1913 — Feb 28, Dewey Hotel Fire and possible gas explosion, Omaha, NE — 5-20
–20-75 AP. “Known That Many Perished.” Daily Times Enterprise, Thomasville, GA, 2-28-1913, p. 1.[1]
–30-60 NNA. “Great Loss of Lives in Hotel Fire…” Centralia Evening Sentinel, IL, 2-28-1913, 1.[2]
— 40 AP. “Forty Die in Omaha Fire.” Daily Times Enterprise, Thomasville, GA, 2-28-1913, p. 1.[3]
–20-25 Evening News, Sault Ste. Marie, MI. “Many Dead in a Hotel Fire.” 2-28-1913, p. 1.[4]
–15-25 Omaha Daily Bee. “Dewey Hotel Brings Death to More Than Score.” 3-1-1913, p. 1, 4.
— 5-20 Blanchard summary of sources below.[5]
— >20 Index to Dates of Current Events (Monthly). “Fires,” July 1913, p. 6.[6]
— 20 Lincoln Journal Star. “12 of the deadliest disasters in Nebraska history.” 6-15-2017.[7]
— ~20 Novotny. “Hotel Fontenelle and Hotel Castle.” Nebraska Library Commission. 9-15-2016.[8]
–15-20 Lethbridge Daily Herald, Alberta, Can. “Not Fewer than Fifteen…” 2-28-1913, p. 1.[9]
— 5-20 UP. “Destructive Fire in Omaha; 3 Dead, 20 Missing.” Weekly Courier, 3-7-1913, p8.[10]
— 15 Lincoln Daily Star, NE. “Fifteen or More Are Killed in Omaha Fire.” 2-28-1913, p. 1.[11]
— 5 AP. “Life Loss Heaviest in Omaha History.” Beatrice Daily Sun, NE, 2-9-1933, p. 2.
— 3 Omaha Daily Bee Extra. “Dead and Injured,” 3-1-1913, p. 1.[12]
Narrative Information
Feb 28: “Omaha, Neb., Feb 28 — Fire, believed to have been caused by a gas explosion, cost fifteen or more lives here today. The Dewey hotel, a second class hostelry, at Thirteenth and Farnam streets, was destroyed by flames which swept the three story building with a speed that precluded almost any rescue.
“Nearly all the guests had time to reach the stairways, but others were caught by collapsing roofs of the structure before they could be rescued from window sills on which they had taken refuge. Several of the victims jumped or fell from windows and met either instant death or mortal injuries.
“Accounts of the number of persons in the building differed to such an extent that no reliable estimate of the death list was possible today. The register of the hotel burned, but some of the hotel employes said that many of the lodgers were not registered. At noon only about twenty-five out of sixty persons estimated to have been in the building had been accounted for definitely, but it was known that a score or more of those who had escaped left the neighborhood without revealing their identity.
“Zero weather hampered the firemen and added to the sufferings of the injured….
“It is not probable that firemen working on the ruins will be able to rescue bodies buried beneath the debris before tonight or tomorrow. The entire interior of the hotel building was precipitated into the basement, carrying with it the bodies of those who did not escape from the burning structure. The front and side walls of the building were all that was left, and it appeared probable that these would have to be razed before the rescuers could enter the interior. Fire Chief Salter declared he would not permit his men to enter until the danger from these standing walls had been removed.
“Those known to have lost their lives are:
Charles Cummings, a bartender, jumped from the third story window; crushed to death.
Mrs. Alice Bonnivie [or Bonnevie], sister of the proprietor’s wife.
Unknown man, dragged from the building unconscious…died at the hospital.[13]
James Prokes, a coppersmith.
Charles Beverly, waiter.
“In addition to these, there are those whose bodies are buried in the debris of the building….
“Some of the injured:
….Mark Henningway, overcome by smoke, may die….
Unidentified woman, overcome by smoke, burned, will die….
“The suddenness with which the fire secured headway, due probably to escaping gas, gave the inmates little or no time to escape and many of them were caught lie rats in a trap. They found the halls filled with smoke and gas, and were choked by the fumes before they could reach the exits.
“Watchmen, policemen and others in the vicinity of the hotel declare that nor more than a dozen persons escaped from the burning structure, which was entirely wreathed in flames when the first fire company reached the scene.
“The hotel…was unduly crowded on account of the large number of visitors in Omaha attending the automobile show and other attractions. Last night it was nearly impossible for a stranger to secure lodgings and many slept on cots and some even were housed at the city hospital.
“The Dewey contained thirty-seven rooms and many of these contained two beds. The night clerk says there were more than fifty guests in the hotel. Others claim that the number was nearer 100.
“The fire, it is believed, started at about 5 1.m., while all were asleep, and gained rapid headway before being discovered….” (Lincoln Daily Star, NE. “Fifteen or More Are Killed in Omaha Fire.” 2-28-1913, p. 1.)
Feb 28: “By United Press. Omaha, Feb. 28. — At an early hour this morning fire destroyed the Dewey hotel…three are known to be dead, 20 are missing…
“Omaha, Feb 28, 2:00 p.m. ….It is believed that 20 persons lost their lives, this estimate being based on the number of missing. It may be that some of the missing ones have left the city without disclosed the fact. The dead which have been recovered are:
Charles Cummings.
An unidentified man.
Mrs. Alice Bonnevieu.
- R. Porter.
Dwight Bruce.”
(United Press. “Destructive Fire in Omaha; 3 Dead, 20 Missing.” Weekly Courier, Fort Collins, CO, 3-7-1913, p. 8.)
March 1: “Between fifteen and twenty-five men and women lost their lives early Friday morning [Feb 28] and nearly a score were badly hurt, when fire completely destroyed the Dewey hotel at Thirteenth and Farnam streets. At this time it is impossible to state the exact number of persons asleep in the place when the fire broke out, but it is believed that the number will exceed sixty. Of this number, perhaps two score escaped through the thick smoke with painful bruises, cuts or sickness due to the smoke….
“According to Jesse D. Nold, manager of the Dewey hotel and day clerk, there are thirty-four rooms available for use. At the time of the fire he says there was in the neighborhood of fifty persons in the place. In this statement he is upheld by Garrett E. Vliet, the clerk on duty.
“Police officers and persons acquainted with the lay of the Dewey hotel and its patronage, say that there are nearly fifty rooms in the place, and at a time like the present, when so many out-of-town visitors are here, there would be no less than 100 guests in the place….
“A few men, braver than others, attempted to mount the stairway to reach the panic-stricken ones [at windows], but the foul black smoke clogged their lungs and they were forced back ere they had advanced a dozen steps. Firemen from the No. 2 company, the first to reach the scene, saved a few guests near the windows….
“Special Watchman Frank Penry was the first to discover the real fire. At midnight Policeman Sam Morris and M. P. Ryan, passing the hotel, thought they smelled wood smoke. They made an investigation of the neighborhood and finally decided that the smoke emanated from the Dewey. Sparks could be seen in the air, but their source could not be determined. They notified Manager Nold and Clerk Vliet, however, and a thorough search of the building was made. Nothing was found.
“At 4:45 o’clock in the morning Penry saw the blaze in the back part of the Raphael-Pred store and turned in a still alarm. When he returned from the fire box the entire place was a seething furnace and the guests in the hotel, asleep, were caught like rats in a trap.
“Half an hour later, when it was certain that those remaining in the hotel were dead, Manager Nold, sitting in the Ohio restaurant with a Bee reporter, told of his escape. ‘I was awakened by Vliet’s shout of fire. I slipped into my trousers and started into the hall. The place was already full of smoke and had I not known the plan of the hotel as well as I did I, too, would have perished. God help those poor souls who had rooms on the other side of the building.’
“The fire was caused primarily, it is believed, by an overloaded furnace in the Dewey hotel building basement, directly beneath the clothing store. This, however, in itself would have caused no particular damage; but an explosion, believed to have been caused by gas, soon filled the place.
“Albert Smith, night clerk in the Pope drug store across the street, says a month ago the building was filled with gas from leaky pipes. Last night he says he heard an explosion less than a quarter of a minute before the place burst into flame. Smith’s assertion is backed up by that of Penry and several of the firemen who responded to the first alarm. The explosion was so heavy, it is said, that it rocked the building.
“Within two hours after the department had begun work on the place it was reduced to a grim ice shell. The roof and two floors caved in under the weight of the ice and water, and shortly after the south wall gave way, narrowly missing several firemen working behind it.
“Chief Salter, however, was extremely cautious in fighting the blaze. It was apparent that nothing could be saved and the only method of attack was to keep a constant sheet of water on it. The cold air froze the water and occasioned no little trouble to th firemen….
“That many of the fire victims never will be identified is the belief of hundreds. Owing to the local reputation of the hotel there were many women in the hotel with their gallants, and these almost without exception registered under assumed names or failed to register….
“Blame for the fire is placed entirely upon the shoulders of the management by Chief Salter….
“C. E. Wilkins, in whose name the Dewey hotel is leased and operated, is ill at a sanitarium near Lincoln. His condition is such that news of the holocaust was kept from him.” (Omaha Daily Bee. “Dewey Hotel Brings Death to More Than Score.” 3-1-1913, pp. 1 and 4.)
March 3: “Representative Foster of Douglas county offered a resolution in the house Monday afternoon deploring the Dewey hotel fire at Omaha and demanding stricter enforcement of the laws for state fire protection. The resolution also declares for legislation requiring all hotels and similar buildings in Omaha to be constructed of fireproof material….
“On objection by Representative Lee the resolution was laid over for a day. Mr. Lee said it would be a serious matter to require fireproof construction for all such buildings and would compel a good many owners to tear down their structures at great financial loss.” (Lincoln Daily Star, NE. “Deplores Loss in Dewey Hotel Fire.” 3-3-1913, p. 4.)
Seven Named (reported) Fatalities
Beverly, Charles (waiter).[14]
Bonnivie [or Bonnevie], Mrs. Alice (sister of the proprietor’s wife).[15]
Bruce, Dwight.[16]
Cummings, Charles (bartender), jumped from the third story window; crushed to death.[17]
Porter, A. R.[18]
Prokes, James, a coppersmith.[19]
Rickard, Renfree H. (Brand inspector and trainer and trader of horses.)[20]
Sources
Associated Press, Omaha. “Forty Die in Omaha Fire.” Daily Times Enterprise, Thomasville, GA, 2-28-1913, p. 1. Accessed 7-10-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/thomasville-daily-times-enterprise-feb-28-1913-p-1/?tag
Associated Press. “Known That Many Perished.” Daily Times Enterprise, Thomasville, GA, 2-28-1913, p. 1. Accessed 7-10-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/thomasville-daily-times-enterprise-feb-28-1913-p-1/?tag
Associated Press. “Life Loss Heaviest in Omaha History.” Beatrice Daily Sun, NE, 2-9-1933, p. 2. Accessed 7-2-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/beatrice-daily-sun-feb-09-1933-p-2/?tag
Evening News, Sault Ste. Marie, MI. “Many Dead in a Hotel Fire.” 2-28-1913, p. 1. Accessed 7-10-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/evening-news-feb-28-1913-p-1/?tag
Index to Dates of Current Events (Monthly). “Fires,” July 1913. NY: R. R. Bowker Co., 1913. Google digitized. Accessed 7-10-2017 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=kLkVAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Kuacistore. “3 RPPCs — Omaha, Nebraska Feb. 1913 Dewey Hotel Fire, 20 People Killed.” Accessed 7-3-2017 at: http://www.kuacistore.top/nebraska-c-1_151_920_1237/3-rppcs-omaha-nebraska-feb-1913-dewey-hotel-fire-20-people-killed-p-11375.html
Lethbridge Daily Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. “Not Fewer than Fifteen, Perhaps Twenty are Dead.” 2-28-1913, p. 1. Accessed 7-10-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lethbridge-daily-herald-feb-28-1913-p-1/?tag
Lincoln Daily Star, NE. “Deplores Loss in Dewey Hotel Fire.” 3-3-1913, p. 4. Accessed 7-3-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lincoln-daily-star-mar-03-1913-p-4/?tag
Lincoln Daily Star, NE. “Fifteen or More Are Killed in Omaha Fire.” 2-28-1913, p. 1. Accessed 7-3-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lincoln-daily-star-feb-28-1913-p-1/?tag
Lincoln Journal Star. “12 of the deadliest disasters in Nebraska history.” 6-15-2017. Accessed 7-3-2017 at: http://journalstar.com/blogs/photofiles/of-the-deadliest-disasters-in-nebraska-history/collection_6ae50d55-7d8a-5b6f-b1c3-b0b54cfe84f0.html#8
National News Association. “Great Loss of Lives in Hotel Fire at Omaha, Neb. Early this Morning. Dewey Hotel…Consumed.” Centralia Evening Sentinel, IL, 2-28-1913, p. 1. Accessed 7-10-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/centralia-evening-sentinel-feb-28-1913-p-1/?tag
Novotny, Allana. “Hotel Fontenelle and Hotel Castle.” Nebraska Library Commission, NCompass Blog. 9-15-2016. Accessed 7-10-2017 at: http://nlcblogs.nebraska.gov/nlcblog/2016/09/15/hotel-fontenelle-hotel-castle/
Omaha Daily Bee. “Dewey Hotel Brings Death to More Than Score.” 3-1-1913, pp. 1 and 4. Accessed 7-3-2017 at: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99021999/1913-03-01/ed-1/seq-1/
The Northwestern Reporter (Comprising all the decisions of the Supreme Courts of Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota), Vol. 160, December 22, 1916 – February 9, 1917. “Hoopes v. Creighton (No. 18737),” p. 742. St. Paul: West Publishing Co., 1917. Google digitized. Accessed 7-3-2017 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=-LcfrhJNjGYC&dq=dewey+hotel+fire+omaha+1913&source=gbs_navlinks_s
United Press. “Destructive Fire in Omaha; 3 Dead, 20 Missing.” Weekly Courier, Fort Collins, CO, 3-7-1913, p. 8. Accessed 7-3-2017 at: https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/cgi-bin/colorado?a=d&d=TWC19130307.2.141#
[1] “Omaha, Neb., Feb. 28. — Loss of life estimated at from twenty to seventy-five resulted from a fire which destroyed the Dewey Hotel, a second class hostelry today.”
[2] “The most conservative estimates place the list of dead from 30 to 50. At 10 o’clock this morning the fire chief expressed a belief that it would reach 60.” [NNA stands for National News Association.]
[3] The number of “40” deaths appears to have been invention of headline writer, in that no names of victims are noted in the article and no estimate of the number of deaths is found in the article, only that “…25 of the 60 persons estimated in the building had been accounted for…” Even if all unaccounted for were fatalities, that would be 35.
[4] “Loss of life, estimated at from twenty to twenty-five….The basement, into which the burning interior fell, contains at least forty bodies, according to the fire chief….Only four bodies were recovered before the flames drove the firemen from the building.”
[5] Not known how many actually died. Reports range from 5 to 25, with the higher figures all speculative. We have seen six names in the press and one in a law suit, though the six names in the press do not translate to facts. We use five deaths for the lower range in that a number of sources use five as the low end of an estimated loss-of-life range, and because we have not seen a report noting more than five specific deaths. Our tally of seven possible specific deaths is derived by taking names from different reports and a law suit and combining them. We use 20 deaths as the high range in that a 2017 retrospective news article notes 20 deaths, a Nebraska Library Commission website article notes 20 deaths, as does the July 1913 Index to Dates of Current Events, as well as news articles of the time.
[6] “Omaha, Neb. Dewey Hotel burns, 20 or more dead. F 28.”
[7] Noted as number 8 with the title “Dewey hotel fire of 1913, 20 deaths.” Within write-up it is written that “an estimated 20 people” died. We are also aware of a set of three postcards depicting what appear to be a photographs of the scene with a description “Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 1913 Dewey Hotel Fire, 20 People Killed.” (Kuacistory)
[8] The is an NCompass Blog. The cite notes it is an “Official Nebraska Government Website.” It is written that “around 20 people” were killed. The Blog notes for more information go to an embedded Omaha Daily Bee article. This article notes three known deaths.
[9] “…fire believed to have…cost fifteen or more lives today…” Article title notes “Perhaps Twenty are Dead.”
[10] While the title notes three deaths, an update lower in article notes five bodies recovered. The figure of 20 is based on people who were thought to be missing, though it is noted they may have just left the frigid scene.
[11] This is based on speculation of the number of bodies possibly buried deep within the debris field. In that the surviving walls were razed, it is conceivable there were unrecovered victims. The article notes five specific deaths.
[12] The Omaha Bee does not state how many died — it names three individuals (Cummings, Bonnivie and Pickard) under sub-heading of Known to be Dead.” It lists three people “Not Accounted For.”
[13] This might have been Renfree H. Rickard, a “brand inspector and a trainer and trader of horses at the South Omaha stockyards.” who is said to have occupied room No, 34. (Hoopes v. Creighton (No. 18737), p. 742 in The Northwestern Reporter, Vol. 160 (Comprising all the decisions of the Supreme Courts of Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota). December 22, 1916 – February 9, 1917. St. Paul: West Publishing Co., 1917.)
[14] Lincoln Daily Star, NE. “Fifteen or More Are Killed in Omaha Fire.” 2-28-1913, p. 1.
[15] Lincoln Daily Star, NE. “Fifteen or More Are Killed in Omaha Fire.” 2-28-1913, p. 1.
[16] United Press. “Destructive Fire in Omaha; 3 Dead, 20 Missing.” Weekly Courier, Fort Collins, CO, 3-7-1913, p.8.
[17] Lincoln Daily Star, NE. “Fifteen or More Are Killed in Omaha Fire.” 2-28-1913, p. 1.
[18] UP. “Destructive Fire in Omaha; 3 Dead, 20 Missing.” Weekly Courier, Fort Collins, CO, 3-7-1913, p. 8.
[19] Lincoln Daily Star, NE. “Fifteen or More Are Killed in Omaha Fire.” 2-28-1913, p. 1.
[20] The Northwestern Reporter, Vol. 160. “Hoopes v. Creighton (No. 18737), p. 742, 1917.