1966 — Jan 28, Paramount Hotel Gas Explosions and Fire, Boston, MA — 11

–11  Boston Fire Historical Society. Boston’s Fire Trail. 2007, p. 93.

–11  Celebrate Boston. Boston Disasters. “Paramount Hotel Fire, 1966.”

–11  NFPA. Summary of Fire Incidents 1934-2006 in Hotel Fires in the United States. 2008.

–11  NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1966.” Fire Journal, Vol. 61, No. 3, May 1967, p. 37.

–10  NFPA. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). Line 442.[1]

 

Narrative Information

 

Celebrate Boston: “On January 28th 1966, a large gas explosion and fire occurred at the Hotel Paramount in Boston. The Paramount was located at Washington and Boylston Streets. Eleven people tragically lost their lives as a result of the fire, with more than 50 people injured.

 

“It was a cold winter night in January. Just after 6:30 pm, without any warning, a huge explosion occurred at the old Hotel Paramount in Boston’s Theater District. The explosion blew out the floor of Leonardi’s Cafe on the first floor, with the sidewalk collapsing into the basement. People were tossed into the air and then down into the cellar, with some victims immediately crushed to death by debris.

 

“The fire quickly spread to many parts of the building. Hotel guests were trapped in the upper floors, with at least 10 people rescued by ladder. Fire fighting was impaired by ice as the water was freezing almost instantaneously, and by debris that blocked access to some parts of the building.

 

“The January 30th 1966 New York Times describes the disaster:

 

“The explosion, believed to have originated underground, tore a 60-foot hole across the sidewalk and street in front of the hotel. Flames, apparently fed by gas, spurted 20 to 30 feet high for several hours.

 

Six of the dead were found in the cellar of the bar. The bodies of three other persons, who had apparently been overcome by smoke, were found in the lower floors of the Paramount Hotel.

 

By mid-afternoon today, none of the bodies had been officially identified. Most of the residents of the two small, inexpensive hotels are transients [the Hotel Plymouth was right next door to the Paramount]. The area is usually crowded with servicemen and out-of-towners. The explosion is believed to be caused by gas, and the state fire marshal’s office opened an investigation.”

 

“An article by firefighter William Noonan describes a spectacular rescue by one of Boston’s many brave firefighters:

 

“A woman was seen in the basement area, as the sidewalk was blown away. Heavy fire was showing in this area. Firefighter Bill Shea of the Rescue Company jumped into the basement with total disregard for his safety. The woman was unconscious and pinned by a beam, only her head was out of the water. She was not only in danger of being burned but also drowning. He managed to get the woman up, and with the help of other firefighters a ladder was dropped into the basement and Firefighter Shea brought this person to safety. Firefighter Shea was burned about the ears and hands and was transported to a hospital and would remain off duty for weeks.”

 

“A subsequent investigation determined the cause of the fire to be a circumferential crack in an 8″ gas main on Boylston Street. The gas had leaked into the basement, and then permeated up the elevator shafts. It is believed an elevator motor ignited the gas, with flames shooting up the elevator shafts all the way to the roof as the gas employed them like flues.

 

“Methods of detecting gas leaks, as well as procedures for turning gas lines off during fires, were revised after this disaster to reduce the risk of such an event from occurring again.”  (Celebrate Boston.  Boston Disasters. “Paramount Hotel Fire, 1966.”)

 

Newspapers

 

Dec 29: “A thundering below ground explosion ripped through a 10-story downtown hotel Friday night [Dec 28], turning it into a roaring inferno. At least nine persons were killed and 60 others injured. The blast tore apart a bar on the street floor of the Paramount Hotel, sending patrons plunging to the basement amid tangled, burning beams.

 

“Eight of about 60 persons taken to hospitals were admitted, and three were on the danger list. Among them was fireman William Shea, 37, who reportedly leaped through a wall of flame to rescue a woman. Only two of !he dead had been identified some 18 hours after the disaster. They were Albert While of Park Drive Manor, Philadelphia, and Herbert C. McBride, 40 a resident of the Paramount.

 

“Most of the dead were so badly mutilated officials had great difficulty establishing identities. In

some cases they had only a battered handbag, scraps of personal papers, or clothing to help them in their grim task.

 

“A fire department pumper this morning began pumping out some eight feet of water in the hotel cellar. Officials said other bodies might be trapped beneath the water-drenched rubble.

 

“Authorities said about 150 patrons fled without assistance. Several others were feared trapped and firemen worked into the morning hours searching the ice-laden debris for them.

 

“The explosion also rocked the adjacent Plymouth Hotel, a nine-story building with a first-floor night club. Authorities said the flames did not spread to the structure.

 

“The blast blew out a 68-foot section of the street, and left a pile of concrete, glass from shattered windows, and ice from water used to fight the flames.

 

“Kenneth Harrison of Boston was sitting at the bar with a girl: “I reached out for her hand and there was nothing there,” he said. “She had gone through the floor. Then all of a sudden I was in the cellar too, and I could see her arm sticking out of some wreckage.”

 

“Craters torn open along Boylston Street belched 30-foot flames and manhole covers turned white-hot. Rescuers staggered amidst debris that was quickly coated with ice in 15-degree temperature.

 

“The explosion took place in Boston’s so-called “Combat Zone,” an area off the Boston Common studded with rock ‘n’ roll bars, small restaurants and two theaters showing “adults only” movies.

 

“All of Boston’s emergency and disaster equipment was mobilized.

 

“Leo Kelso, 16, of South Boston, had just passed the Paramount, and the adjacent Plymouth Hotel when he heard the blast. “When I looked back,” he said, “I saw all the windows of the hotel just sort of cave out and then there was a second explosion and everything was orange inside. “There was a car in front of the building and when the second explosion went off, its front

end lifted up like it was on strings.”

 

“The last of the fires were not put out until about 2:30 a.m. Meanwhile, city officials, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities and the Boston Gas Co. were looking for a cause.

 

“Many of the rescued were carried down fire ladders from as high as the eighth floor of one hotel. Two others were pulled from the wreckage beneath the Paramount Hotel bar. “It’s a miracle anyone lived through it,” said Fire Chief William Terrenzi.

 

“As the first rescuers arrived on the scene, police arrested three men they said were looting a television and radio store across from the hotels.

 

“Thousands of persons converged on the area, but many soldiers, sailors and Marines helped police keep the throng at a safe distance.

 

“Fire officials said the loss of life would probably have been much greater if the explosion had occurred later in the evening. On a Friday night, the “Combat Zone” is usually filled with persons out for the evening, many of them servicemen.

 

“When the first fire fighters arrived, District Chief Michael Gavin said he ordered his men to “abandon work on the fire and go to rescue work.” Gavin said the smoke was so dense he could barely see, but “I could hear people screaming all over the place.”

 

“Authorities said they found six bodies in the basement of the Paramount and three others, victims of smoke inhalation, on upper floors. They said five of the dead were men and four women.

 

“The Boston Gas Co. issued a statement early today saying its crews had “isolated” the section of main in that area which apparently had been damaged in the explosion. Boston gas had shut off its main line in the area just after the blast. Eight Boston Edison electric lines were knocked out. An Edison spokesman said sidewalk caved in on cables, and they caught fire. Power to surrounding buildings was restored within a few hours.

 

“John Di Cicco, manager of the Paramount Hotel and bar, said: “All of a sudden there was an explosion from under the street and the floor started caving in. The lights went out, too.” Di Cicco said there were about 30 or 35 people in the bar.” (Lowell Sun, MA. “Nine Die, 60 Injured in Boston Holocaust.” 1-29-1966, p. 12.)

 

Jan 30: “Boston (AP)….At least nine persons were known dead and about 60 others were injured in the fire which swept the 10-story hotel, a bar and an adjoining coffee shop. The identified dead were:

Barbara Rawling, 35, Boston.

Patricia Osborne, 27, Boston.

Michael Cohen, 56, suburban Milton.

Albert White, [72],[2] Philadelphia, Pa.

Herbert C. McBride, 40, a resident of the hotel.

 

“Three of the injured were reported in serious condition at hospitals….Several others were feared trapped inn the ice-coated rubble and firemen worked to remove some eight feet of water from the hotel cellar on the chance other victims might be found.

 

“Manager John DiCicco of the 90-room Paramount, said 65 persons were registered, including

40 who were permanent residents. He was unable to say how many were in their quarters….”

(Lowell Sun, MA. “Hub Holocaust Toll Still Stands at Nine.” 1-30-1966, p. 60.)

 

Jan 31: “Boston (AP) – Workers shored up charred beams today before the search continued at the Paramount Hotel, ruined by an explosion and fire that claimed at least 10 lives. The search had moved slowly under the threat of cave-ins in the weakened structure and in the rutted street.

 

“Workers chopped through ice-encrusted debris and holes filled with frozen slush while a storm lashed them Sunday with high winds and more snow mixed with sleet….

 

“The tenth known victim, Mrs. Barbara DeMartino of Boston, died Sunday [Jan 30] at a hospital where she had been on the danger list since being dragged from the rubble Friday night. Three others still were on hospital danger lists.

 

“Building Commissioner Robert E. York ordered a delay in the search Sunday. He said he would determine how the search should continue after the beams are shored up. The basement of the Paramount Hotel had been drained of about 10 feet of water after workers shut off a broken water main. A spokesman said it would take another 24 hours of work to reach the area where more bodies might be found.” (North Adams Transcript, MA. “Workers Shore Up Beams at Boston Hotel Fire Site.” 1-31-1966, p. 4.)

 

Feb 22: “Boston (AP) – The death toll in the Jan. 28 explosion and fire at the Paramount Hotel has risen to 11 with the death of the hotel operator, Joseph D. Casale, 75. Casale died at City Hospital Tuesday night [Feb 22] of injuries suffered in the blast.” (Fitchburg Sentinel, MA. “New England News Briefs.” 2-24-1966, p. 4.)

 

Sources

 

Boston Fire Historical Society. Boston’s Fire Trail:  A Walk Through the City’s Fire and Firefighting History.  Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2007.  Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=RP_5vV_atJYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

 

Celebrate Boston. Boston Disasters. “Paramount Hotel Fire, 1966.” Accessed 10-2-2009 at:  http://www.celebrateboston.com/disasters/fires/paramounthotelfire.htm

 

Fitchburg Sentinel, MA. “New England News Briefs.” 2-24-1966, p. 4. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=50704977&sterm=paramount+hotel+dead

 

Lowell Sun, MA. “Hub Holocaust Toll Still Stands at Nine.” 1-30-1966, p. 60. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=18712603&sterm=paramount+hotel

 

Lowell Sun, MA. “Nine Die, 60 Injured in Boston Holocaust.” 1-29-1966, p. 12. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=55705050&sterm=paramount+hotel

 

National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013.)

 

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 Protection Association. “The Major Fires of 1966.” Fire Journal, Vol. 61, No. 3, May 1967, pp. 36-41.

 

North Adams Transcript, MA. “Workers Shore Up Beams at Boston Hotel Fire Site.” 1-31-1966, p. 4. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=62458037&sterm=paramount

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Incorrect on number of deaths. Newspaper reporting makes clear that there were 11 deaths — the last on Feb 22.

[2] North Adams Transcript, MA. “Workers Shore Up Beams at Boston Hotel Fire Site.” 1-31-1966, p. 4.