1955 — Feb 12, Barton Hotel fire, sub-zero temp., “Skid Row,” W Madison, Chicago, IL-29

–29 Assoc. Press. “Flophouse Fire Death Toll 29.” Mt. Vernon Register News, IL. 2-17-1955, p.1.
–29 Jones, Jon C. “A Brief Look At The Hotel Fire Record.” Fire Journal, NFPA, May 1981, 39.
–29 NFPA. Summary of Fire Incidents 1934-2006 in Hotel Fires in the United States. 2008
–29 National Fire Sprinkler Association. F.Y.I. 1999, p. 6.
–29 Ward. “Hotel Fires: Landmarks in Flames…,” Firehouse, March 1978, p. 41.

Narrative Information

Feb 12, AP: “At least 23 men were killed and 14 were injured today in a fire which raced through the crowded Barton Hotel on Skid Row on West Madison street. Firemen said another body had been sighted in the wreckage of the five-story building, which contained 365 4 by 6 foot cubby holes for transients.

“Some of the other 245 residents scurried outside into zero temperatures without shoes or socks to protect them from the icy streets. Others were carried down ladders by firemen.

“C. W. Harvey, the hotel’s night clerk, said the fire may have started from a human torch. Joe Armatzo, about 70, a pensioner, started to scream in his cubicle on the second floor and ran out covered with flames. Armatzo habitually used rubbing alcohol, hotel officials said, and might have been using the rubbing alcohol while smoking.

“Firemen fought the flames for nearly four hours in zero temperatures and a 20 mile wind before bringing it under control. At least two firemen were among the injured.

“Anthony Dykes, 45, a janitor at the hotel, told police the first alarm of the fire came from an unidentified many on the second floor. The cause of the blaze was not immediately determined.

“Coroner Walter McCarran said he would make a ‘thorough’ investigation of conditions at the hotel. He said he was ‘appalled’ by the fact that 245 persons were permitted to live in the four stories of the hotel.

“When the blaze threatened to spread to another hotel – the Famous hotel – 20 persons, including a baby, were forced to flee.

“The biting cold forced firemen to spread salt on home lines to keep them from freezing over.”
(AP. “23 Men Die in Chicago Skid Row Hotel Blaze.” Moline Daily Dispatch, IL, 2-12-1955, p.1.)

Feb 14, UP: “Chicago (UP) – A blue ribbon coroner’s jury heard Monday that there had been frequent fires in a Skid Row hotel that turned into a death trap for at least 26 men. While the inquest was going on firemen probed the ruins of the Barton Hotel, on West Madison street, for more bodies and found another not previously sighted. They said it was possible more might be there, but if there were the number was not yet determined.

“Tony Dykes, 40, a maintenance man at the hotel, told the jury that small fires frequently broke out. He said most of them originated in mattresses. Dykes said the four-by-six-foot cubicles at the hotel were enclosed by chicken wire. The chicken wire was designed to prevent pilfering, he said. Dykes said he saw a man in one of the cubicles sheathed in flames shortly after he first heard the yell, ‘Fire!’ This human torch was identified as James Armatys, one of the first identified dead.

“As the jury convened firemen dug out the body of the 25th known victim. Early efforts to remove the body had been abandoned because of the shaky nature of the floors and walls.

“At noon the inquest was adjourned until Feb 17, when it will reconvene at the county building for an examination of the hotel ledger and records.” (United Press. “Fire, Explosion Among Disasters.” Edwardsville Intelligencer, IL, 2-14-1955, 1)

Feb 17, AP: “By Associated Press. Chicago – The death toll of the Feb. 12 fire in the Barton Hotel, on the West Madison street Skid Row, rose to 29 today. Firemen recovered the 29th body from the debris.” (AP. “Flophouse Fire Death Toll 29.” Mt. Vernon Register News, IL. 2-17-1955, p. 1.)

Sources

Associated Press. “23 Men Die in Chicago Skid Row Hotel Blaze.” Moline Daily Dispatch, IL, 2-12-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-13-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/moline-daily-dispatch-feb-12-1955-p-1/

Jones, Jon C. “A Brief Look At The Hotel Fire Record.” Fire Journal, NFPA, May 1981, 38-41.

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

United Press. “Fire, Explosion Among Disasters.” Edwardsville Intelligencer, IL, 2-14-1955, p. 1. Accessed 4-13-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/edwardsville-intelligencer-feb-14-1955-p-1/

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