1978 Holiday Inn fire

The 1978 Holiday Inn Fire broke out at the Holiday Inn-Northwest which was located at 1525 West Ridge Road in the Town of Greece, near Rochester, New York, on November 26, 1978, and killed ten people.[1][2] Seven of the fatalities were Canadian;[3] 88 Canadians were staying in the hotel at the time on a holiday shopping trip. The fire was considered notable enough by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and The Center for Fire Research to document the fire in their 1979 publications.[1][4] In the end, 10 people were killed and 34 injured. In 2008, the NFPA listed the 1978 Holiday Inn Fire as one of only three dozen or so fires which killed 10 or more people in the United States between 1934 and 2006.[2]

Holiday Inn fire
DateNovember 26, 1978 (1978-11-26)
LocationGreece, New York
Coordinates43.205395°N 77.668405°W / 43.205395; -77.668405
TypeFire
CauseArson
Deaths10
Non-fatal injuries34

Fire

The building was built in 1963 at a cost of $1.3 million and consisted of a wood frame structure with interior hallways and 91 rooms. The building had passed a fire inspection earlier in the month.[5] The fire started on the first floor between the north and west wings of the hotel around 2:30 am. Cleaning supplies and paper products were stored in a closet near the fire's point of origin. Due to fire doors being left opened and the nearby combustible materials, the fire spread very rapidly. The fire alarm system was not tied to a dispatch center and although some people reported a bell ringing, they failed to realize it was the emergency alarm bell.[6] The fire was not reported to the fire department until 2:38 am when an off duty firefighter passing by reported it.[4] The fire burned out of control for more than two hours. One hundred and twenty-five firefighters from six area fire companies responded. About 170 people were rescued from the building by firefighters and passers-by.[7] The fire was declared under control at 4:34 a.m. with an ultimate toll of 10 dead—eight women and two men—and 34 injured. Investigators said the fire broke windows in the hallways connecting the motel's two wings. Flames shot up to the roofs of both wings and swept through an open area between the room's ceilings and roofs. Firewalls in the buildings did not extend to the roof, allowing the fire to rip through the top floor of each wing. The burning roof had collapsed into the top floor rooms.[8]

Investigation

Initially, the police did not consider the fire suspicious. Questions arose about whether or not the fire alarms could be heard in the lobby of the hotel when firefighters arrived. While hotel officials said the alarms were functioning, firefighters first at the scene said they were unable to hear the bells. Although the building met existing fire codes, it lacked some fire prevention equipment including smoke detectors and a sprinkler system. Additionally, the fire alarm system was not connected to the Greece-Ridge Fire Department or any other security agency, and there was only one vertical fire wall between the two wings. The alarm system consisted only of one bell in the middle of each of the two wings.[9] John Stickevers, an expert fire investigator from New York City, was brought in to assist with the investigation. He discovered that an uncommon highly flammable liquid accelerant was used to start the fire inside a storage cupboard under the first floor stairwell.[10] The fire was officially ruled as an arson attack, but no one was ever charged with this crime, and the case remains open today.

In early 2011, the Greece Police Department launched the most intensive investigation of the fire in the last thirty years.[11] On November 26, 2014, police announced that they have identified a suspect for the first time, 36 years after the fire.[12] In 2018, it was reported that the investigation had been narrowed down to two suspects but disagreements between Greece Police and the Monroe County District Attorney on which suspect is responsible and over proof of arson have stalled the investigation.[13]

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See also

References
  1. Fire command, Volume 46. National Fire Protection Association. 1979.
  2. "Summary of Fire Incidents 1934-2006 in Hotel Fires in the United States as Reported to the NFPA, with Ten or more Fatalities" (PDF). National Fire Protection Association. January 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-20. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  3. "Push on to solve NY arson case that killed 7 Canadians". The Star. November 24, 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  4. Annual Conference on Fire Research. The Center for Fire Research (U.S.). 1979. p. 118.
  5. "Holiday Inn fire alarm checked by investigators; question if working". Lodi News-Sentinel. Lodi, California. UPI. November 28, 1978. p. 3. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  6. Burgess, John H. (1981). Human factors in built environments. Environmental Design & Research Ctr. p. 78. ISBN 0-915250-38-1.
  7. Spotting the Flames
  8. The Aftermath in the Ashes
  9. Hard Questions
  10. McDermott, Meaghan (November 27, 2010). "Fatal 1978 Holiday Inn fire still frustrates Greece officials". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  11. I-Team 10 investigation: 1978 Holiday Inn fire in Greece
  12. Police have suspect in deadly 1978 Holiday Inn fire in Greece
  13. "40 years after Greece Holiday Inn fatal fire. Investigation stymied by multiple suspects". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
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