On Sunday, December 29, 1963, a fire broke out in the 13-floor Hotel Roosevelt in Jacksonville, Florida, killing 22 people. HARRISON - On a cool December morning 40 years ago, about 100 people walked into the luxury hotel Stouffer's Inn to attend business conferences with companies like Nestle. [1] An arsonist, Gerald Willey of Randolph, Ohio, had poured gasoline on the carpet on the first floor of the two-story roadside motel and set it on fire with a lighted match. Husband supported the idea of a memorial immediately after the fire, and at its dedication in December, gave a most eloquent speech about Hickling, as reported in the Vernon News. The hotel was erected in 1684, The Globe reported, and it has hosted famous guests like Fred Rogers of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.". That night, 170 people perished trying to escape a fire that started from a kerosene lamp that fell over, a death toll that exceeds the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire that occurred in New York City three years later. We first read Aliki's FOSSILS book then moved into LUCY. he said. On June 19, 1946, two weeks after the La Salle Hotel fire, a fire broke out in the six-story 200-room Canfield Hotel in Dubuque, Iowa, killing 19 people. "I did it. 3. [32] According to fire captain Harold Cosgrove, 30 people were rescued by jumping onto nets and 27 were carried down ladders. (Herald archives.) Cook, prospector. "Hes in the place he needs to be," said Zeller, who now works in the Hilton accounting department. Orange tentacles of flames engulfed a large section of the high-rise Address Downtown Dubai hotel soon after the fire started around 9:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. Witnesses said they heard explosions . The Tribune wrote . [21][22] On August 3, 1944, George Holman, a 47-year old cafe proprietor, was found guilty in San Francisco of 22 counts of murder in the first degree for setting the fire. [37], On November 18, 1963, a fire broke out in the Surfside Hotel convalescent home[39] in Atlantic City, New Jersey, killing 25 people, mostly elderly Jews. Albers or former disgruntled hotel manager Alex Smith as the person responsible for the fire. The fire department was also able to save some. It spread through two stairways and all the halls, killing 20 people (14 men and six women) and seriously injuring 10 others in a time span of 63 minutes until firefighters extinguished it. Officials said in the release Sunday that the property was last inspected on April 12, when officials found it had a functioning alarm system and fire extinguishers. [6], The Hotel Adams in Phoenix, Arizona was completely destroyed by an early morning fire which started in the hotel's basement. The fire started on the first floor between the north and west wings of the hotel around 2:30am. NEW YORK: Fourteen lives were lost in a fire last night [Dec. 3] in a cheap hotel in Chicago called the Lincoln. He now lives just south of town, but . His former client never helped himself, either. July 1998 Fire investigators believed that lightning sparked a fire that erupted on the 21st floor of Palace Station . [31] The La Salle fire prompted the Chicago city council to enact new hotel building codes and fire-fighting procedures, including the installation of automatic alarm systems and fire safety instructions inside hotel rooms. [52], The hotel had been built in 1929. He was already burnt and his clothing in flames, yet when he heard that cry for help he never hesitated, but met and faced an awful death. I did it. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [citation needed], The first call to the Jacksonville Fire Department was made at 7:45a.m., by hotel doorman Alton Joseph Crowden. Rome teenagers Billy Walden, Charles Keith, James 'Buzz' Slatton and Lamar Brown were among 119 victims of a fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta on Dec. 7 of 1946. The jury endured a seven-week trial that included plenty of tedious technical testimony about the fire, flames and arson. [18] The fire burned quickly through walls and doors and engulfed most of the hotel's 56 single rooms and 23 apartment units, where some 123 tenants were sleeping. People staying Legoland's hotel had to be guided to safety after a fire. The hotel was . Twenty-six of them . NEWPORT, R.I. (WLNE) Flames ripped through a section of a Newport hotel forcing guests to evacuate Monday night. Its interesting to note different spellings of Gannett/Jarrett and McKay/Mackey on the monument and headstone. ATLANTA Tuesday marks 75 years since over 100 people lost their lives in what remains the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history. Some believed Cline set the fire so he could look like a hero. Once he asked a friend to find their addresses, but the friend talked him out of it. Here are some of them, from Sun archives and a 2008 retrospective list of hotel fires. It was the worst single-day death toll in Jacksonville's history; even the Great Fire of 1901 had fewer fatalities. Guests broke windows and cried for help. The hotels famous neon-lit windmill toppled in the blaze. The hotel, built of brick veneer in 1892, and one of Vernons oldest buildings at the time, sat on the northwest corner of Barnard Avenue and Vance Street (where the former Woolworths-Liquidation World building is today, 30th Avenue and 33rd Street), the fire breaking out at 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 1909. Helicopters plucked people from the rooftop. On November 21, 1980, a fire broke out in the MGM Grand Hotel (now Bally's Las Vegas) in Paradise, Nevada, killing 85 people,[1] most through smoke inhalation. [1] The fire remains the deadliest in Houston's history. As of 2:30 p.m. Saturday, firefighters continued to battle to flames. [1], In December 1977, a fire broke out in the Wenonah Hotel in Bay City, Michigan, killing 10 people.[1][62]. Over 110 people - including 30 children - died in the blaze. BELLOWS FALLS Almost 40 years ago, two young Bellows Falls firefighters lost their lives trying to rescue elderly people trapped inside the derelict Star Hotel during a fire. [53] One woman died after jumping from the seventh floor and three others died from jumping, one of them a small boy, who was found on the lower east wing roof. Firefighting efforts were hampered by narrow streets and low water pressure and by 12:30 a.m. the fire had spread across the entire 300-foot front of the building. [19] One child was trapped on the third floor of the hotel and screamed for 15 minutes before he died in the flames. Philip Cline tries not to think of that day 30 years ago. Two people were killed in the blaze. 2. According to Chief Steve Diener of the Intercourse Fire. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Kelly said his former client had many issues to raise on appeal, including his lack of a lawyer when he gave his confession, but for some reason Cline was never given an attorney to file an appeal. In a statement posted to its Facebook page, the Veranda House Hotel confirmed that all employees and guests had safely evacuated, and it thanked the fire department for its response. [10], On May 16, 1938,[14] a fire broke out in the Terminal Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, killing 35 people, although some sources claim the death toll was either 27 or 34. There's a reason that the death toll of the Winecoff hotel fire in 1946 has never been surpassed. Mon - Fri - 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM. Homicide detectives questioned him the next day. Guests broke windows and cried for help. 1943 The Meadows Hotel and Casino, built in 1931, burned down when the Las Vegas Fire Department ignored the alarm, because the Meadows was outside the city limits, east of Fremont Street and Charleston Boulevard. The fire originated in this room and quickly engulfed the casino and the lobby; smoke spread from the two-story lobby to other floors, and flames spread over an area of 437m. [1] Firefighters respond Saturday to a blaze at the Veranda House Hotel on Nantucket Island, Mass. [59], On January 10, 1976, a fire broke out in the Hotel Pathfinder in Fremont, Nebraska, killing 20 people. In addition to recognizing the firefighters, Murphy thanked Nantucket residents who have supported the efforts of officials fighting the inferno. Veranda House Hotel did not have a fire sprinkler system, which it was not required to have when it was built, officials said. BELLOWS FALLS Almost 40 years ago, two young Bellows Falls firefighters lost their lives trying to rescue elderly people trapped inside the derelict Star Hotel during a fire. By June, the woods were on fire in a hundred different places. [30] The hotel was refurbished after the fire and was finally demolished in July 1976; its lot is now occupied by the Two North LaSalle office building. [52] He was found guilty of starting a fire in at least two places in the hotel and was imprisoned for life, although he never admitted causing the fire. Nathan Chasing Horse pleaded not guilty Wednesday to sexual assault charges and invoked his right to a speedy trial. "[6], Mayor W. Haydon Burns immediately called for assistance from the U.S. Navy, and eight helicopters were flown to downtown from Cecil Field and NAS Jacksonville. After much renovation, the building was re-opened as a retirement home and the Jacksonville Regency House, which closed in 1989. Cameron House has been ordered to pay 500,000 after admitting to breaches of. But it wasnt meant to hurt anybody or kill anybody. The deaths were from smoke inhalation, burns, cuts and other injuries. At 2:30 a.m. on March 20, 1970, an arsonist sets a fire that sweeps up two stairways of the wooden five-story 60-room Ozark Hotel at Westlake Avenue and Lenora Street in Seattle. I admit it. [13] Memorials are still held to remember those who died in the fire; the most recent gathering occurred in December 2003, for the 40th anniversary of the blaze. The victims are . . [53], On January 16, 1972, a fire broke out in the Pennsylvania House Hotel in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, killing 12 people. Even now he struggles to find the words he would say to the families he changed forever. Also killed in the fire were Dennis McFarland, 32, Boone, Iowa; Frank Greenfield, 22, West Bloomfield, Mich.; Robert Leach, 54, Honolulu; Harry Gaines, 69, and his wife, Lorraine Gaines, 67, Los Angeles; Zeny Carvalho, 64, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Jack Turinsky, 41, Anchorage, Alaska. However, the new rules are reported to have made many people homeless in the 1980s, since those living in low-income housing could not afford to make the mandated changes and hence deserted their houses. [48], On September 13, 1970, a fire broke out in the Ponet Square Hotel at Pico Boulevard and Grand Avenue in Los Angeles, killing 19 people. National TV networks gave live coverage of the fire and the rescue operations undertaken by Puerto Rican firefighters, using helicopter services and rescuing people from the roof of the hotel. The woman had testified about walking down the hall to get ice and passing a man on a hotel phone reporting a fire. He never told his family, and he never told his lawyers. [48][49][50], The arsonists were never caught, despite a large police inquiry. [59] The alarm was raised about 11pm when smoke was seen drifting out of a second-story window and a man was hanging from a window; he was later rescued by firemen. At least five of the fire's fatalities were people who jumped from the upper stories. Damage was estimated at $25,000. Cline filled out three written statements that night, one for the hotel, one for fire investigators and one for police. The Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, California, is not famous because of its near 100-year history or its beautiful Beaux-Arts lobby, but rather because it has been the scene of tragedies and deaths many times over. By continuing to browse or by clicking I Accept Cookies you agree to the storing of first-party and third-party cookies on your device and consent to the disclosure of your personal information to our third party service providers or advertising partners to optimize your experience, analyze traffic and personalize content. [48] The fire quickly engulfed the two staircases and the lobby that separated them. Another woman jumped head-first out of the window and was killed instantly. Drone video captures fire at historic Nantucket hotel. Over a ten-year period, she underwent seven surgeries and lost a leg, but still worked until retirement age and lived until 1992. By then his growing rap sheet included charges of possessing stolen property, possessing burglary tools and embezzlement. The coffee waiter who was the chief suspect was arrested and initially convicted by the jury, but was later released by the judge for lack of evidence. Monday will mark the 50th anniversary of the single biggest mass homicide in Alaska history, the Lane Hotel fire of Sept. 12, 1966. Kalhan Rosenblatt is a reporter covering youth and internet culture for NBC News, based in New York. At 2:00a.m., when the night manager came out of his office room to check a commotion in the hall, he discovered an already large fire that singed him badly. However, a number of fires have broken out in Las Vegas hotels over the years. The inquest recommended more modern fire fighting equipment be purchased and more fire hydrants be placed on Barnard Avenue. [57] The fire's intense heat melted the face of the clock in the tower of the Morgan County Courthouse. A Scottish luxury hotel has been fined half a million pounds over a fire that claimed the lives of two guests. The fire alarm system was not tied to the local fire department, and although some people reported a bell ringing, they failed to realize it was the emergency alarm bell. [25] Six were hospitalized with injuries. The guard left to find another one, and the flames kept growing. Those who could not reach the fire escape tried to jump from the windows of their rooms. Dana Fuller, 25, and Terry Brown, 21, had gone into the burning apartment building in downtown Bellows Falls to find the trapped residents in the rundown hotel. [12] The building was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in February 1991. The fire department devoted 14 engines and 4 ladders with a complement of over 100 firemen and 20 units to the fire and were able to control it within 50 minutes. Expand. Two firefighters were taken to hospitals for suspected heat exhaustion, and another was transported for a back injury, the report said. [16] One hotel guest reported having to jump from the second-floor elevator cage. "Lastly to all the outpouring of water, Gatorade, food, and thoughts from the community, The Department members THANK YOU," he wrote. Fourteen men and six women die and 10 others are hospitalized with serious injuries. The researchers believe she fell from a height of some 40 feet, hitting the. Im responsible for that," he said. The Ozark Hotel fire, Seattle, March 1971. In 2009, Vernon filmmaker Bruce Mol produced a movie called When Duty Calls The Story of The Okanagan Hotel Fire of 1909, Vernon, B.C. 2005 A three-alarm fire at the Aztec Inn, just north of Sahara Avenue on the Strip, forced the evacuation of the casino and caused an estimated $200,000 in damages but no injuries. Shortly after 8 p.m., firetrucks surrounded the burning hotel. On July 4, 1984, an arson fire set at a low-rent rooming house in Beverly, Massachusetts killed 15 people. 34 people died and 44 were injured, including 14 firemen. Standing there on the street he was in safety; he knew the danger of going back. Fire crews from half a dozen communities were called about 8 p.m. to the . Variance sought to extend height of Summerland development, Pentictons student robotics club competing in Victoria, Penticton Vees Josh Nadeau named B.C. Fire Erupts At Florida Keys' Adults-Only All-Inclusive Resort Lifestyle Travel Massive Fire Erupts at the Florida Keys' First All-Inclusive Hotel Just Months After Opening The Bungalows Key. [33], On December 7, 1946, a fire broke out in the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, killing 119 people. Archie Hickling was a working man, what is often called a common man, yet in that last half hour of his career he did a deed which made his whole life sublime. HONESDALE., Pa., Nov. 5 A fire that was considered suspicious swept a landmark 19th century hotel in northeastern Pennsylvania today and at least 12 persons were believed dead, officials said . Vendome Hotel fire day 1 . [53] Two firemen were injured, including a fire captain who hung upside down on a 45-foot broken ladder for 25 minutes before being rescued. Kind of weird family tradition I suppose, but LUCY LONG AGO came along at the perfect time for my 7 and 9 year old. He has considered reaching out to the victims relatives. Flames shot through the building. No arrests were made in this case. The top two floors collapsed. This fire spurred the City Council to enact stringent new fire codes, which forces hotel and apartment owners to add sprinklers and fire doors, and abide by other fire codes or be forced to close. The fire was set by a man whose ex-girlfriend was going out with someone who was staying in the building. April 7, 1955 A spectacular fire heavily damaged one of the second floor wings of the under construction Moulin Rouge hotel. A 31-year-old woman is charged with arson and wilful damage after allegedly lighting a fire under a bed at a Cairns quarantine hotel, forcing the evacuation of more than 160 people. [15] The fire broke out in the basement and shortly afterwards a bellhop heard a kitchen boy yell, "O Lawdy, fire". A marker is also erected in the Pleasant Valley Cemetery commemorating the dead, though only nine are on the marker. Caught unawares, many people were trapped on the upper floors, and most of the deaths were among people forced to jump. Allen), we commit the keeping of this monument, and to you, the people of Vernon, we commit his memory.. The nuns in Holy Child Killiney taught Lucy Kennedy what it means to be quiet. District Judge Michelle Leavitt set another hearing for March 9 to appoint him a standby attorney through the Clark County public defenders office. Fire officials rushed to help, entering the building without protective equipment, to ensure that no one was stranded in the inferno, the report said. SPARE CHANGE: Wayfinder fire is a reminder of blazes I've covered in the past. [8] A woman died after attempting to climb to safety from her 11th floor room, but slipped while on the makeshift bedsheets rope she had made. Casino cook Valerie Moore was convicted of setting the fire and sentenced to 12 consecutive life prison terms without parole.[88]. [1] 12 people died in the hotel, which was opened in 1980. It can be found on YouTube. "We couldnt go with the death penalty, because we didnt think he did anything to hurt anybody," Kelley said. After a long, hot morning of mapping and surveying for fossils, they decided to head back to the vehicle. The fire at the hotel in Windsor broke out at the front of the building at about 15:35 BST on Sunday. Their bravery will not go unnoticed. At 2:30 a.m. on March 20, 1970, an arsonist sets a fire that sweeps up two stairways of the wooden five-story 60-room Ozark Hotel at Westlake Avenue and Lenora Street in Seattle. When it came to deciding Clines fate, the jury settled into a debate over whether he deserved to be a free man again, he said. During his nearly three decades in prison, Cline has gotten his high school diploma and has kept busy, avoiding the torment of reliving that night in his mind. [44] The owner of the hotel, Virgil McVicker, believed that the fire was caused by an explosion in the boiler room. "A lot of people, I think they think I did it on purpose, and it wasnt done on purpose," he said. A second alarm was requested at 4:17am, and ultimately the fire went to four alarms and at its height 23 fire trucks and at least 90 firemen were on the scene,[64] more than three-quarters of all available on-duty Kansas City fire companies, including companies from Kansas City, Kansas. Panic set in as flames climbed into the night sky, rekindling memories of the deadly MGM Grand hotel fire less than three months earlier. [16] The hotel was rebuilt in 1938 and not included in the Hotel Row District. Sparks from a short circuit in a hotel deli started a major fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas at 7:10 AM on Nov. 21, 1980. "I would like to further state the heroic efforts of several community members including Patrick Marks, Jim McIntosh and off-duty Captain Nathan Barber (and I am sure I may be missing names) [who] saved lives on Saturday," Nantucket Fire Chief Stephen A. Murphy said in the release Sunday. 400,000 years ago . We're fortunate to live in a community that sees only occasional four- or five-alarm fires, requiring help from multiple communities. Authorities received a report about a fire at the Veranda House hotel just after 6:45 a.m. Saturday, at which time an off-duty captain and several people ran to the scene to help evacuate. The fire was mostly extinguished at about 8 p.m. Saturday more than 14 hours after it began. The fire started on the sixth floor and spread rapidly through the hallways and staircases, trapping more than 60 people,[52] but most escaped through windows. At the time, it was the third fire that the hotel suffered in several weeks, but fire investigators did not connect the trio of blazes. On Christmas night 1961, a fire destroyed Nashville's Maxwell House. "The Veranda House team is deeply grateful to the Nantucket Fire Department and first responders for their quick action taken during this incident," the statement read. Privacy Policy and But Monday's blaze at the Wayfinder Hotel (which everyone still calls the Mainstay) had the potential to be disastrous. [77][78] It today operates as the Renaissance Westchester Hotel. On March 28, 1944, a fire, believed to have been deliberately set, destroyed the New Amsterdam Hotel in San Francisco, California. [56], At about 2:30am on August 25, 1974, a fire broke out in the Washington House Hotel at the corner of Fairfax and Washington Streets in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, killing 12 people[1] and spreading from the brick building to seven adjoining buildings. Philippines hotel fire reveals neglect of safety standards. That last charge involved the theft of $100 while he worked at the El Cortez, a crime he pleaded guilty to less than two weeks before the fire. [1] The fire started around 11:30pm in a closet near the cocktail lounge on the ground floor and destroyed the four-story section of the building, which was built in 1891. He also wrote that he had grabbed a wastebasket and filled it with water in an attempt to quell the flames. [54], The hotel remained standing after the fire and was renovated in 1977 and converted into offices. Then, "for no reason, I just, I had his lighter, and I lit the curtains on fire," he said. When you do bad stuff, karma comes back on you. [10][11] Among the dead were seven Michigan state legislators: state senator John Leidlein and state representatives T. Henry Howlett, Charles D. Parker, Vern Voorhees, John W. Goodwine, Don E. Sias, and D. Knox Hanna, who were in town for a special session of the state legislature. [23] On August 15, he was sentenced to 22 concurrent life terms in prison. [5], On February 22, 1902, the Park Avenue Hotel in New York City was partially destroyed by a million-dollar fire that killed at least 14. [53] He was released on April 2, 2013 after his conviction was called into question. (Roger Knox - Black Press), Monument to Archie Hicklings bravery and memory on Aug. 10, 1909 erected in Vernon Park. "He set the fire. [1] It is the worst fire disaster in the history of Kansas City. [5] The old ceiling, which was deemed a fire hazard, was not removed when the new ceiling was installed, providing kindling for the fire, which started from faulty wires. The extent of the fire was minimal but it created considerable thick smoke, which hampered rescue efforts. The other nine victims were buried in one large, mass grave. Loggers, homesteaders and campers started some of the blazes accidentally. Firefighters received a report that the hotel, which is. In January 1966, a fire broke out in the Hotel Carleton in St. Paul, Minnesota, killing 11 people. 75 people died from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning and 4 from smoke inhalation alone; only 4 people died as a result of burns.[74]. Many people who woke up were unable to escape and died in the rooms. [48], Since the building lacked modern fire fighting facilities, Seattle made major changes to its fire codes. [40] The fire spread to adjacent buildings, all of which were closed for the season except for workmen, who were able to escape. A few broke the window panes and jumped out, or escaped down the fire escape. Social Hour. [1] 26 were injured, 8 of them critically. Fred Ball, 45, and John Antwan Caver, 29, were arrested on arson charges. [87], On October 31, 2006, a fire in the 84-year-old Mizpah Hotel in Reno, Nevada, killed 12 people. Since the conversion, paranormal activity has frequently been reported in the building, including the smell of smoke during the night, running on the upper floors, lights turning on and off, and apparitions. [19] The guests either fled through the corridors with coats over their heads or jumped from their rooms and were killed because the stairways were blocked by the fire. [53] The majority of the occupants of the hotel at the time were attending three different banquets on the ground floor and those 650 or so people were easily evacuated. The club, which returned to its original name in 1939, has overnight lodging for 73 on the upper floors. Support Centre It was the last one that made him a suspect. Darting into the hellish cauldron of flame, smoke and noxious gases, he reached the girl and got her out through the window, whence she was speedily rescued; but heroic Hickling sank back into the pit of death and was seen no more alive. The fire department reported that no civilians were injured in the fire. Clines roommate had warned him not to smoke it all at once advice he ignored. (Vernon and District Family History Society - photo). Im responsible for it. The hotel operator, L.A . On June 5, 1946, a fire broke out in the La Salle Hotel in Chicago, killing 61 people, many of them children. [1][25][27] The fire began in the Silver Grill Cocktail Lounge on the lower floor on the LaSalle Street side adjacent to the lobby, spread quickly through the highly varnished wood paneling in the lounge and the mezzanine balcony overlooking the lobby, and rose through stairwells and shafts. Prosecutors said Thursday that they would consider the death penalty for a man accused in two killings within nine hours of each other. [28] According to the Chicago Fire Department the fire started either in the walls or in the ceiling at around 12:15am, but they were not notified until 12:35am. Just four days into its journey from Southampton, England, to New . Arnold Hardy, a 26-year-old graduate student at Georgia Tech, became the first amateur to win a Pulitzer Prize for Photography for his snapshot of a woman, later identified as survivor Daisy McCumber, in mid-air after jumping from the 11th floor of the hotel during the fire. The only route for people to escape was a single stairway; the building had no fire sprinklers, fire escapes, fire doors, or even an alarm bell. 7 Trailblazing American Women Entrepreneurs In the new study's version of events, Lucy died quickly but not painlessly. He had stolen cars. Now 53 and balding, Cline revealed he never had been completely honest about what happened that night. [53] The fire was reported to be an arson attack and a 16-year-old, Louis C. Taylor, was charged with felony homicide and arson. Guests were warned not to jump by a county patrol officer, who drove on the sidewalk and used his microphone to broadcast; "Don't jump. I says that not only we in Vernon, but the whole world is richer for this deed of heroism. "You set a fire in a crowded hotel what do you expect?". There were 245 people staying at the hotel on the night of the fire. Retired Las Vegas police homicide Detective Chuck Lee, who got Clines confession during a polygraph test, always believed Cline intentionally set the deadly fire, perhaps as part of a homosexual encounter in that eighth-floor elevator lobby. [18][19] Some fell to their deaths when floors collapsed, notably the second floor, and buried them in the basement under tons of debris. Clines lawyer, Kevin Kelly, argued that the hotel should share most of the blame for the deaths because of its failure to maintain basic fire safety devices such as fire alarms and sprinklers. Smoke and fire spread through the building, killing 85 people and injuring 650, including guests, employees and 14 firefighters. The saving grace in the building was an open core area with a large shaft up to the second floor, which enabled two people to escape. Heavy smoke and flames could be seen billowing from the roof of the. The fire started in the rear of the building and the first alarm was struck at 9:53 p.m.[45] The hotel's sprinkler system and misty air helped suppress the fire and firefighters initially thought it could be contained. 1998 The Las Vegas Hilton Hotel reported $1 million in damages from a two-alarm fire that forced the evacuation of six floors, but no one was injured. Preceding the fire, an odor of natural gas was detected in the stairway going down to the first floor. Only a common man, yet in the supreme test of manhood he did not fail. At the time of the fire, approximately 5,000 people were in the hotel and casino, a 26-story luxury resort with more than 2,000 hotel rooms. Now investigators are looking into violations of those standards in Oakland, California, where 36 people perished at a Dec. 2 concert inside the "Ghost Ship" warehouse. Considered one of Chicago's worst flophouse blazes,[37] a fire broke out in the five-story Barton Hotel on West Madison[38] on February 12, 1955, killing 29 people and gutting the hotel, a 49-year-old structure with 336 tiny 4ftx6ft rooms with 7-ft high chicken-wire ceilings, where the nightly rate was 65cents per person.