1982 – April 30, Arson Fire, Pinter residential Hotel, 14th Street, Hoboken, NJ — 13

— 13  National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. 1983, p. 138.

— 13  National Fire Sprinkler Association.  F.Y.I. Fire Sprinkler Facts.  1999, 6.

— 13  UPI. “The Region; Death Toll Now 13 in Hoboken Fire.” New York Times, 5-6-1982.

— 12  Del Rio News-Herald, TX. “Fire sweeps through hotel, 12 dead.” 5-1-1982, p. A.6.

— 12  Hoboken Fire Department. “Hoboken Fires: Important Fires in Hoboken History.”

— 12  The Progress, Clearfield, PA. “Sixteen Dead in Jersey Fires.” 5-1-1982, p. 12.

 

Narrative Information

 

Hoboken Fire Dept.: “1982: An arson fire at Pinter’s Hotel at Fourteenth Street claims 12 lives.”  (Hoboken Fire Department. “Hoboken Fires: Important Fires in Hoboken History.”)

 

Newspaper

 

May 1:  “Hoboken, N.J. (AP) – A suspicious fire swept through a four-story residential hotel early Friday, forcing panicked residents to jump from windows and killing 12 people….

 

“Officials said 31 people, including 13 children, were in the Pinters Hotel when the fire broke out at 4:22 a.m. Seven people were injured, and at least six of those killed were 15 or younger.

 

“Flames spread quickly through the building, barely giving survivors a chance to clamber down a rear fire escape and jump to the roof of an adjacent building.  Others, trapped in their one-bedroom apartments, threw themselves and their children to rescuers waiting on the street below.

 

“Police Lt. James E. Peck identified the dead as Anna Hilda Perez, 45; Francisca Vasquez, 41; John Serrano, 38; Olga Garcia, 22; Luz Delia Garcia, 17 or 18; Ismael Vasquez, 15, Angel Luis Perez, 8; Charlie Serrano, 3; Jorge Negron, 18 months; Catherine Torres, 6 months; and Erica Negron, 1 month.  Peck said the identity of the 12th victim was withheld pending notification of kin.  It was not known if the victims were related.

 

“Fire officials termed the blaze suspicious because “it spread so fast, the tenants didn’t have a chance to evacuate,” said Deputy Fire Chief Edward McDonald. “An empty container of unknown substance was removed from the building,” said Deputy Fire Chief Edward McDonald. “Something was there that shouldn’t have been.””  (Del Rio News-Herald, TX. “Fire sweeps through hotel, 12 dead.” 5-1-1982, p. A.6.)

 

May 1: “Hoboken, N. J. (UPI) — Two suspicious fires that trapped screaming residents who were forced to drop babies from windows killed 16 people, seven from one family, and injured 18 others within hours of each other, authorities said.

 

“Twelve people died in a Hoboken hotel fire Friday morning that sent residents flocking to windows screaming for help. Ten of the victims were trapped by flames and thick smoke. Two women died when they leaped from upper floors….

 

“Seven of the 12 killed in the Hoboken fire were from one family.  Firefighters arriving at the blaze found the stairwell and second-floor hallway engulfed in flames.  As residents jammed the rear fire escape, others blocked by flames tossed their children out windows into the arms of police and neighbors and then jumped for their lives, said Hoboken Fire Chief James Houn.

 

“Hudson County Prosecutor Harold Ruvoldt said arson appeared likely and authorities would conduct an arson investigation. Ruvoldt said fires set for profit and revenge were a “serious problem” in Hoboken, where arson-related fires have claimed over 40 lives in the past 2½ years….

 

“Although authorities would not comment, witnesses said they feared an incident at the ground-floor tavern run by hotel owner Barbara Pinter might be related to the fire.  Hotel manager Patricia Franklin, who was tending bar at The Steak House, said a man threw a bottle at her and slashed her arm with a knife as she was trying to close up at 1:40 a.m.  “I doubt if it’s related to the fire but if he did it, he should be tortured,’ Ms. Franklin said.

 

“Mrs. Pinter said there was also “trouble on the top floor” that morning.  She said there was a “fight” between a woman, who had been asked to leave the hotel by Saturday, and one of her neighbors.”  (The Progress, Clearfield, PA. “Sixteen Dead in Jersey Fires.” 5-1-1982, p. 12.)

 

May 6: “Hackensack, N.J., May 5– The death toll in last week’s hotel fire in Hoboken has risen to 13 with the death of a 20-year-old woman who was being treated for burns. The woman, Maria Colon, died Tuesday of cardiac arrest at Hackensack Hospital’s burn unit, a spokesman said. The fire killed 12 persons, including seven members of one family, when it swept through the four-story Pinter’s Hotel at 151 14^th Street last Friday. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the blaze, but say they suspect arson. Two other victims, a firefighter and 15-year-old girl, remain hospitalized.” (United Press International. “The Region; Death Toll Now 13 in Hoboken Fire.” New York Times, 5-6-1982.)

 

Sources

 

Del Rio News-Herald, TX. “Fire sweeps through hotel, 12 dead.” 5-1-1982, p. A.6. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=112261631&sterm=hotel+fire+hoboken

 

Hoboken Fire Department. Hoboken Fires: Important Fires in Hoboken History. Accessed 3-5-2013 at: http://www.hobokenfire.org/fires.cfm

 

National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983.

 

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

 

The Progress, Clearfield, PA. “Sixteen Dead in Jersey Fires.” 5-1-1982, p. 12. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=149706599&sterm

 

United Press International. “The Region; Death Toll Now 13 in Hoboken Fire.” New York Times, 5-6-1982. Accessed 5-15-2017 at: http://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/06/nyregion/the-region-death-toll-now-13-in-hoboken-fire.html