1977 — Jan 28, Stratford Hotel Fire (early a.m., below zero weather), Breckenridge, MN-16

— 16 AP. “Breckenridge fire arson, fire chief says.” Daily Journal, Fergus Falls, MN. 3-23-1977, 12.
— 16 AP. “Remains of 14 victims found.” Daily Journal, Fergus Falls, MN, 2-2-1977, p. 1.
— 16 AP. “Search for Hotel Fire Victims Goes On.” Albert Lea Tribune, MN, 1-31-1977, p. 3.
–~16 AP. “Wind, Cold Hamper Search for Victims…Blaze.” Brainerd Daily Dispatch, MN, 1-30-1977, 1.
— 16 Jones, Jon C. “A Brief Look at the Hotel Fire Record.” Fire Journal (NFPA), May 1981, 41.
— 16 McDermott. “Stratford Hotel – An Echo of the Past.” Wahpeton Daily News, 1-31-2017.
— 16 National Fire Sprinkler Association. F.Y.I. 1999, p. 7.

Narrative Information

Jan 28, AP: “Breckenridge, Minn. (AP) – Twenty-two persons were unaccounted for after a fire swept an old three-story hotel in blizzard-like conditions before dawn today. Hugh Mikkelson, the mayor of the small town on the North Dakota border, said it might be several hours before a death count could be made. He said a crane would have to be brought in ‘to start lifting debris.’

“About six hours after the fire broke out, only one person had been accounted for. Douglas Johnson, described as a veteran railroad worker, was rescued from a second-floor window of the Stratford Hotel by Policeman Jim Worner [also reported as Warner], the first on the scene. Worner saw Johnson trying to get out of the window. A fire truck arrived, Mikkelson said, and Worner got a ladder and brought Johnson from the window. Mikkelson said Worner then tried the burning building by a back door but was ‘blown out, when the onrush of cold air hit the hot air in the building.’

“The mayor said the fire was reported in the western Minnesota city of 4,200 about 4:30 a.m. A telephone call came from a woman believed to have been Catherine Stade, owner of the hotel. Mrs. Stade, an elderly widow, ‘hasn’t been located.’…

“Mikkelson said he had a list of 22 persons who were unaccounted for but it was not known how many had been in the hotel. The names, he said, included persons who had planned to stay overnight in the Breckenridge area and whose whereabouts today was not known by relatives. Four members of the hotel staff also were on the list.

“Mikkelson said the fire, of unknown cause, apparently started on the first floor and spread rapidly to the upper levels. ‘It was completely out of control when the fire department arrive,’ the mayor said.

“Fire departments From Fergus Falls and Moorhead, Minn., and Wahpeton and Fargo, N.D., helped Breckenridge firemen fight the flames. When the fire broke out, Mikkelson said, the wind was gusting to 40 miles per hour and the wind chill factor was 85 below zero. About 10 firemen were treated for frostbite.

“The mayor said the Stratford was known as a ‘railroad hotel,’ where workers on the Willmar-Breckenridge run often stayed. However, the Burlington Northern Railroad said none of its employes was missing.” (Associated Press. “22 Missing in Hotel Fire.” Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, MN, 1-28-1977, p. 1.)

Jan 30, AP: “Breckenridge, Minn. (AP) – A search for 16 persons believed killed in a hotel fire Friday was suspended about 4 p.m. (CST) Saturday. No bodies had been found. Officials said the search was called off because of heavy smoke still coming from the ruins and bitterly cold weather. A temperature of zero with winds up to 30 miles per hour had resulted in a wind chill factor of 70 below zero, the National Weather Service said. The search was scheduled to resume around 10 a.m. Sunday. Earlier, a deputy state fire marshal said it was possible that some bodies ‘may not be recovered until spring.’….

“Mayor Hugh Mikkelson named 16 persons, down from Friday’s estimate of 22, whom authorities speculated might have been hotel guests. The list was compiled from telephone calls from relatives and friends of persons who might have registered at the 67-year-old wood frame and brick building.

“Douglas Johnson, 41, Aberdeen, S.D., is believed to be the only guest who survived. Johnson, a light sleeper, said he was awakened by a cracking noise such as a fuse box shorting out. Unable to flee down the hotel’s smoke-filled hallway, he broke out a window and police reached a ladder up to his second-story window. Authorities and Johnson said they heard no cries elsewhere in the building. ‘We assume smoke asphyxiated the victims and they never had a chance to get to the windows and cry for help,’ said Fire Chief Dick Thompson….” (Associated Press. “Wind, Cold Hamper Search For Victims of Hotel Blaze.” Brainerd Daily Dispatch, MN, 1-30-1977, 1.)
[Note: there is a “tentative list” of the sixteen missing persons below this story.]

Jan 31, AP: “Breckenridge, Minn. (AP) – A plastic tent and portable heaters were to be placed over the frozen ruins of a hotel fire Monday to thaw the debris and help searchers locate the bodies of 16 persons. Subzero temperatures and biting winds caused the rubble – sprayed with more than a million gallons of water by fire-fighters – to freeze in ice-covered chunks in the basement of the three-story Stratford Hotel….

“The first fragmentary charred bones of one of the victims was uncovered late Sunday [Jan 30]. ‘If this is a representative sampling of the remainder of what may be in there, we’ll never know who died,’ said Wilkin County Medical Examiner Bill Brooks. Brooks said the bones were ‘just barely identifiable as human remains. It’s so badly incinerated that it’s next to nothing.’….

“Tallman [Asst. State Fire Marshal] said the wood-frame and brick hotel had its last fire safety inspection in 1976 and said no irregularities were found. The building passed inspection under a ‘grandfather clause’ in the state fire code relating to safety standards, Tallman said. ‘Any new building today is much more safe than this old building,’ he said ‘There is only so much you can do with older buildings’ to upgrade safety requirements.

“Here are the persons missing and presumed dead in the fire:

Marvin Ben, Lakefield, Minn.;
Howard Decker, Grand Forks, N.D.:
Oakley Hennagir, Fargo, N.D.;
James Keeping, Lake Park, Minn.;
Don Luick, Wahpeton, N.D.;
Leroy Muth, Rothsay, Minn.;
Gordon Pederson, Tracy, Minn.;
Cyrus Crawford, Veblen, S.D.;
Dan Schwanke, Grey Eagle, Minn.;
Douglas Stanley, Milnor, N.D.;
Ronald Wagner, Hawley, Minn.:

Louise Anderson,
Catherine State, [owner]
Anton Twedt,
Elizabeth Twedt, and
Annie Bergsjoe, all of Breckenridge, Minn.”

(Associated Press. “Search for Hotel Fire Victims Goes On.” Albert Lea Tribune, MN, 1-31-1977, p. 3.)

Feb 1, AP: “Breckenridge, Minn. (AP) – Portions of four of five bodies have been recovered from the ruins of the burned Stratford Hotel, Breckenridge Mayor Hugh Mikkelson said today, and one of the bodies has been identified. Authorities recovered the body of LeRoy Muth of Rothsay, Minn., Sunday afternoon. Identification was made possible by a jacket Muth often wore and by parts of a checkbook in his pocket.

“Mikkelson said parts of three or fur more bodies were discovered Monday…

“Muth’s body is so far the first whole body recovered from the frozen debris…Muth was an electrician and head lineman with the City of Breckenridge…Muth apparently commuted to work from Rothsay which is about 12 miles north of Breckenridge. Mikkleson said Muth was the city’s newest employe, having begun work last August….

“Wilkin Cunty Medical Examiner Bill Brooks said most bones found in the frozen debris of the three-story hotel were incinerated and useless for identification….” (Associated Press. “Bodies recovered in Breckenridge fire.” The Pioneer, Bemidji, MN. 2-1-1977, p. 1.)

Feb 2, AP: “Breckenridge, Minn. (AP) – Firemen were to continue the search today for what may be the last two bodies remaining in the rubble of the Stratford Hotel, which was destroyed by fire last Friday. The remains of 10 bodies were discovered Tuesday. Four others had been found Sunday and Monday. Authorities believe that 16 persons failed to get out of the old, three-story hotel….” (Associated Press. “Remains of 14 victims found.” Daily Journal, Fergus Falls, MN, 2-2-1977, p. 1.)

March 23, AP: “Breckenridge, Minn. (AP) – Breckenridge Fire Chief Dick Thompson said today investigators have discounted all natural causes in the fire that destroyed the Stratford Hotel here, killing 16. Only one persons escaped the Jan. 28 blaze. Thompson said Minnesota State Fire Marshal C.C. ‘Rusty’ Tallman plans to talk with several more people about the fire. However, ‘the rapid start and all the witnesses we’ve talked to leave us no alternative than to believe it was arson,’ Thompson said.” (Associated Press. “Breckenridge fire arson, fire chief says.” Daily Journal, Fergus Falls, MN. 3-23-1977, p. 12.)

Sources

Associated Press. “22 Missing in Hotel Fire.” Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, MN, 1-28-1977, p. 1. Accessed 9-26-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/albert-lea-evening-tribune-jan-28-1977-p-1/

Associated Press. “Bodies recovered in Breckenridge fire.” The Pioneer, Bemidji, MN. 2-1-1977, p. 1. Accessed 9-27-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bemidji-pioneer-feb-01-1977-p-1/

Associated Press. “Breckenridge fire arson, fire chief says.” Daily Journal, Fergus Falls, MN. 3-23-1977, p. 12. Accessed 9-27-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/fergus-falls-daily-journal-mar-23-1977-p-11/

Associated Press. “Hotel Burned Quickly.” Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, MN, 1-28-1977, p. 1. Accessed 9-26-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/albert-lea-evening-tribune-jan-28-1977-p-1/

Associated Press. “Remains of 14 victims found.” Daily Journal, Fergus Falls, MN, 2-2-1977, p. 1. Accessed 9-27-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/fergus-falls-daily-journal-feb-02-1977-p-1/

Associated Press. “Search for Hotel Fire Victims Goes On.” Albert Lea Tribune, MN, 1-31-1977, p. 3. Accessed 9-27-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/albert-lea-sunday-tribune-jan-31-1977-p-3/

Associated Press. “Wind, Cold Hamper Search For Victims of Hotel Blaze.” Brainerd Daily Dispatch, MN, 1-30-1977, 1. Accessed 9-26-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/brainerd-daily-dispatch-jan-30-1977-p-1/

Jones, Jon C. “A Brief Look at the Hotel Fire Record.” Fire Journal (NFPA), May 1981, pp. 38-41.

McDermott, Carrie. “Stratford Hotel – An Echo of the Past.” Wahpeton Daily News, 1-31-2017. Accessed 9-26-2021 at: https://www.wahpetondailynews.com/news/stratford-hotel—an-echo-of-the-past/article_125a94d0-e6ff-11e6-b912-d3628c9f96dc.html

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