The deadliest hotel fires in history

Hotel fires occur around the world, but for reasons that are not clear, the US has seen the most deadly blazes.

Top 13 most terrible hotel fires in history

1. In 1938, the train station hotel fire, 34 people died

On May 16, 1938, a raging fire raged through the Terminal Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, killing 34 people and injuring many more. The fire started with an explosion in the basement or kitchen.

Alarms were sounded hastily, but the flames were quicker. Just minutes after the emergency response team was mobilized, the entire 5-storey building was on fire, smoke billowing into the night sky. The tragedy at the Terminal would be Atlanta's deadliest hotel fire until the 1946 Winecoff Hotel fire.

2. In 1934, the Kerns Hotel fire, 34 people died

"The only reason I'm still alive," said Michigan House Representative John Dykstra, ".is that I've spent so much time in hotels that I know every turn of the road. lang'. Seven Michigan legislators and colleagues of Dykstra were not so lucky, they were killed along with 27 others in the Kerns Hotel fire, which broke out in the Michigan state capital Lansing on Dec. 1934.

The alarm went off at about 5:30 a.m. when the night janitor of the nearby State Journal building saw flames in the hotel windows. When the fire was extinguished at 7:30 a.m., the scale of the disaster became clearer: 34 people died and 44 were injured. They were all victims of a discarded cigarette.

3. In 1986, fire in Siddharth Continental, 38 people died

In the final hours of January 23, 1986, the party basement of the Siddharth Continental Hotel burst into flames that shot through several floors of the building, killing 38 people. As a 5-star hotel, Siddharth is popular with international guests, and this is reflected in the tragic death toll. The French, the British, the Argentinians, the Japanese, the Americans and the Russians were all among the dead.

"We found bodies on every floor," said one police officer. "Some people were lying in their beds, others in the hallways.' Most of the dead people could not bear to breathe in. smoke and no doubt they panicked over the bad emergency response.

There are many speculations about the cause of the fire. The hotel's General Manager believes it was vandalism, and so does the architect of the building. However, a more credible explanation was offered by the fire brigade, who suggested that one of the party area's gas cylinders might have leaked.

4. In 1977, the Rossiya Hotel fire, 45 people died

With over 5,000 bedrooms, the Rossiya Hotel in Moscow was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in the late 1960s. It held this record until 1993, when the new MGM Grand opened.

On February 25, 1977, a fire broke out, and even in a building of this size, the fire covered the ground with terrifying speed as it climbed from the 5th floor to the 3rd floor. 12 and is the final story of the hotel, wreaking havoc on everything along the way.

5. In 1943, Gulf Hotel fire, 55 people died

On September 7, 1943, 133 guests stayed at the Gulf Hotel, a budget, men-only establishment in downtown Houston, Texas.

Alarmed by the smell of smoke, a nightly porter followed the scent to room 201, where he found a smoldering bed sheet and mattress. A small fire, the porter extinguished the fire and discarded the linen in the closet. However, the fire has not been completely extinguished, in the cabinet containing solvents, rags and other combustible materials.

Within an hour, the fire had flared up again with tremendous force, consuming the wooden panels with terrifying speed. The men, many of them in their 60s and 70s, had little chance of escaping because the fire and smoke consumed them. The Gulf Hotel fire is the deadliest fire in Houston history.

6. In 1946, the fire of La Salle Hotel, 61 people died

Built between 1908 and 1909, Hotel La Salle has been described as "the largest, safest, and modern hotel west of New York City". This statement was severely damaged on June 5, 1946, when a fire tore through the building, killing 61 people.

The fire started around 12:30 a.m. at the hotel's Silver Grill Cocktail Lounge and, as usual, the fire spread at a lethal rate. A 'hell fireball' destroyed the mezzanine and filled the rooms and hallways with smoke.

7. In 1979, Corona De Aragon Hotel fire, 72 people died

On July 12, 1979, an explosion occurred in the cafe on the ground floor of Hotel Corona de Aragon, a luxury hotel in Saragossa, Spain. The fire then killed 72 people in Spain's deadliest hotel fire.

8. In 1883, the Newhall House Hotel fire, 76 people died

The Milwaukee Fire Department had long been on alert about the fire safety of the Newhall House Hotel when a fire broke out from the roof of the hotel in the early morning hours of January 10, 1883.

Firefighter Sam McDowell recalled the dire scene, "By the time we got to the hotel, the building was like a burning pile of straw. Men and women could be seen at their windows, screaming for prayers. help in despair'.

The fire started in the wooden elevator shaft, causing the fire to shoot upward and burst into each floor of the building. Visitors were burned and unconscious by the smoke. Others fell dead because they couldn't stand the heat. Despite the heroic efforts of the firefighters, the Newhall House fire remains the worst fire in Milwaukee history, killing at least 76 people.

9. In 1980, fire at MGM Grand Hotel, 85 people died

Mr. Robert List, Governor of Nevada from 1979 to 1983, said: 'It was hell on earth, the fire was ingrained in my memory. terrible smell and colorless darkness. the bodies were there. It's terrible'. 

The fire at the MGM Grand Hotel is one of the worst hotel fires in American history. And like other deadly fires, the causes are preventable. A Clark County investigation determined that the fire that killed 85 people was caused by faulty wiring in the casino's food court.

10. In 1899, the Windsor Hotel fire, 86 people died

Built in 1873, the Windsor Hotel occupies a prized stretch of real estate from 46th to 47th Street on Manhattan's 5th Avenue. In the 1890s, the Windsor Hotel was described as 'the most comfortable and homey hotel in New York.' However, nine years later, the Windsor was a smoldering wreck that claimed the lives of 86 people.

The fire broke out around 3 p.m. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1899. As the nearby streets were celebrating, the fire spread through the brownstone building. At 3:40 p.m., the vast front wall collapsed. Fifty minutes later, almost the entire structure had crumbled into a flaming pile of rubble, trapping dozens of people.

11. In 1986, Dupont Plaza Hotel burned, 98 people died

On the afternoon of December 31, 1986, a fire started in the ballroom of the Dupont Plaza Hotel and spread to the lobby and casino, killing 98 people. It remains the worst hotel fire in the history of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Unlike the trivial causes of many fires, such as faulty wiring at the MGM Grand or a discarded cigarette at the Kerns Hotel, the tragedy in Dupont Plaza was an act of arson.

Soon after, disgruntled worker Hector Escudero Aponte admitted to setting the fire, and on June 23, 1987, he was sentenced to 99 years at the same time. Co-conspirators Jose Francisco Rivera Lopez and Armando Jimenez Rivera were sentenced to 99 years and 75 years, respectively.

12. In 1946, the Winecoff Hotel fire, 119 people died

On December 7, 1946, a fire broke out at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, killing 119 people. It remains the deadliest hotel fire in American history.

The fire started on the third floor at around 3:42 a.m., although the exact cause has yet to be determined. What is absolutely clear, however, is that Winecoff is not equipped to deal with a large fire.

13. In 1971, the Daeyeonggak Hotel fire, 164 people died

America may be mentioned many times in the history of the deadliest hotel fires, but the deadliest fire to date occurred at the Daeyeonggak Hotel in Seoul, South Korea. The fire started on Christmas Day 1971 and was caused by a gas cylinder explosion in the second-floor cafe.

The fire engulfed the entire building in just half an hour and raged for another eight hours, killing dozens of victims, who were suffocated, burned or forced to jump.

The walls were not fireproof, and the two stairs of the building were not designed as emergency exits, leaving them filled with smoke and turned into giant chimneys.