1954 Cleveland Hill School District fire

Last updated

1954 Cleveland Hill School District fire
DateMarch 31, 1954
LocationCleveland Hill Union Free School District's Elementary School Facility Annex in Cheektowaga, New York
CausePotentially defective furnace or spontaneous combustion
Deaths15
Non-fatal injuries23

The 1954 Cleveland Hill school fire was a fire and explosion that occurred on March 31, 1954 at the Cleveland Hill Union Free School District's elementary school facility annex in Cheektowaga, New York. [1] The eight classroom wooden annex was added onto the existing brick school building to accommodate the influx of new students resulting from the "Baby Boom" following World War II.

Contents

Incident

There was a sixth grade music class being held in the annex at the time of the explosion and fire which claimed the lives of 15 sixth-grade students along with injuring 19 students, three teachers and the school's principal. [2] A student survivor later recounted he remembered a loud noise, followed seconds later by a doorway full of raging flames and pure panic. [3]

Many students perished because they were unable to open the windows that were either locked or stuck. When the glass was broken to provide an avenue of escape they were cut trying to fit through the small size of the window panes. The cause of the fire was never determined but it may have been caused by a defective furnace that had been leaking fumes or possibly spontaneous combustion inside a storage closet. [1]

Victims

Of the 15 deceased victims, ten never made it out of the fire while the other five died due to their injuries. [3]

Among those who survived but suffered severe burns was American folk musician Jackson C. Frank. The treatment of the burn victims from this fire was cited in later medical journals. [4] Yet while many victims received high quality medical care, many highlighted how unprepared medical professionals, teachers, parents and friends were to deal with the tragedy and the magnitude of it and were often uncomfortable trying to discuss it. [3]

Aftermath

The annex facility was made entirely of wood and following the disaster there was a movement to introduce building codes that prohibited wooden buildings from housing schools. [5] Other changes that came about because of the fire were fire drills, rules regarding window type and size, school construction methods and school communications with fire departments. [4] [6]

During the Erie county legislative chamber meeting on March 21, 2024, a new law was unveiled recognizing March 31st as a county-wide day of remembrance. This originally started as a bill created by the Cleveland Hill Union Free School District Middle School Youth and Government Club, with student Jax Keidel performing a speech. [7] This clubs members attended the meeting, and at a point, were visible with the chair of the legislature.

March 31st Cleveland Hill School District Fire recognition statue. Erie county Cleveland hill fire recognition law.jpg
March 31st Cleveland Hill School District Fire recognition statue.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halifax Explosion</span> 1917 maritime disaster in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

On the morning of 6 December 1917 the French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Mont-Blanc, laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond district of Halifax. At least 1,782 people were killed, largely in Halifax and Dartmouth, by the blast, debris, fires, or collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured. The blast was the largest human-made explosion at the time. It released the equivalent energy of roughly 2.9 kilotons of TNT (12 TJ).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dealey Plaza</span> Dallas, Texas, U S. historic place

Dealey Plaza is a city park in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is sometimes called the "birthplace of Dallas". It was also the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. Thirty minutes after the shooting, Kennedy was pronounced dead at Parkland Memorial Hospital. The Dealey Plaza Historic District was named a National Historic Landmark on the 30th anniversary of the assassination, to preserve Dealey Plaza, street rights-of-way, and buildings and structures by the plaza visible from the assassination site, that have been identified as witness locations or as possible locations for the assassin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of the Angels School fire</span> 1958 school fire in Chicago, Illinois

On Monday, December 1, 1958, a fire broke out at Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago, Illinois, shortly before classes were to be dismissed for the day. The fire originated in the basement near the foot of a stairway. The elementary school was operated by the Archdiocese of Chicago and had an enrollment of approximately 1600 students. A total of 92 pupils and three nuns ultimately died when smoke, heat, fire, and toxic gases cut off their normal means of egress through corridors and stairways. Many more were injured when they jumped from second-floor windows which, because the building had a raised basement, were nearly as high above ground as a third floor would be on level ground, approximately 25 feet (7.6 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tower City Center</span> Mixed-use facility in Cleveland, Ohio

Tower City Center is a large mixed-use facility in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio, on its Public Square. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including Terminal Tower, the Skylight Park mixed-use shopping center, Jack Cleveland Casino, Hotel Cleveland, Chase Financial Plaza, and Tower City station, the main hub of Cleveland's four RTA Rapid Transit lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New London School explosion</span> Gas leak explosion in New London, Texas in 1937

The New London School explosion occurred on March 18, 1937, when a natural gas leak caused an explosion and destroyed the London School in New London, Texas, United States. The disaster killed more than 300 students and teachers. As of 2021, the event is the third-deadliest disaster in the history of Texas, after the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the 1947 Texas City disaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gas explosion</span> Explosion caused by mixing a combustible gas with air in the presence of an ignition source

A gas explosion is the ignition of a mixture of air and flammable gas, typically from a gas leak. In household accidents, the principal explosive gases are those used for heating or cooking purposes such as natural gas, methane, propane, butane. In industrial explosions many other gases, like hydrogen, as well as evaporated (gaseous) gasoline or ethanol play an important role. Industrial gas explosions can be prevented with the use of intrinsic safety barriers to prevent ignition, or use of alternative energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canisius High School</span> College-preparatory school in Buffalo, , New York, United States

Canisius High School is a Catholic, private college-preparatory school for young men run by the USA Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus in Buffalo, New York, United States, just north of the Delaware Avenue Historic District. Founded in 1870, the school has historical ties to Canisius College. Canisius operates independently from the New York State guidelines established by the Board of Regents. It has the largest high school student population among private schools in Western New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collinwood school fire</span> Deadly 1908 fire in Collinwood, Ohio, US

The Collinwood school fire was a major disaster that occurred at the Lake View School in Collinwood, Ohio, when a fire erupted on March 4, 1908, killing 172 students, two teachers and one rescuer. It is one of the deadliest school disasters in United States history.

Cleveland Hill UFSD is a K-12 school district within the Cleveland Hill hamlet of Cheektowaga, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bath School disaster</span> 1927 bombing attacks in Bath Township, Michigan

The Bath School disaster, also known as the Bath School massacre, was a series of violent attacks perpetrated by Andrew Kehoe upon the Bath Consolidated School in Bath Charter Township, Michigan, United States, on May 18, 1927. The attacks killed 38 children and 6 adults, and injured at least 58 other people. Prior to the explosions at the school, Kehoe had murdered his wife, Nellie Price Kehoe, and firebombed his farm. Arriving at the site of the school explosion, Kehoe died when he set off explosives concealed in his truck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine</span> Private medical school in Erie, Pennsylvania, US

The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) is a private medical school and academic health center in Erie, Pennsylvania. LECOM has a Branch Campus in Bradenton, Florida and additional locations in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and Elmira, New York. Founded in 1992, LECOM confers medical (D.O.), dental (DMD), podiatry (DPM), pharmacy (PharmD) degrees, as well as masters and doctoral degrees in the health sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canalside</span> Neighborhood of Buffalo in Erie County, New York, United States

Canalside, formerly known as Canal Side and also referred to as Erie Canal Harbor, is a commercial and residential district in downtown Buffalo, New York. It is the recreation of the western terminus of the Erie Canal, which was destroyed in the early 20th century. Canalside is situated on the Buffalo River, in an area that was historically home to the Seneca people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland Clinic fire of 1929</span> 1929 fire in Cleveland, Ohio

A major structure fire occurred at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on May 15, 1929. Flammable nitrocellulose X-ray film ignited in a basement storage room, emitting a poisonous yellowish-brown gas which spread throughout much of the Clinic and subsequently exploded several times. The fire claimed 123 lives including that of one of the Clinic's founders, Dr. John Phillips. Most of the deaths from the fire were due to toxic inhalation. Many were immediate; some were delayed by hours or even days. A policeman, Ernest Staab, rescued 21 victims from the fire, and left the scene, seemingly in good health. He later collapsed while working on his lawn, was hospitalized, but contrary to many contemporaneous newspaper articles survived and worked for the police department for another 25 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anderson Street station</span> NJ Transit rail station

Anderson Street is a New Jersey Transit rail station on the Pascack Valley Line. The station is one of two rail stations in Hackensack and located at Anderson Street near Linden Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angola Horror</span> 1867 train wreck in New York State

The Angola Horror train wreck occurred on December 18, 1867, just after 3 p.m. when the last coach of the Buffalo-bound New York Express of the Lake Shore Railway derailed at a bridge in Angola, New York, United States, slid down into a gorge, and caught fire, killing some 49 people. At the time, it was one of the deadliest train wrecks in American history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grover Cleveland High School (Buffalo, New York)</span> Public, coeducational school in Buffalo, Erie County, New York, United States

Grover Cleveland High School was a high school located in Buffalo, New York. It is named for former U.S. president and Buffalo mayor Grover Cleveland and generally housed students from Grades 9 - 12, teaching according to the Board of Regents. Currently, the school building houses The International Preparatory School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salamanca station</span> Railroad station in Salamanca, New York

Salamanca was a railroad station for the Erie Railroad in Salamanca, New York, United States. The station was located at 137 Main Street in Salamanca, across the track from the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway depot. Located as the terminus of the Meadville Division of the Erie Railroad main line, Salamanca was considered part of the Allegany Division, which went between Dunkirk and Hornell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland School fire</span> Fire in Camden, South Carolina

The Cleveland School fire was the fourth-deadliest school fire or explosion in American history and the deadliest fire in South Carolina history. It occurred near Camden, South Carolina, on May 17, 1923, during a school play, killing 77 people.

<i>Erie</i> (steamship, sank 1841) Passenger ship which caught fire and sunk in Lake Erie in August 1841.

Erie was a steamship that operated as a passenger freighter on the Great Lakes. It caught fire and sank on August 9, 1841, resulting in the loss of an estimated 254 lives, making it one of the deadliest disasters in the history of the Great Lakes.

References

  1. 1 2 Ciemcioch, Mark (March 29, 2014). "Cleveland Hill remembers victims of fatal 1954 school fire". The Buffalo News. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  2. "Probes Open Today In School Fire In Suburb Of Buffalo". GenDisasters.com. Associated Press. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Simon, Peter (March 30, 1997). "DEADLY CLEVELAND HILL SCHOOL FIRE ON MARCH 31, 1954, LEFT DEEP SCARS". The Buffalo News. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  4. 1 2 Popiolkowski, Joseph (March 6, 2015). "Exhibit at Cleve Hill teaches about 1954 school fire that claimed lives of 15 students". The Buffalo News. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  5. Marek, Edward. "Memoirs of those who lived through the Cleveland Hill School fire of 1954". Cleveland Hill Fire Department Talking Proud Archives --- Culture. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  6. Kennedy, Timothy M. (March 31, 2014). "Senator Kennedy Honors 60 Years Since Cleveland Hill School Fire". The New York State Senate. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  7. "Mar 21, 2024 Legislative Session - Erie County, NY". eriecountyny.new.swagit.com. Retrieved May 13, 2024.