1945 — Aug 13, fire, Export Box & Sealer Co. packing plant, Grand Ave., Detroit, MI  —     15

–15  Herald-Press, St. Joseph, MI. “Orders Inquest Into 15 Explosion Deaths.” 8-24-1945, p. 5.

–15  Ludington Daily News, MI. “Death Toll Rises.” 8-22-1045, p. 1.

–15  Ludington Daily News, MI. “Visit Fire Scene.” 9-6-1945, p. 1.

–15  NFPA. “Detroit Packaging Plant Fire.” Quarterly, Oct 1945, Vol. 39, No. 2, p. 110.

–15  NFPA. “Large Loss Fires of 1945.” Quarterly of the NFPA, V39, No. 3 Jan 1946, p.211.

–15  National Fire Protection Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).

–14  Herald-Press, St. Joseph, MI. “Fixes Causes of Blast that Killed 14 Persons.” 8-20-1945, 1.

–14  Ludington Daily News, MI. “Detroit Fire Toll is Now 14 Persons.” 8-15-1945, p. 1.

–13  Ludington Daily News, MI. “Detroit Fire Takes 13 Lives.” 8-14-1945, p. 1.

Narrative Information

National Fire Protection Association. “Detroit Packaging Plant Fire.” Quarterly, Oct 1945:

“Fire in the plant of the Export Box and Sealer Company, Detroit, on August  13, killed 14 women and one man, caused injury to 42 others and property damage of approximately $350,000. The plant was a two-story structure of ordinary construction lacking automatic sprinklers or any other effective protection for the severe fire hazards involved.

“The plant was engaged in packaging replacement parts for tanks and aircraft for shipment overseas. The special waterproof packings involved the use of highly combustible materials and quantities of flammable solvents. In April 1945 the plant had been closed by order of the Detroit Fire Department because of violation o local regulations, but was subsequently allowed to reopen.

 

“Fire started in a degreasing tank which was supposed to have contained trichloroethylene, a non-flammable solvent at the time of the fire. The fire started during a rest period when women employees were in a recreation room on the second floor. The first shout of fire from the street floor was unheeded, perhaps drowned by the noise of a ‘juke’ box; a moment later it was too late to escape by way of the single wooden stairway which furnished the sole means of escape from the second floor. Many jumped from windows and sustained serious injuries. The Detroit Fire Department, summoned by box alarm, responded promptly, but it was already too late for effective rescue work. Eleven of those killed were found dead or died at the scene of the fire, two died in hospitals later the same day, and two died several days later as a result of burns and injuries.

 

“The fire apparently spread with extreme rapidity from its point of origin, owing to the presence of flammable solvents in large quantities. A number of explosions occurred during the fire, but apparently the fatalities were the direct result of burns rather than the explosions.

 

“This fire apparently reflects disregard of the most elementary considerations of safety to life and property from fire. A hazardous manufacturing building such as this should have ample exits so as to provide a safe path of escape for employees. Under any conditions at least two exits are specified as the minimum by the NFPA Building Exits Code, and additional exits should be provided where necessary to provide a safe means of escape from every part of the structure. Any processes using flammable liquids in such quantities should be in segregate one-story buildings or conducted in fire-resistive structures so arranged as to minimize any danger to employees in other parts of the building. Flammable liquids should not be stored in quantity in main manufacturing areas. Some form of automatic protection suitable for the hazard should be provided. There is no evidence in the present case that any of these obvious features of fire safety were observed.”

 

National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1945.” Quarterly, Jan 1946, 211:

“Aug 13, Detroit, Mich. Packaging Plant, $350,000.

 

“Fifteen people lost their lives and forty-two others were injured when a flammable solvent was poured into an overheated, gas-fired, degreasing vat (designed for trichloroethylene), which started a fire that flashed throughout the Export Box and Sealer Company plat at 4844 Grand River Avenue. Water-proofed packing materials, waxed paper and wax containers, wood cases, chronically poor housekeeping conditions and two open wood stairways at the rear of the building leading to the second floor caused the rapid spread of this fire. Investigation developed the fact that the flammable liquid in the solvent storage room did not contribute to spread of the fire. Plant personnel inexperienced in the hazards of this war-born industry, lack of training in the proper handling of flammable liquids and failure to follow the provisions for stairways and enclosures of th N.F.P.A. Building Exits Code were all factors in the tragedy. While there were five exits from the ground floor, only one of the open stairways from the second floor led directly to an outside exit on the ground floor. The rapid spread of fire trapped the majority of the personnel on the second floor, burning some employees to death within the building and trapping others as they sought escape through windows. A few were killed or injured in falls to the sidewalk from the second story.

 

“The occupancy of the building was originally registered with the city as a warehouse. This classification was not changed despite the introduction of obvious fire hazards. The fire marshal had ordered several inspections of the factory prior to the loss, and in April, 1945, had the plant closed due to housekeeping conditions found to be hazardous. Reopening was permitted the following day when a fire department inspection showed that the hazardous conditions had been improved. Apparently the improvement in conditions found at the time of the last inspection on July 28th was not maintained. The fire department had no authority over structural features of the building. Originally having only one unenclosed stairway between floors, a second stairway was suggested by the fire department and required by the building department, but when installed at a later date this likewise was open, providing additional draft for the spread of fire when it occurred. The Detroit Fire Department was summoned by a passer-by, but despite prompt response, effective rescue work was impossible.”

 

National Fire Protection Association Spreadsheet: “1945…8/13…Detroit…MI…15 [deaths] …Export Box & Sealer Co., Grand Ave…Packing Plant.”  (National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).)

 

Newspapers

 

Aug 14: “Detroit – (AP) – Police and fire officials pushed an inquiry today into one of Detroit’s worst disasters – a boxing plant blaze which snuffed out the lives of 13 persons Monday [Aug 13].  In the hushed rooms of the Receiving hospital doctors and nurses worked at the same time to keep the death toll from rising, with more than a score of injured and burned under treatment.

 

“The swift blaze, feeding on inflammables [flammables], broke out in midafternoon and swept the plant of the Export Box & Sealer company. Within moments the two-story building had turned into a crucible, and the employes, mostly women, fought to escape. Some, with clothes aflame, plunged through upper story windows to the sidewalk below. One woman burned to death on a window ledge. Ten victims, ranging in age from 20 to 62, have been identified. Nine were women. 

 

“Two men, both employes, were under technical arrest today as the investigation progressed. One of them himself was burned and in the hospital as a police prisoner.

 

“The company, which employs 180 persons, was engaged in boxing war materials for overseas shipment. 

 

“Fire Marshal Edward W. Hall said one theory was that the fire resulted from a leak of inflammable matter from a degreasing tank. Hall said the plant was closed last April when an inquiry disclosed fire hazards but that it was permitted to reopen after proper adjustments under building regulations had been made [the next day].

 

“The blaze broke out, some said, after an explosion – in the course of a rest period and while a juke box in the building was playing. The flames, racing through stocks of boxboard and cardboard, trapped many women in flight.  Pitiful scenes were enacted as relatives tried to identify victims.

 

“The fire was Detroit’s worst since the Study club fire of 1929, in which 30 persons died.

 

“The police arson squad ordered excavation of the ruins in an effort to learn whether there were additional bodies there.  Inspector George W. Smith of the arson squad said the fire had destroyed time cards of employes ‘and we are not too sure that everyone is out’.”  (Ludington Daily News, MI. “Detroit Fire Takes 13 Lives.” 8-14-1945, p. 1.)

 

Aug 15:  “Detroit – (AP) – Death toll in the fire and blast that swept the Export Box and Sealer Co. Monday afternoon rose to 14 today with the death of Mrs. Doris Jensen, 21, Friday night in St. Mary’s hospital. The body of another of the victims was identified as that of Mrs. Alice Zimmerman, 66. A recheck of company employment records disclosed five persons still missing.  One of the dead remains to be identified.” (Ludington Daily News, MI. “Detroit Fire Toll is Now 14 Persons.” 8-15-1945, p. 1.)

 

Aug 20: “Detroit, Aug. 20 (AP) – Detective Inspector George W. Smith, of the arson squad, reported today that the Export Box & Sealer Co. fire a week ago, in which 14 people perished, ‘was caused by the substitution of methyl alcohol (a highly inflammable fluid) for the non-inflammable tri-chlor-ethylene ordinarily used in the degreasing tank.’  The report said ignition probably took place when vapors from the methyl alcohol or spillage of liquid came in contact with in open flame beneath the degreasing tank. ‘This matter is still under investigation and a further report will be submitted when investigation is completed.’ Smith said.”  (Herald-Press, St. Joseph, MI. “Fixes Causes of Blast that Killed 14 Persons.” 8-20-1945, 1.)

 

Aug 22:  “Detroit – (AP) – The death toll in the Aug. 15 fire at the Export Box and Sealer company rose to 15 Tuesday when Mrs. Helen Coffell, 35, who was burned during the blaze, died at St. Mary’s hospital.”  (Ludington Daily News, MI. “Death Toll Rises.” 8-22-1045, p. 1.)

 

Aug 24:  “Detroit, Aug. 24 (AP) – Fr. Edmund J. Knobloch, Wayne County coroner, has ordered an inquest to start September 5, to determine whether there was criminal liability in the fire that caused the deaths of 15 persons at the plant of the Export Box & Sealer Co. last week.”  (Herald-Press, St. Joseph, MI. “Orders Inquest Into 15 Explosion Deaths.” 8-24-1945, p. 5.)

 

Sep 6:  “Detroit – (AP) – A coroner’s jury today visited the Export Box and Sealer company plant, where 15 employes lost their lives in a fire Aug. 13. The visit was a preliminary to the taking of detailed testimony to determine the cause of the blaze.” (Ludington Daily News, MI. “Visit Fire Scene.” 9-6-1945, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Herald-Press, St. Joseph, MI. “Fixes Causes of Blast that Killed 14 Persons.” 8-20-1945, 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=4103636&sterm=export+box

 

Herald-Press, St. Joseph, MI. “Orders Inquest Into 15 Explosion Deaths.” 8-24-1945, p. 5. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=4108340&sterm=export+box

 

Ludington Daily News, MI. “Death Toll Rises.” 8-22-10945, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=135512527&sterm=export+box

 

Ludington Daily News, MI. “Detroit Fire Takes 13 Lives.” 8-14-1945, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=135512500&sterm=detroit+fire

 

Ludington Daily News, MI. “Detroit Fire Toll is Now 14 Persons.” 8-15-1945, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=135512503&sterm=detroit+fire

 

Ludington Daily News, MI. “Visit Fire Scene.” 9-6-1945, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=135512574&sterm=export+box

 

National Fire Protection Association. “Detroit Packaging Plant Fire.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Oct 1945, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 110-111.

 

National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1945.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 39, No. 3, January 1946, p. 211.

 

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.)