Content deleted Content added
No edit summary |
Citation bot (talk | contribs) Altered template type. Add: work, date, id. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Spinixster | Category:Industrial fires and explosions in the United States | #UCB_Category 81/98 |
||
| (5 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{short description|1929 fire in Cleveland, Ohio}}
{{Infobox news event
|title = <!-- Title to display, if other than page name -->
Line 10 ⟶ 9:
|time = 11:30 AM
|place = [[Cleveland Clinic]], [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], U.S.
|coordinates = {{Coord|41.503146|-81.621946|display=inline,title|region:US-OH_type:landmark}}
|also known as =
|first reporter =
Line 19 ⟶ 18:
|reported death(s) = 123
|reported missing =
|reported property damage = {{USD|50000}} ({{
|burial =
|inquiries =
Line 35 ⟶ 34:
|notes =
}}
== Disaster ==
Line 43 ⟶ 42:
A steam leak had been discovered in the basement room where the Clinic's voluminous X-ray film records, estimated to be at least {{convert|4200|lbs}}{{nbsp}}– possibly as much as {{convert|10000|lbs}}{{nbsp}}– were stored.<ref name="NBFU">{{cite web|url=http://clevelandmemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/general/id/280/rec/1|title=Report on the Cleveland Clinic Fire, May 15, 1929|accessdate=2022-05-13}}</ref> A steamfitter began repairs at 9 a.m., stripped some of the insulation from the steam pipes, then left the building to turn off the steam and allow the pipe to cool down sufficiently so that the repair could be completed safely. A few hours later, around 11 a.m., he returned to the X-ray storage room, and encountered a noxious cloud of yellowish-brown gas. After a futile attempt to control the fire with a fire extinguisher, a small explosion, the first of several, expelled him from the room. He and a maintenance man working in the basement's adjacent mechanical room raised the initial alarm.
The burning nitrocellulose X-ray films quickly produced a significant amount of poisonous gas which spread throughout much of the building via the pipe chases which connected to the neighboring mechanical room. A stair door on the third floor was held open by a foot latch, and the toxic gas was especially thick on that floor. Later chemical analysis suggested the victims inhaled [[phosgene]], [[carbon monoxide]], [[nitric oxide]], and [[methyl chloride]], all generated by the smoldering films.<ref >{{cite web|url=https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-clinic-disaster|title=CLEVELAND CLINIC DISASTER, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History|date=11 November 2020 |accessdate=2021-11-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite
Three theories were advanced for the initial ignition of the films: a high temperature steam leak from the pipe being repaired on the day of the fire destabilizing the films, inadvertent contact from a bare, hanging light bulb, or, possibly, a discarded, incompletely extinguished cigarette. A formal review by the National Board of Fire Underwriters found all three credible.<ref name="NBFU" />
Line 49 ⟶ 48:
A major explosion came at a few seconds past 11:30 a.m.; a clock on the third floor balcony stopped at that time. After the hollow center of the building was filled with poisonous gas, another large explosion shattered a [[skylight]] at the peak of the building's atrium. The skylight explosion was a mixed blessing. The force of the explosion sent the vapors throughout the clinic, but also provided a large opening in the center of the building which allowed the toxic gas to escape. Many of the building's occupants succumbed in stairways while attempting to exit the Clinic.<ref name="gen" /><ref name="NBFU" />
The first alarm reached the fire department shortly after the explosion at 11:30 a.m. The responding fire company subsequently called in two other fire units to battle the fire. Initially, the building's windows were obscured by the toxic gas. It
== Aftermath ==
The four story original clinic building, the site of so much disaster, though literally overshadowed by many newer surrounding hospital and research facilities, still stands. Under the current (as of 2022) CCF naming system it is designated building "T."<ref>{{cite web |title=Cleveland Clinic Main Campus Map |url=https://my.clevelandclinic.org/-/scassets/files/org/patients-visitors/visitors/campus-map.pdf?la=en |website=my.clevelandclinic.org |publisher=Cleveland Clinic Foundation |access-date=4 September 2022}}</ref> The building's lobby contains a small exhibit memorializing the 1929 fire.
Despite the heavy loss of life, firemen estimated the property damage at only {{citation needed span|text=$50,000|reason=The
According to investigators, the Cleveland Clinic was not at fault for the fire. Nonetheless, the disaster was responsible for influencing significant changes to firefighting techniques. The city of Cleveland issued gas masks to its fire departments and proposed a city ambulance service.<ref name="ohc"/> Nationally, the disaster prompted medical facilities to establish standards for the storage of nitrocellulose film and other hazardous materials.<ref name="ohc"/>
| |||