1944 — April 13, Fire, Douglas County Home (for the poor), near Lawrence, KS — 8
— 8 AP. “Blaze Claims…Eight Inmates of Douglas…” Emporia Gazette, KS, 4-13-1944, p. 1.
— 8 Hall, Brian. “The Douglas County Poor Farm.” TauyCreek.com (blog), 11-22-2014.
— 8 NFPA. “Multiple-Death Fires in Nursing Homes & Homes for the Aged, 1921-1978 (list).”
Narrative Information
April 13: “Lawrence, April 13 (AP) — Eight inmates were burned to death with the Douglas county home, two miles south of Lawrence, was destroyed by fire early today. Twenty-nine others escaped without injury.
“The dead: Alice Bebout, 68;[1] William Sinclair, 88;[2] Ida Clark, 62;[3] Peter Lucius, 83; Fred Plateman, 88; Isaac Tabor, 71; Lafayette Tabor, 82; and Elizabeth Whitelaw, 76.
“The origin of the fire in unknown.[4] Caretaker George Hoskinson reported that it started in the boiler room of the two-story 50-room structure and spread rapidly….
“Lawrence firemen said the fire had swept rapidly through the 35-year-old brick and wood structure. It had gained such headway when they arrived that they concentrated their efforts on preventing the flames from spreading to nearby farm buildings on the county home grounds. Other buildings were not damaged.
“The aged residents made homeless by the fire were taken to the Lawrence community building, where they were given cots and food by the Red Cross….
“George Hoskinson, superintendent of the home, and Mrs. Hoskinson were credited with saving the lives of the 29 persons who got out of the burning building. Panic gripped many of those rescued and some broke away as they were being led outside. ‘These we followed and forcibly took out,’ Hoskinson told Fire Chief Paul Ingels….” (Associated Press. “Blaze Claims Lives of Eight Inmates of Douglas County Home.” Emporia Gazette, KS, 4-13-1944, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Blaze Claims Lives of Eight Inmates of Douglas County Home.” Emporia Gazette, KS, 4-13-1944, p. 1. Accessed 7-1-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/emporia-gazette-apr-13-1944-p-1/?tag
Hall, Brian. “The Douglas County Poor Farm.” TauyCreek.com (blog), 11-22-2014. Accessed 7-1-2017 at: http://www.tauycreek.com/2014/11/the-douglas-county-poor-farm.html
National Fire Protection Association. “Multiple-Death Fires in Nursing Homes & Homes for the Aged, 1921-1978 (list).” In: United States United States Congress, House of Representatives. Boarding Home Fires: The Tip of the Iceberg (Hearing before the Subcommittee on Health and Long Term Care, Select Committee on Aging, 96th Congress, First Session, April 25, 1979). Washington, DC, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979, pp. 312-314.
[1] Tauy Creek blog notes her age as 86.
[2] Tauy Creek blog has name was William St. Clair of Big Springs.
[3] Tauy Creek blog notes her age as 80, also noting she was from Lecompton.
[4] The Tauy Creek blog writes that “Fire Chief Paul Ingels surmised that the fire started in a fusebox.”