1981 — March 14, Royal Beach (Residential) Hotel Fire, Chicago, IL — 19

— 19  Bartholomew. “March 14, 1981 — Royal Beach Hotel Fire.” Connecting the Windy City.

— 19  Chicago Sun-Times.  “Blaze Was Deadliest in 10 Yrs.,” December 10, 1991.

— 19  Hill. “19 Die in Chicago Hotel Fire.” NFPA Fire Journal, March 1982, pp. 53-61.

— 19  Jones. “1981 Multiple-Death Fires in the U. S.,” Fire Journal, V.76, N.4, July 1982, 68.

— 19  National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History.  1996.

 

Narrative Information

 

Bartholomew: “March 14, 1981— 19 people died and 14 others, including two policemen, are injured in an extra-alarm fire at the Royal Beach Hotel at 5523 North Kenmore Avenue in the city’s Edgewater neighborhood. Inoperable smoke detectors and doors that were not rated as fireproof led to the large loss of life in a fire that apparently began in the building’s laundry room which also doubled as a storeroom and spread rapidly from that location up an rear stairway, trapping victims in their rooms. The fire began at some time before 3:00 a.m., and when electricity failed residents, many of whom were patients in local drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, were left to find a way out through thick black smoke. The search for bodies began after the fire was struck at about 5:30 a.m. Said one firefighter, “Every time I opened a door, I found another body. We were to be relieved at 8 a.m., but at 7:30 I had to get out of there. I couldn’t stand it anymore.” [Chicago Tribune, March 15, 1981]” (Bartholomew, Jim. “March 14, 1981 — Royal Beach Hotel Fire.” Connecting the Windy City.)

 

Hill/NFPA: “An early-morning fire in the first-floor laundry room area spread to a nearby stairway and trapped many of the 62 occupants of this four-story residential hotel on March 14, 1981. The fire resulted in the deaths of 19 tenants, injuries to 13 persons and the collapse of a major portion of the building.

 

“The structural aspects of this building were factors contributing to both the fire spread and the number of fatalities. These structural aspects include:

 

  • Lack of proper protection in hazardous areas;
  • Penetration of corridor walls by floor joists;
  • Improper enclosure of stairways; and
  • Combustible construction of stairways.

 

“Although the building was classified as a hotel, its occupants ranged in age from the very young (in their 20s) to the elderly (in their 60s), and the physical and mental condition of some of the tenants probably affected the number of fatalities.

 

“Individual rooms of the tenants were protected by single-station, battery-operated smoke detectors; however, a post-fire examination revealed that several of these detectors did not contain batteries…. [p. 53]

 

“The Royal Beach Hotel…was a residential occupancy…located on the north side of the city, near the more fashionable North Shore section. The hotel served as home for both long- and short-term tenants and, reportedly, many of the occupants were also frequent out-patients of area alcohol and drug detoxification programs. Guest rooms within the structure were found to contain portable cooking equipment, indicating that the guests had a more permanent residential status.

 

“The hotel was built in the early 1900s…It adjoined similar structures only along the front portion…The 42-by-140-foot hotel was of ordinary construction, with masonry exterior walls and 2-by-12 inch wood joist…. [p. 54]

 

“The Chicago Fire Department received a telephoned report of smoke at 2:59 am. First-responding companies found fire visible in the rear portion of the building when they arrived at 3:02 am….Fire fighters found the rear stairway fully involved in fire and made a direct attack in this area. First-floor fire involvement also included the laundry room, which was approximately 15 feet beyond the rear stairway. The involvement of the rear exit had caused the fire to move swiftly to the upper floors and the collapse of part of the structure. As a result, the occupants in that area were cut off from normal means of egress from the building….

 

“…fire fighters successfully rescued 20 occupants from the upper floors by means of ground ladders….About 23 other residents made their own way out of the building. The failure of the hotel’s electrical power some time during the fire added to the confusion….

 

“Chicago Bomb and Arson Squad investigators determined that the fire had originated in the first-floor laundry room….” [p. 55] (Hill, Steven W.. “19 Die in Chicago Hotel Fire.” NFPA Fire Journal, March 1982, pp. 53-61.)

 

Sources

 

Bartholomew, Jim. “March 14, 1981 — Royal Beach Hotel Fire.” Connecting the Windy City. Accessed 5-25-2017 at: http://www.connectingthewindycity.com/2016/03/march-14-1981-royal-beach-hotel-fire.html

 

Chicago Sun-Times. “Blaze was Deadliest in 10 Yrs.” December 10, 1991.

 

Hill, Steven W.. “19 Die in Chicago Hotel Fire.” NFPA Fire Journal, March 1982, pp. 53-61. Accessed 5-25-2017 at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:1SVlsOPDktQJ:www.nfpa.org/~/media/FE11B8054EE04D0F90F4A569818084AE.ashx+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

 

Jones, Jon C.  “1981 Multiple-Death Fires in the United States,” National Fire Protection Association. Fire Journal, Vol. 76, No. 4, July 1982, p. 68.

 

National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996. Accessed 2010 at:  http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1352&itemID=30955&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Key%20dates%20in%20fire%20history&cookie%5Ftest=1