were age 15 or under and none was under 11. The confusion apparently stemmed from the technical use of “child.” which to experts on mental health includes any feeble-minded person, regardless of age.
61 Operations
“Huntington State Hospital was the scene of 61 ‘ice pick’ type brain operations last July. Doctors
call that type of surgery a trans-orbital lobotomy. A relatively simple operation, and to some decree a controversial one in the medical profession, the operation requires the use of an ice pick-type instrument to cut nerve fibers in the front lobe of the brain. Its purpose is to relieve tension and worry. Of the 61 who underwent the operations here — there were others elsewhere in the state – 10 were returned to their homes within one month and 26 more were in the process of being discharged.
“The hospital had recently received criticism for the scalding death of one child and the alleged starving of another. Dina Lee Jerome, 15, of Dillonvale, O., was fatally scalded last Sept. 7 when another patient forced her into a tub of hot water. The girl’s patients were residents of West Virginia when she was admitted to the hospital.
“Prosecutor Edward H. Greene of Cabell County, after an investigation of his own, asked Gov. Patterson to call a special session of the Legislature to ‘remedy these disgraceful conditions before more children are killed and starved.’
“Later, the Board of Control exonerated Dr. Hiram W. Davis, hospital superintendent, of any fault in either case.” (Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Huntington Hospital Fire Kills 14.” 11-27-1952, pp. 1 and 8.)
Aug 27: “Tragedy that struck the Huntington State Hospital last night and claimed the lives of 14 persons may have been averted had the 1951 state legislature been more sympathetic to a board of control request. Dell White, secretary of the three-man agency that manages all state hospitals, told the Daily Mail today front his Madison home that the board last year had sought a million-dollar appropriation for fireproofing buildings at Huntington. The legislature lopped the appropriation from the board’s budget – as it did for other institutions. ‘We hope the legislature next year will be more sympathetic to our appeal,’ White said. The million dollars has been included in the next biennium budget, effective July 1, 1953.
“Funds also will be asked to do fireproofing work at both Spencer and Weston State Hospitals, whose rolls include more than 3,000 persons.
“White, who returned early this morning to his home after watching the disastrous Huntington fire, said work of staff members in evacuating patients from the burning building was heroic.
“All patients removed from the burned unit are now being housed in a new building nearby which has not been completely finished.
“White was first named in 1944 to fill an unexpired term and was chosen by former Gov. Meadows, to a full six-year term in 1947.” (Charleston Daily Mail. “Legislature’s Fund-Lopping in 1951 Cited. Fireproofing Denied Board of Control; New Plea Planned.” 11-27-1952, p. 1.)
Nov 27: “Weston (AP) — Rush D. Holt[12] said today the 1951 legislature provided all funds asked for the Huntington State Hospital and blamed a fire which took 14 lives there last night on the state administration. President Joe Burdett had said a request for one million dollars to fireproof the mental hospital was shelved during the last legislative session. Said Holt, unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor in the Nov. 4 election: ‘The legislature provided every cent the state Board of Public Works asked for the hospital. Therefore, its passing the buck to the failure to appropriate money is not upheld by fact. The responsibility for this tragedy is at the top. The Board of Public Works and the state administration cannot escape the finger of guilt.’” (Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Not Shelved, Says Holt.” 11-27-1952, p. 1.)
Nov 27: “Huntington (AP) — The fire which claimed 14 lives at Huntington State Hospital last night broke out as the Huntington Mental Hygiene Assn., was marshalling support for an appeal to the 1953 legislature to improve conditions at the hospital.
Fireproofing of the old buildings, here and at other state mental institutions, has been much discussed, both in and out of the legislature. President Joe F. Burdett of the State Board of Control said the budget director has approved an item to cover a project for submission to the lawmakers next January.
“The Huntington association presented, only last Friday, a radio play to point up the need for such improvements. The play depicted conditions in a mythical fire which the narrator said might happen in a West Virginia state hospital in the future. At the end of the radio drama administrators of the hospital at which the fire occurs are absolved of negligence, by a trial jury which concludes the taxpayers, who did not insist on fire-retardant buildings for the institution, were responsible.” (Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Blaze Predicted in Radio Drama.” 11-27-1952, pp. 1 and 8.)
Nov 27: “Huntington, Nov. 27. – (AP)…. ‘A recommendation was made to spend one million dollars to fireproof’ the building at the state legislature nearly two years ago, Joe F. Burdett, president of the Board of Control said. ‘I don’t want to blame anyone, but in the process from the budget director to the legislature it was dropped.’….
“Gov. Okey L. Patteson, Democrat who couldn’t seek reelection under the law, stated: ‘It’s the easiest thing in the world to find out the things that need to be done. But to find the remedy and correct all of them is a different task. I expect to make some statement after a complete report of this disaster is furnished me by the Board of Control – after I get all the facts.’….
“Two of the survivors were in a critical condition.
“There were 607 male and 731 female patients housed in several buildings on a 35-acre tract…” (Charleston Gazette. “Blame Disputed for Deaths of 14 in Blaze at Hospital.” 11-28-1952, p. 1.)
Nov 27: “Huntington, Nov. 27 (AP) – President Joe F. Burdett of the State Board of Control… disclosed that a recommendation of $1 million to fireproof the four main ward buildings at the hospital had been prepared for the 1951 legislature….It had been planned, he said, to spend the money in the present biennium, 1951-1953.
“He said the same inadequate fire-proofing situation exists at the Spencer and Weston State Hospitals, although some work has been done at both of these institutions. A recommendation of $1 million to complete the work, Burdett told the newsman, ‘will be presented to the 1953 legislature.’
“The Board of Control president described the Barboursville and Lakin State Hospitals as ‘fire safe,’ and also said that there is no danger at the Pinecrest and Hopemont tuberculosis sanitariums. He added, however, that the fireproofing at the Old Sweet Springs, Monroe County, home for white aged and infirm, and for colored aged and infirm at McKendree, Fayette County, is ‘not what it should be.’
“Some feeble minded patients from the Huntington hospital were transferred to the Sweet Springs home several months ago.
“Burdett was attending a church service in Charleston when notified of the fire last night, and drove here to supervise the rescue and care of the more than 1,300 patients in the hospital.
“He was joined here soon afterwards by the other board members, L. Steele Trotter and Dell White, and by State Fire Marshal C. A. Raper….
“Burdette notified Governor Patteson by telephone of the fire last night. He quoted the Governor as saying the situation was ‘very unfortunate.’” (Charleston Gazette, WV. “Fire Risk Said High at 2 Other State Hospitals.” 11-28-1952, pp. 1 and 3.)
Nov 27: “Huntington, W.Va. (UP) — Gov. Okey L. Patteson of West Virginia said Thursday [Nov 27] it was a “well-known fact” the Huntington State Mental Hospital where 14 inmates died in a 375,000 Thanksgiving Eve blaze was a “fire hazard.” He said, however, steps were being taken to remedy this situation. “We have been making improvements right along,” he said,
“but you can’t correct all of those evils at one time. It takes money.”
“The fire broke out at 7:25 p.m. Wednesday in a basement storeroom of a three-story ward building housing 295 inmates, many of them children. At the time, turkeys were being prepared m an adjoining basement kitchen for Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day dinner.” (Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “14 Die in ‘Fire Hazard’.” 11-28-1952, p. 3.)
Nov 28: “Huntington, W. Va., (AP) – City and state officials kept probing today among the charred interior of a mental hospital building where 14 women and children lost their lives to a deadly combination of smoke and flames. But so far they haven’t learned how the fire started.
“Deputy State Eire Marshal John Gallagher had a word of caution — and a strong suggestion. ‘It is definite,’ he declared, ‘that the remaining buildings are just as subject to fire as the one which burned.’
“The Huntington State Hospital, with 607 male and 731 female mentally unbalanced patients, has 13 other buildings on its 35-acre tract.
“Gallagher suggested that ‘every citizen of Huntington and the state’ write members of the Legislature, Gov. Okey Patteson and Gov.-Elect William C. Marland, urging that quick affirmative action be taken on a proposed fire-proofing program for all state institutions.
“The fire broke out in a three-story building housing 275 patients Wednesday about 7:10 p.m. Five girls under 16 and nine women were burned to death or suffocated.
“Officials said it had been definitely established that the blaze started in a basement corridor, but as yet the cause has not been determined….
“Gallagher said the fire gained quick headway through the basement shortly after it was discovered. ‘One group of men rushed into the building, took down the fabric hose hanging on the wall and connected it. But the heat was so intense they had to leave. The burned hose is in the basement now.’ The entire first floor burned through and fell into the basement. The second floor was badly damaged, but timbers on the third floor, where 13 of the victims perished from suffocation, remained intact.
“Gallagher said the intense heat which was carried to the upper floors passed through the metal hot air ducts of the heating system. ‘If it had been possible to turn off the ducts,’ he said ‘we could doubtless have saved lives. It just wasn’t possible.’
“Raper said the buildings fire-proofing was declared ‘inadequate’ at last year’s inspection. In another report made last Aug. 13, nine corrective measures regarding fireproofing were recommended. But other buildings had even longer lists of suggested alterations.
“Most of the buildings were constructed in 1890, when the hospital was established.
“Gallagher said it was not believed that inferior electrical wiring caused the blaze, but he would go no further.
“Yesterday the mentally ill patients were reported ‘surprisingly calm’ as they ate their turkey and went through the holiday routine, upset somewhat by the hard-pressed investigation.” (Raleigh Register, Beckley, WV. “14 Patients Killed. New Warning Issued as State Probes Fire at Huntington Hospital.” 11-28-1952, p. 1.)
Nov 28: “Nothing can be done now about the deaths of 14 mental patients by fire at the Huntington State Hospital. Nearly four years ago The Gazette investigated and warned. Others had protested, even pleaded that something be done to make the state mental hospitals safe for the patients. Something was to be done. Something was urged. Something, a comparatively little
something, was being done. Nearly four years had passed since our Mr. Armentrout exposed the neglect of these hospitals over the state.
“The same old excuse was forthcoming – ‘not enough money.’ Fourteen lives were snuffed out. Lives of no value? They were of value to the victims. In the name of humanity they should have been the grave concern of everyone with authority or influence in the State. Those 14 lives and the lives of hundreds of other unfortunates.
“Firetraps. Are there others? Take a look around. In every city and town there are firetraps where the public goes and lives are risked. Why do they exist? Because it takes money to remedy the defects that make them firetraps. Not just in prisons for the insane — in many public buildings.
“Is anything ever done about the firetraps the public frequents? Very little. Perhaps some fire escapes. But no condemnations. Fire inspections? Yes, but no arrests for violations of regulations.
“It couldn’t happen to you or any of your loved ones? But it did happen to 14 victims, at least most of them loved ones of somebody.
“Do you say it is none of your business that fire hazards exist? It is plenty of your business. In the name of all humanity it is. It is up to you, and you, and you to protest and demand, vehemently and constantly until more than ‘something’ is done or promised.
“It is up to the authorities to abate all firetraps. It is up to the taxpayers and the general public to see that it is done.” (Charleston Gazette, WV. “Horrible Neglect” (Editorial). 11-28-1952, p.12.)
Nov 28: “Huntington, Nov. 28.–(AP)–Police and firemen tonight were questioning a Huntington
State Hospital attendant about the possibility Wednesday night’s tragic fire and the second of two minor blazes which occurred there late today were set, Fire Chief Floyd L. Grouse said. He said the officials were almost certain two of the fires were the result of arson. Police Chief Lon Whitten, Grouse and Hospital Supt. Hiram W. Davis were conducting the investigation….
“Neither of the fires today was of major or tragic consequences. Firemen brought both under control in short order. Some 30 men were evacuated from Building No. 2, near Ward Building No. 4 in which Wednesday night’s tragedy occurred….
“The first blaze was discovered early this evening by Miss Ann White, the night nurse on the second floor of the three-story infirmary. Miss White notified the hospital switchboard and firemen came on the double. Fire Chief Floyd L. Crouse said the blaze – between the first and second floors – was caused by rats which had carried rags to the vicinity of hot steam pipes. The rags ere ignited. Firemen chopped out the second-story flooring and quickly extinguished the smoking rags.
“About 125 patients were in the infirmary – women on the first floor, men on the second and small children on the third. Some of the children are not physically ill but are housed in the infirmary because they are in the crib stage and can be better cared for there than elsewhere. None of the infirmary patients was evacuated.
“The second blaze was discovered a short time later in the hospital’s general assembly building, one-story with basement housing the gymnasium, recreation hall and chapel. The structure is near Building No. 2, which houses Wards 4, 5 and 6 for men patients. Smoke from the general assembly building, flowing through an air vent, filled the men’s wards and the patients had to be evacuated.
“After the second blaze had been put out, around 8 p. m., a fireman reported finding a one-pound tobacco can and an open pint whisky bottle under the stage of the assembly hall, where the fire had started. Crouse placed damage to the assembly building at $10,000….
“…Secretary of State D. Pitt O’Brien explained why the Board of Public Works had not approved fireproofing appropriations two years ago. O’Brien noted that the Board of Control, which governs state institutions, had asked for one million dollars to spend on fireproofing the mental institutions 14 buildings. But, O’Brien said, the money for fireproofing needed to come from a surplus tax revenue of $2,347,000, and, he added, budget requests totaled 165 million dollars.
“Meanwhile, Fire Marshal Raper expressed determination to discover the immediate cause of the disastrous blaze. ‘We’re not giving up,’ he said. He said the old building had been insured some years ago for $89,600, and that the loss to the building probably would run about 50 per cent of that figure.
“He said that when the first floor of the building burned and fell through, it broke the continuity of air ducts, and very hot air and gases went through the ventilators into the upper floor. Raper added that at least 12 of the deaths were caused by suffocation and not by actual burning. Earlier, Deputy State Fire Marshal John Gallagher declared that the remaining buildings on the hospital’s
35-acre tract “are just as subject to fire as the one which burned.’….
“Two of the seven patients injured in the blaze remained in critical condition tonight and are not expected to live, said Dr. Hiram Davis, superintendent of the hospital. They are Mrs. Lettie Farley, 83, of Harts, who suffered multiple burns and Ruth Barnette, 34, of Huntington, a smoke victim….”
“Raper said today there was a possibility that the fire might have started in the gutted ward number four as a result of someone smoking in the basement.
“Secretary of State O’Brien, who acts as secretary of the Board of Public Works, said the demand for appropriations from the state’s tax revenue surplus far exceeded the surplus itself. O’Brien added that it was the custom of the board, however, to cooperate with the legislature by requesting additional appropriation whenever it was assured the legislature could provide the revenue.
“Records in Budget Director D. L. Gainer’s office at Charleston showed that the State Board of Control had requested an appropriation of $1,940,000 from the 1951 Legislature for the hospital. Of this amount, one million dollars had been earmarked for fireproofing as well as for other proposed expenditures at the Huntington institution. In addition to the sum for thee Huntington hospital, the Board of Control also had requested money for fireproofing Weston and Spencer state hospitals.
“The Board of Public Works recommended to the legislature that $1,697,000 of the two million dollar surplus be spent. This figure was trimmed by the legislative session to $1,555,000.” (Charleston Gazette, WV. “Hospital Attendant Grilled After New Huntington Fires.” 11-29-1952, p. 1.)
Nov 29: “The tragic fire at Huntington State Hospital, where 14 patients died this week, points up the need for a thorough investigation of these state institutions with the view of making them safer. The blame for this tragedy must rest with the state administration. Some effort was made at first to attach the blame to the Legislature, but after the record had been clarified, we now learn on authority of Secretary of State D. Pitt O’Brien that the request for one million dollars to fireproof Huntington State Hospital was not approved by the Board of Public Works when the budget-making body went over the appropriation requests prior to the 1951 session of the Legislature. According to Mr. O’Brien, secretary of the board, the appropriation was requested, but the Board of Public Works turned it down. And, as Rush Holt was quick to point out. ‘The Legislature provided every cent the State Board of Public Works asked for the hospital.’
“Now that the tragedy has happened, however, steps should be taken to prevent the same thing happening again, either at Huntington or at other state hospitals and mental institutions. We understand a similar situation prevails, at least in some degree, at Spencer and Weston. These two institutions are badly overcrowded.
“Obviously, such an investigation should be undertaken by the Administration and sufficient appropriations should be sought from the Legislature, which convenes in January, to make these state institutions safe.
“If the Executive Department fails in this responsibility, then the new Legislature should take the matter in hand and conduct an investigation of its own. The Legislature is privileged to request the Board of Public Works to submit supplemental appropriations if the law-making body determines that such is needed.
“This state has spent several million dollars during the past four years to erect new office buildings to house the ever-expanding state government. It is high time, we feel, that first things be placed first. It is little short of criminal to permit fire hazards and sub-standard conditions to exist in those institutions where wards of the state are confined in overcrowded quarters.”
(Beckley Post-Herald, WV. “The Huntington Tragedy” (Editorial). 11-29-1952, p. 4.)
Nov 29: “State Fire Marshal C. A. Raper said today the Thanksgiving Eve fire which claimed 17 lives at Huntington State Hospital and one of two minor blazes at the mental institution last night “have the earmarks of arson.” However, he said lie wasn’t “making any accusations,” adding that the “situation will bear watching.”
“Three more victims of the Wednesday fire died early today. They included Miss Cleon Mitchum, 24, of Bee Three Hollow, and Ruth Barnette, 34, of Huntington, both victims of smoke inhalation, the hospital said. Mrs. Lettie Farley, 83, of Harts, died of burns….
“Raper said an attendant, questioned by police and two arson investigators four hours last night had been released. The man was taken into custody but not charged shortly after firemen had extinguished a blaze in the General Assembly building….” (Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Hospital Fire Arson Hinted; 3 More Dead.” 11-29-1952, p. 1.)
Nov 29: “Huntington, Nov. 29 (AP) – Wary attendants, warned that a ‘firebug’ might strike again at any time, patrolled the wards and corridors of Huntington State Hospital Saturday night, poking their flashlights into closets and out-of-the way corners. They were placed on 24-hour alert after the fourth fire within four days broke out at the mental institution….State Fire Marshal C. A. Raper said the Wednesday night holocaust and two of the three fires since then had ‘the earmarks of arson.’ He was supported by Fire Chief Floyd L. Crouse….
“An attendant, questioned four hours last night and then released, was taken into custody again today and given three lie detector tests by an arson detective from Raper’s office, C. H. Cobb. Raper said the tests cleared the man of any suspicion.
“The fire marshal said the latest fire at the hospital, not disclosed immediately, broke out at 6:25 a. m. Saturday in ward building No. 3. housing 100 psychotic men. It was discovered blazing in back of a door facing into a recess and put out by patients themselves. Raper said burned matches and paper were found after the fire was extinguished. He said the debris apparently had been swept into a hole in the woodwork near the door frame. The fire marshal conceded that it may have been ignited by a cigarette tucked hastily into the hole by a patient to avoid being caught smoking. Patients are forbidden to smoke in the building. But he said the possibility of arson was strong….” (Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Fourth Blaze in Four Days Stirs Asylum.” 11-30-1952, pp. 1 and 10.)
Dec 2: “Huntington (AP) – State Arson Investigator C. R. Cobb has ruled out arson as a possible cause of the Thanksgiving Eve fire which claimed 17 lives at Huntington State Hospital….Cobb said yesterday…the blaze in ward building No. 4 – where two patients were fatally burned, 13 suffocated and two died later from smoke inhalation – appears to have originated in stacks of bushel baskets stored in the basement of the three-story, 56-year-old structure. Cobb expressed the belief the blaze was started by a cigarette carelessly tossed into the stack….Cobb said the fact that inflammable[13] baskets were stored in the basement of building No. 4 is a matter for the hospital administration to correct. But he added, ‘There are many homes and business places in every city where similar conditions exist. There was no other place for storage.’” (Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Fatal Hospital Blaze Held Accidental by Investigator.” 12-2-1952, p. 21.)
Dec 2: “Huntington, Dec. 2 (AP) – Investigators ceased questioning today of an hysterical suspect believed to have set one of four fires — in one of which 17 women and children were killed — at the Huntington State Hospital last week. ‘We were dealing with an irrational person,’ said State Fire Marshal C. A. Raper. ‘His hysteria was mounting — we weren’t dealing with a normal person and normal questioning procedure didn’t apply — so we called it off.’ Raper made plain that the suspect was a patient at the mental institution, and said he had recommended that a psychiatrist take over the examination at a later time.
“The marshal’s statement temporarily capped the active investigation of the fires, which with the
continuing inquiry have kept excitement at a high pitch at the mental institution for nearly a week….
“The marshal said that ‘incendiarism’ has not been ruled out as the cause of the original fire explaining that the word was not to be confused with arson. An incendiarist, he said, may have set the fire, not realizing what he was doing or its consequences. Another possibility is that a patient or other person may have set it accidentally while smoking in the basement in violation of the rules. A collection of empty bushel baskets provided the inflammable material that touched off the holocaust….
“Raper said he was anxious that the investigation could be wound up, to avoid further inciting of patients at the institution ‘who might get ideas’ if the inquiry is prolonged.” (Charleston Gazette, WV. “Probers Cease Questioning Hysterical Suspect Believed to Have Set One of 4 Huntington Fires.” 12-3-1952, p. 8.)
Dec 4: “Montgomery, Dec. 4…Only through a long range planned program which would cost $2,500,000 each year for 10 years can West Virginia’s mental and charitable institutions be properly improved. That was the view expressed today by Joe F. Burdett, president of the State Board of Control, in his first public speaking engagement since the Thanksgiving Eve fire which took 17 lives at Huntington State Hospital. Addressing students at West Virginia Institute of Technology, Burdett said the ‘unfortunate tragedy’ at old Ward No. 4 Building at Huntington ‘was due in a great part to improper housing facilities.’” (Charleston Gazette, WV. “Millions Sought to Fix Firetraps.” 12-5-1952, pp. 1 and 5.)
Dec 4: “Huntington, Dec. 4 (AP) – The West Virginia Fire Chiefs’ Association will hold a special meeting this month to mobilize support for a move to fireproof all state hospitals. Deputy Fire Chief John W. Gallagher of Huntington, president of the association, said the meeting probably will be held either in Clarksburg or Charleston. The date remains to be set. Gallagher helped fight the Thanksgiving Eve fire that claimed the live of 17 mental patients at Huntington State Hospital. He said he will give the group the benefit of his observations.” (Charleston Gazette, WV. “Fire Chiefs to Meet, Discuss Fireproofing.” 12-5-1952, p. 8.)
Dec 9-10: Associated Press. “…yesterday…the State Board of Education…in a day-long session [discussed]…a study of fire prevention steps at state institutions…. In a discussion this morning of fire prevention steps at state institutions under’ its control, the Board voted to request the State Fire Marshal to follow up as soon as possible inspections of buildings made within approximately the last year. With the recent Huntington State Hospital fire which took 17 lives in mind, the board also directed that state college presidents provide item-by-item accounting of what has been done to meet shortcomings noted previously in fire protection.” (Charleston Gazette, WV. “Tech Dormitory Contract Given to Kuhn Company.” 12-10-1952, p. 18.)
Jan 7, 1953: “Huntington, Jan. 7 (AP) – Fire-jittery Huntington, with four major blazes since last Aug. 15, took steps today toward organizing a 1,200 man volunteer fire department to aid in emergencies. In addition to assisting city firemen, the volunteers would also be trained in civil defense duties for use in event of an enemy attack. Plans for organizing the group were made at a meeting between Mayor Cecil Thompson and A. J. Darrah, Cabell County Civil Defense director. Thompson, who took office Jan. 1, only this week announced plans to bolster the city fire department with additional full-time employes. He said plans for a volunteer department would not affect this move. Darrah said that after members were recruited they would be trained in classes held the year-round by city firemen. They would serve without pay and have no civil service status. Mayor Thompson said the full legalities of such an organization have not yet been fully explored, but the city intends to find out about it soon. Most volunteer fire departments operate under a state charter in cities or communities which do not have full-time firemen. Huntington suffered more than a million dollars in fire losses in 1952, and one of the worst fires – at the Huntington State Hospital Thanksgiving Eve – claimed 17 lives.” (Charleston Gazette, WV. “Huntington Plans Amateur Fire Aid.” 1-8-1953, p. 18.)
July 8, 1953: “The state board of control is beginning preliminary planning for fireproofing state hospitals at Huntington, Weston and Spencer. A Thanksgiving Eve fire at the Huntington State Hospital claimed the lives of 17 mental patients. Subsequently, the 1953 Legislature appropriated upwards of 2½ million dollars for fireproofing the three institutions. The board met today with Supt. Hiram W. Davis of Huntington State Hospital to discuss what steps are advisable there, where one million dollars is available. One new building may be constructed.
“President Joe F. Burdett said the three board members would visit Weston State Hospital Friday with a similar aim. Lawmakers appropriated. $1,150,000 for fireproofing that institution.
“In recent months, the State Fire Marshal condemned as fire-hazards two buildings at Weston which housed about 150 patients and the structures are being torn down.
“Funds available for fireproofing Spencer State Hospital amount to $600,000.” (Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Fireproofing Plan Studied. Work at Hospitals Being Considered.” 7-8-1953, p. 24.)
Background on the Huntington State Hospital
e-WV: “Huntington State Hospital, today known as the Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital, was established by the legislature as an insane asylum in 1897 and called the Home for Incurables. At the time of its inception, the public viewed such hospitals as places where the mentally ill were placed to remove them from society for custodial care. The tall wire fence and iron gates gave the facility in Huntington the appearance of a penal institution rather than a hospital. The gates were taken away in 1950, and the gate house at the hospital entrance was removed in 1961.
“The site, consisting of 30 acres of land, was donated to the state by the Chamber of Commerce of the city of Huntington. On the eastern edge of Huntington, the hospital fronts on Norway Avenue. In 1901, the name was changed to West Virginia Asylum, and the patient census was 150. The peak patient population was about 1,460 in 1956. In 1916, the name was changed to Huntington State Hospital.
“Tragedy struck the hospital November 26, 1952. A fire on the evening before Thanksgiving killed 14 patients, with three more patients later dying of injuries.
“In July 1958, the vocational rehabilitation center was established at Huntington State Hospital, the first in the nation to be located on the same grounds with a state hospital. The center offered vocational, social, psychological, medical, and related services necessary to enable the patient to prepare for a return to community living.
“In 1995, the legislature again changed the facility’s name, renaming it Huntington Hospital. During the October 1999 celebration of the hospital’s centennial, Governor Cecil Underwood announced the renaming of Huntington Hospital as the Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital, a tribute to Dr. Mitchell-Bateman’s lifetime career of helping the mentally ill. The 90-bed psychiatric hospital is administered by the Department of Health and Human Resources. Twelve buildings are located on the site.” (e-WV. “Huntington State Hospital.” The West Virginia Encyclopedia, 3-2-2012.)
Sources
Armentrout, Charles R. “Reporter Forecast Disaster in 1949.” Charleston Gazette, WV, 11-27-1952, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046288&sterm
Beckley Post-Herald, WV. “State Hospital Blaze Kills At Least 15.” 11-27-1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=144176892&sterm
Beckley Post-Herald, WV. “The Huntington Tragedy” (Editorial). 11-29-1952, p. 4. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=76154462&sterm
Casto, James E. “1952 fire at State Hospital claimed 17 helpless victims.” Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, WV, 11-25-2012. Accessed 12-27-2013 at: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x1819666468/1952-fire-at-State-Hospital-claimed-17-helpless-victims
Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Blaze Predicted in Radio Drama.” 11-27-1952, pp. 1 and 8. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=39223938&sterm
Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Fatal Hospital Blaze Held Accidental by Investigator.” 12-2-1952, p. 21. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=39290856&sterm
Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Fireproofing Plan Studied. Work at Hospitals Being Considered.” 7-8-1953, p. 24. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=39878076&sterm
Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Fourth Blaze in Four Days Stirs Asylum.” 11-30-1952, pp. 1 and 10. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=39224016&sterm
Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Hospital Fire Arson Hinted; 3 More Dead.” 11-29-1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=39224002&sterm
Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Huntington Hospital Fire Kills 14.” 11-27-1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=39223938&sterm
Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Legislature’s Fund-Lopping in 1951 Cited. Fireproofing Denied Board of Control; New Plea Planned.” 11-27-1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=39223938&sterm
Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Not Shelved, Says Holt.” 11-27-1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=39223938&sterm
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Blame Disputed for Deaths of 14 in Blaze at Hospital.” 11-28-1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046318&sterm
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Fire Chiefs to Meet, Discuss Fireproofing.” 12-5-1952, p. 8. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046570&sterm
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Fire Risk Said High at 2 Other State Hospitals.” 11-28-1952, pp. 1 and 3. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046318&sterm
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Funerals Are Arranged for 14 Victims of Fire.” 11-29-1952, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046355&sterm
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Here’s List of Dead in Huntington Fire.” 11-27-1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046288&sterm=huntington+fire
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Horrible Neglect” (Editorial). 11-28-1952, p. 12. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046329&sterm
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Hospital Attendant Grilled After New Huntington Fires.” 11-29-1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046354&sterm
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Huntington Hospital Fire Kills 14 Patients.” 11-27-1952, pp. 1 and 8. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046288&sterm=huntington+fire
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Huntington Plans Amateur Fire Aid.” 1-8-1953, p. 18. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40047628&sterm
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Millions Sought to Fix Firetraps.” 12-5-1952, pp. 1 and 5. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046563&sterm
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Probers Cease Questioning Hysterical Suspect Believed to Have Set One of 4 Huntington Fires.” 12-3-1952, p. 8. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046502&sterm
Charleston Gazette, WV. “Tech Dormitory Contract Given to Kuhn Company.” 12-10-1952, p. 18. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=40046767&sterm
e-WV. “Huntington State Hospital.” The West Virginia Encyclopedia, 3-2-2012. Accessed 12-27-2013 at: http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/760
Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, WV. “Gallery: Huntington State Hospital fire, Nov. 26, 1952.” 11-27-2013. Accessed 12-26-2013 at: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/multimedia/galleries/historicalphotos/x883171487/Gallery-Huntington-State-Hospital-fire-Nov-26-1952?photo=1
National Fire Protection Association. “Fires Causing Large Loss of Life.” Handbook of Fire Protection. 1954, p. 36.
Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “14 Die in ‘Fire Hazard’.” 11-28-1952, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=83989633&sterm
Raleigh Register, Beckley, WV. “14 Patients Killed. New Warning Issued as State Probes Fire at Huntington Hospital.” 11-28-1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=146040916&sterm
Wikipedia. “Rush D. Holt, Sr.” 8-8-2013 modification. Accessed 12-26-2013 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_D._Holt,_Sr.
[1] Article note: “James E. Casto was a reporter and editor at The Herald-Dispatch for more than 40 years before he retired in 2004. He’s the author of a number of books on local and regional history.”
[2] Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Hospital Fire Arson Hinted; 3 More Dead.” 11-29-1952, p. 1.
[3] Charleston Gazette, WV. “Funerals Are Arranged for 14 Victims of Fire.” 11-29-1952, p. 2.
[4] Charleston Gazette, WV. “Funerals Are Arranged for 14 Victims of Fire.” 11-29-1952, p. 2.
[5] Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Hospital Fire Arson Hinted; 3 More Dead.” 11-29-1952, p. 1.
[6] Charleston Gazette, WV. “Funerals Are Arranged for 14 Victims of Fire.” 11-29-1952, p. 2.
[7] Charleston Gazette, WV. “Funerals Are Arranged for 14 Victims of Fire.” 11-29-1952, p. 2.
[8] Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Hospital Fire Arson Hinted; 3 More Dead.” 11-29-1952, p. 1.
[9] Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “Huntington Hospital Fire Kills 14.” 11-27-1952, p. 8.
[10] Charleston Gazette, WV. “Funerals Are Arranged for 14 Victims of Fire.” 11-29-1952, p. 2.
[11] Charleston Gazette, WV. “Funerals Are Arranged for 14 Victims of Fire.” 11-29-1952, p. 2.
[12] Rush Dew Holt, Sr. was a United States Senator from West Virginia from 1935-1941, and a member of the WV House of Delegates from 1931-1935, and again in 1954-1955 when he died. (Wikipedia. “Rush D. Holt, Sr.” 8-8-2013 modification.)
[13] Today we would say flammable.