Eventide Home fire

Last updated

A fire at the Eventide Home for the Aged in Kingston, Jamaica on 20 May 1980 killed 157 people. The building that burnt down was overcrowded and had previously been described as a "tinder box." After fire broke out early on the morning of the 20th, the building burnt quickly. There were accusations that arson had been involved, but nothing has been proven. Several remembrances of the fire have taken place in the years since.

Contents

Background

The Eventide Home for the Aged was a three building facility operated by the Jamaican government caring for old, disabled, or indigent people. [1] It opened on July 1, 1870. [2] In 1980 one of the buildings, the Myers Ward, had 204 or 211 occupants, all old women, though its legal capacity was only 180. The building was two stories tall and made out of wood. [3] [1] [2] Kingston's fire chief Allen Ridgeway criticized the building, describing it as a "tinder box." [1]

Fire

A fire broke out at the home at around 1 am on 20 May 1980. They building burnt quickly and although firefighters arrived quickly after a fire was reported, they were unable to enter. The home collapsed four minutes after firefighters first arrived. [3] [1] The fire department evacuated disabled children from a nearby building. [1] The New York Times reported that hours later just 33 of the 204 women had been found alive and fourteen were still missing. [3]

Aftermath

The fire chief of Kingston initially theorized that an electrical short could have started the fire and stated that there was no proof of arson. Prime Minister Michael Manley publicly stated shortly after the fire that there was a possibility the fire was started by arsonists—telephone lines going to the building were discovered to have been cut before the fire. Though the fire chief continued to argue against such suggestions, police later noted reports of four men fleeing the building. Manley also proclaimed the following Monday a day of national mourning while money and goods were raised for the victims. [3]

At the time the fire was the most deadly ever in Jamaica, killing a total of 157 people, and the worst worldwide since the 1978 Cinema Rex fire that killed over 420 people. [3] [1] Damages were estimated to be approximately $150,000. [2] On May 27, The Gleaner reported that 145 of those who died had their remains "buried in 26 wooden coffins in a single grave at National Heroes Park" in a funeral that was attended by thousands of people. [4] Six months after the fire the home was attacked by gunmen. [2]

An article in Geographical Review published in 1984 wrote that the cause had never been "legally determined". [5] In 1993 Lee Davis, writing for Facts On File, stated that the fire had been sparked by an electrical short, noting that an ensuing investigation reached that conclusion. [1] The Jamaica Observer wrote in 2018 that the "general view" was the fire was arson. [6]

In 1997 the Sistren Theatre Collective put on their play, QPH, in memory of the fire. It won a National Theatre Critic's Award. [7]

Remembrance events have taken place in at least 2011, [8] and 2020. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingston, Jamaica</span> Capital and chief port of Jamaica

Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city in the Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Manley</span> 4th Prime Minister of Jamaica

Michael Norman Manley was a Jamaican politician who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1992. Manley championed a democratic socialist program, and has been described as a populist. He remains one of Jamaica's most popular prime ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's National Party</span> Jamaican centre-left political party

The People's National Party (PNP) is a social-democratic political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by Norman Washington Manley who served as party president until his death in 1969. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives, as 96 of the 227 local government divisions. The party is democratic socialist by constitution.

Clancy Eccles was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer, songwriter, arranger, promoter, record producer and talent scout. Known mostly for his early reggae works, he brought a political dimension to this music. His house band was known as The Dynamites.

The Green Bay Massacre was a covert operation on 5 January 1978, in which five Jamaica Labour Party supporters were shot dead after being lured into an ambush at the Green Bay Firing Range by members of the Jamaica Defence Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junior Byles</span> Musical artist

Kenneth Byles, also known as "Junior Byles", "Chubby", or "King Chubby", is a Jamaican reggae singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Heroes Park</span> Park in Kingston, Jamaica

National Heroes Park is a botanical garden in Kingston, Jamaica. The largest open space in Kingston at 50 acres in size, National Heroes Park features numerous monuments; it is the burial site of many of Jamaica's National Heroes, Prime Ministers and cultural leaders. The neighborhood around the park is also known as National Heroes Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 Jamaican general election</span>

General elections were held in Jamaica on 30 October 1980. The balance of power in the 60-seat Jamaican House of Representatives was dramatically-shifted. Prior to the vote, the People's National Party (PNP), led by Prime Minister Michael Manley, had a 47 to 13 majority over the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), led by Edward Seaga. With the loss by 38 PNP incumbents to their JLP challengers, Seaga's party captured a 51 to 9 majority and Seaga replaced Manley as Prime Minister of Jamaica. Voter turnout was 86.9%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Bird Café fire</span> 1972 nightclub fire in Montreal, Canada

The Blue Bird Café fire was a nightclub fire on September 1, 1972, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In all, 37 people were killed as a result of arson.

Gladys Maud, Lady Bustamante, OJ was a Jamaican workers' and women's rights activist and wife of Sir Alexander Bustamante, Jamaica's first Prime Minister. She was a prominent member of the Jamaican trade union movement, and was affectionately known as "Lady B".

Wilmot 'Motty' Perkins was a Jamaican radio personality and was the longest serving talk show host on Jamaican radio.

The 2010 Kingston unrest, dubbed locally the Tivoli Incursion, was an armed conflict between Jamaica's military and police forces in the country's capital Kingston, and the Shower Posse drug cartel. The conflict began on 23 May 2010 as security forces began searching for Christopher "Dudus" Coke, a major drug lord, after the United States requested his extradition, and the leader of the criminal gang that attacked several police stations. The violence, which largely took place over 24–25 May, killed at least 73 civilians and wounded at least 35 others. Four soldiers and police were also killed and more than 500 arrests were made, as Jamaican police and soldiers fought gunmen in the Tivoli Gardens district of Kingston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Vasciannie</span> Jamaican law professor

Stephen Charles Vasciannie is a Jamaican law professor. Formerly Deputy Solicitor-General and principal of the Norman Manley Law School, Vasciannie served as Jamaica's Ambassador Extraordinary Plenipotentiary to the United States from 2012 up to July 17, 2015, when he stepped down to return to academic life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denmark Place fire</span> Fatal fire in London in 1980

May FarquharsonOJ was a Jamaican social worker, birth control advocate, philanthropist and reformer. She was a founder of the Jamaican Family Planning League and Mother's Welfare Clinic, as well as the driving force behind the Old Age Pension program.

Barbara Joy Gloudon was a Jamaican writer. She received two Seprod Awards from the Press Association of Jamaica and Order of Distinction. Gloudon was a scriptwriter for Jamaica's Little Theatre Movement (LTM) and wrote radio drama. She hosted a radio talk show for thirty years and became chair of the LTM. She was granted the Order of Jamaica in 1992 and became a fellow of the Institute of Jamaica in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Brown (politician)</span> Jamaican politician

Ralph Eugene Brown OJ, CD was a Jamaican politician who represented the People's National Party (PNP). He served twice as mayor of Kingston from 1974 to 1977 and again from 1986 to 1989. He was Minister of Works (1978–1980), and Minister of Local Government and Community Development (1989–1992).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverley Manley</span> Jamaican public figure

Beverley Lois Anderson-Manley is a Jamaican public figure. In the 1970s she emerged as a leader of women's rights advocacy, leading a campaign for a maternity leave. From 1972 to 1993, she was married to Michael Manley, who was Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972 to 1980. Manley was known for being more radical than her husband and helping him connect with Jamaica's black population. She was a popular figure among the majority of Jamaicans. Manley also co-founded a radio show with Eric Anthony Abrahams in 1992. After divorcing Michael, she published The Manley Memoirs in 2008, and in 2012 she married Donald Keith Duncan.

Royal tours of Jamaica by the Jamaican Royal Family have been taking place since the 20th century. Elizabeth II, Queen of Jamaica, visited the island six times; in 1953, 1966, 1975, 1983, 1994, and 2002.

Anthony Michael "Tony" Spaulding was a Jamaican attorney-at-law and politician. A political firebrand, he served as a vice president of the People's National Party (PNP), Member of Parliament for the Saint Andrew Southern constituency, and Minister of Housing under Prime Minister Michael Manley.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Davis, Lee (1993). Man-made catastrophes : from the burning of Rome to the Lockerbie crash . New York : Facts on File. p. 171. ISBN   978-0-8160-2035-5.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Eventide". Jamaica National Heritage Trust - Jamaica. Retrieved 2021-08-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "157 ELDERLY WOMEN DIE IN JAMAICA FIRE; 14 Missing at Institution--Police Charge Arson Was Involved Fire Kills 157 in Jamaican Home for Elderly Women". The New York Times. 1980-05-21. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  4. 1 2 "Eventide fire victims remembered 40 years later". The Gleaner . 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2021-08-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ Eyre, L. Alan (1984). "Political Violence and Urban Geography in Kingston, Jamaica". Geographical Review. 74 (1): 24–37. doi:10.2307/214758. ISSN   0016-7428. JSTOR   214758.
  6. ↑ "Remembering the Eventide Home fire victims". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2021-08-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ Gilbert, Helen (2008). Postcolonial Plays: An Anthology. London: Routledge. p. 154. ISBN   978-0415164498.
  8. ↑ "Eventide fire remembered - News". The Jamaica Observer. 2012-06-16. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2021-08-04.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.