1945 — Jan 16, Fire, General Clark Hotel/Boarding House, Clark St., Chicago, IL — 14
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard for: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/ Last edit 12-14-2023.
— 14 Carbondale Free Press, IL. “Fourteen People Die in Chicago Hotel Fire…” 1-16-1945, 1.
— 14 Daily Journal-Gazette, Mattoon, IL. “14 Perish in Chicago Hotel Fire.” 1-16-1945, p. 1.
— 14 Daily Journal-Gazette, Mattoon, IL. “Jury Hearing Hotel Fire Evidence.” 1-18-1945, p. 2.
— 14 Daily Register, Harrisburg, IL. “Chicago Hotel Fire Kills 14 Persons…” 1-16-1945, p. 1.
— 14 Dixon Evening Telegraph, IL. “Chicago Hotel Blaze Termed ‘Accidental’.” 1-24-1945, 6.
— 14 Lima News, OH. “7 Fire Victims Unidentified.” 1-17-1945, p. 13.
— 14 National Fire Protection Assoc. “General Clark Hotel Fire.” Quarterly, 38/4, Apr 1945, 231.
— 14 National Fire Protection Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).
Narrative Information
National Fire Protection Association: “The fire in the General Clark Hotel, Chicago, January 16, 1945 (see photograph on opposite page [which notes 14 deaths]) is another tragic illustration of the results of disregard for the fundamentals of life safety from fire. This old building, said to have ben the site of a similar fire in which 50 lives were lost in 1910, was of combustible interior construction, with open stairways serving as flues for the upward spread of fire, had no automatic sprinklers and no alarm system.
“The building was liberally equipped with outside fire escapes (on sides not shown in this picture [which we do not reproduce]), but these did not save the lives of sleeping persons not aroused in time to reach the fire escapes before they were cut off by smoke and flame.
“The well equipped Chicago Fire Department rescued twenty-three, but with no one on duty in the hotel the alarm was not sounded until the fire was discovered by a passer-by, too late to save more lives. The fire was reportedly of incendiary origin, but the results would presumably have been the same irrespective of the cause of the fire starting in a basement storeroom. Every one of the factors responsible for the loss of life in this fire is amply covered in the Building Exits Code, the N.F.P.A. standard prepared by the Committee of Safety to Life.
“<odern building codes generally require fire-safe construction for new hotel buildings, but little is done to safeguard old buildings, on the theory that a building which was in accordance with all existing standards at the time of its erection should not be penalized by being required to make costly changes to comply with subsequent laws.” (National Fire Protection Assoc. “General Clark Hotel Fire.” Quarterly, 38/4, Apr 1945, 231.)
Newspapers
Jan 16, Associated Press: “Chicago, Jan. 16. – (AP) – A fast moving, spectacular, fire early today attacked the seven story General Clark Hotel in North Clark Street, on the edge of the loop, killing at least 14 persons and injuring five others. Six hours after the conflagration was discovered firemen continued o search the ruins for bodies of additional persons possibly trapped in the 40 year old stone and frame building.
“Fire Commissioner Michael J. Corrigan said 13 bodies were found in the wrecked hostelry and one woman was fatally injured when she missed a fireman’s net in a jump from a third floor window. One of the 14 victims, all of whom were removed to the Cook County Morgue was identified. He was Joseph Feilen [unclear], about 61.
“Scores of persons in the hotel, which contained 75 rooms, were rescued ore fled to the streets on fire escapes. Several leaped to firemen’s nets while others were carried down ladders by firemen.
“Flames and billowing smoke visible for miles attracted thousands of spectators and 33 pieces of equipment responded to extra alarm calls sounded. The fire was discovered about midnight and was not brought under control until after 3 A.M. Its origin was not determined immediately but an investigation was underway.
“Two servicemen, passing the hotel when the fire broke out hauled down the lower leaf of a fire escape and helped seven persons on upper floors to descend….” (Carbondale Free Press, IL. “Fourteen People Die in Chicago Hotel Fire Today.” 1-16-1945, p. 1.)
Jan 16, International News Service: “Chicago — (INS) — Fourteen persons perished early today when fire swept the ancient five-story Hotel General Clark near the heart of Chicago’s business district. Fire Commissioner Michael J. Corrigan, who called the fire one of the worst in the last 25 years, said a complete search of the building would be made later in the day to determine if there were other victims in the debris. Of those who died, nine were fatally burned, four suffocated, and one, the only woman victim, died in a leap from her third floor front window to the pavement.
Hotel Widely Patronized.
“The moderately-priced hotel was widely patronized by service men and it was feared a number of them were among the victims.
“Coroner A. L. Brodie, who opened an immediate investigation into the cause of the laze, said he was told so many stories that it appeared the whole structure had burst into flames at practically the same time.
“Mayor Edward J. Kelly, one of the thousands of spectators at the fire, ordered city building inspectors and the fire attorney’s office to aid in learning how the fire spread so rapidly.
“First firemen on the scene said the building was such an inferno that they were unable to enter. Their first efforts were to raise ladders and spread life nets to assist the 76 terrified occupants. By this time many were in the windows screaming for help. The firemen saw an unidentified woman standing on the window ledge ready to leap and tried to dissuade her until they could spread a net or raise a ladder, but she jumped to her death.
“One engine company dissuaded Louis Caplan, 71, who was in a fourth floor window, only by turning hose lines on the walls near him and so spraying him with water. He eventually was carried down a ladder, but it was found he had suffered severe burns as well as exposure.
“Harry Rosenberg, 57, the night manager, told Coroner Brodie he first noticed the fire when he smelled smoke coming from a store room just to the rear of the registration desk. He said: ‘The flames came out so fast, sweeping over the switchboard, that it was impossible for me to notify the guests’.” (Daily Journal-Gazette, Mattoon, IL. “14 Perish in Chicago Hotel Fire.” 1-16-1945, p. 1.)
Jan 16, United Press: “Chicago, Jan. 16 – (UP) – Fourteen persons died early today and eight others were injured when fire swept through the six-story General Clark hotel on the northern edge of the Loop. Thirteen of the victims were men and the other was an unidentified woman who died of injuries received when she jumped from a three-story window to escape the flames. All of the dead had been permanent guests of the hotel.
“All of the bodies of victims were found in the upper stories of the building. Some of them were
trapped in hallways by the rapidly spreading flames and others were found in their rooms.
“Nearly all the guests in the building were forced to flee in their nightclothes. Mrs. Frances Willis, 45, a waitress, one of the first to discover the fire, ran down the fire escape in her pajamas
and turned in the alarm. A passing soldier loaned her his coat.
“The fire, which swept through the four upper stories of the structure, was discovered about midnight and spread so rapidly that three alarms were turned in within 17 minutes. Firemen battled for two hours to bring the blaze under control.
“Thousands of persons, attracted by screaming fire sirens, watched as guests trapped in the upper
stories leaped into nets or ran down fire escapes to safety.” (Daily Register, Harrisburg, IL. “Chicago Hotel Fire Kills 14 Persons, 8 are Injured.” 1-16-1945, p. 1.)
Jan 17, UP: “Chicago Jan. 17 – (UP) — Seven of the 14 victims of a fire which swept thru the General Clark hotel early yesterday remained unidentified today as a coroner’s jury began an investigation of the Loop’s worst disaster in 25 years. An investigation by Michael J. Corrigan, fire commissioner, and John L. Fenn, chief of the fire prevention bureau, indicated that the fire started in the rear of a cigar store on the first floor….All of the victims were permanent residents of the hotel.” (Lima News, OH. “7 Fire Victims Unidentified.” 1-17-1945, p. 13.)
Jan 18. INS: “Chicago – (INS) – Testimony began Wednesday before a coroner’s jury in an effort to determine the cause of the disastrous General Clark Hotel fire in which 14 persons, one a woman, lost their lives early yesterday. The woman…was identified as Miss Mary Ann Walsh, 21, of River Forest. The identification was made at the Cook county morgue by relatives and her employer, Bernard Rex, owner of a food shop in the suburb. Rex said he had requested River Forest police to search for Miss Walsh when she failed to return home after visiting an aunt Sunday.
“Coroner A. L. Brodie, who impaneled a hand-picked jury of experts yesterday, told them: “You men have a free hand in this investigation. I am expecting you to go into everything thoroughly and perhaps be ready with recommendations which will prevent any similar tragedy in the future.” (Daily Journal-Gazette, Mattoon, IL. “Jury Hearing Hotel Fire Evidence.” 1-18-1945, p. 2.)
Jan 24, AP: “Chicago, Jan 24 – (AP) – A coroner’s jury returned a verdict of accidental death yesterday in its investigation of a fire in the General Clark hotel which cost the lives of 14 persons Jan. 16. Failure of the present municipal fire code to include recommended restrictions of fire hazards was the principal cause of loss of life in the hotel tragedy, the jury asserted.” (Dixon Evening Telegraph, IL. “Chicago Hotel Blaze Termed ‘Accidental’.” 1-24-1945, p. 6.)
Jan 25: “The revelations of inadequacy in the fire prevention service of Chicago brought out by the investigation of the Hotel General Clark disaster raised the question whether wartime shortages of trained firemen had caused any similar relaxation of prevention standards in the village [Oak Park, IL]. (Oak Leaves, Oak Park, IL. “Inspections of Public Buildings Continues Here.” 1-25-1945, p. 17.)
Sources
Carbondale Free Press, IL. “Fourteen People Die in Chicago Hotel Fire Today.” 1-16-1945, 1. Accessed at : http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=97500006&sterm=general
Daily Journal-Gazette, Mattoon, IL. “14 Perish in Chicago Hotel Fire.” 1-16-1945, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=117528727&sterm=general
Daily Journal-Gazette, Mattoon, IL. “Jury Hearing Hotel Fire Evidence.” 1-18-1945, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=114689823&sterm=general
Daily Register, Harrisburg, IL. “Chicago Hotel Fire Kills 14 Persons, 8 are Injured.” 1-16-1945, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=9400740&sterm
Dixon Evening Telegraph, IL. “Chicago Hotel Blaze Termed ‘Accidental’.” 1-24-1945, p. 6. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=3485591&sterm=general
Lima News, OH. “7 Fire Victims Unidentified.” 1-17-1945, p. 13. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=18954639&sterm=general+clark
National Fire Protection Assoc. “General Clark Hotel Fire.” The Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 4, Apr 1945, p. 231.
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.)
Oak Leaves, Oak Park, IL. “Inspections of Public Buildings Continues Here.” 1-25-1945, p. 17. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=183981436&sterm=general