March 16, 1993 – The first fire fighters to arrive
at the Paxton Residence Hotel at 1432 North LaSalle Street to find dozens of
people “perched on ledges or dangling out of windows trying to escape the smoke
and flames.” [Chicago Tribune, March 17,
2007] “We had people hanging out on every side,” on firefighter said. The Paxton that night is filled nearly to
capacity with 160 residents, most of them poor, elderly or both. The blaze, which starts in Room 121 in the
southwest section of the structure, roars up stairwells, fed by strong winds
that whip into the building as people open windows to get relief from the smoke
filling their apartments. The first call
reporting the fire comes in at 4:05 a.m., and two engines, a tower ladder, an
aerial tower, a paramedic squad and a battalion chief are dispatched, arriving five
minutes later. The initial evaluation of
the scene reveals heavy smoke coming out of the top three stories and people
hanging out of windows on the upper floors.
A full box alarm is ordered, and two additional engines, a ladder truck
and two battalion chiefs are sent to the scene.
The first firefighters find the first-floor hallway to be clear of
smoke, but in the southwest corner of the building they find the stairway on
fire as well as two first-floor rooms. With a 2 1/2-inch hose line they are able to
extinguish the fire in the rooms but are unable to control the fire rapidly
spreading up the stairway, part of which has already collapsed. They are forced to withdraw from the
building, and as they depart, arriving units see that things are becoming increasingly
dire as the amount of smoke coming from upper story windows is increasing
continuously and more and more occupants are hanging out of windows, calling
for help. Five alarms are ultimately struck
with 30 pieces of fire equipment and 20 paramedic vans on the scene. At first, though, there are more occupants in
need of rescue than there are fire fighters and ladders. Buildings, power lines and trees make the use
of aerial ladders nearly impossible, so ground ladders are deployed as quickly
as possible. According to an analysis of
the response, “… fire fighters sometimes gauged the need for rescue by the
stress in the occupants’ voices … Sometimes fire fighters could hear, but not
see, an occupant due to the heavy smoke that remained close to the ground
engulfing the building; as a result, they placed ladders close to the voice as
they attempted to locate the person.” [http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/1993-march-16-paxton-hotel-single-room-occupancy-fire-chicago-il-20/]
The National Fire Protection Association’s investigation reveals a number of
factors that lead to the loss of 20 lives and over two dozen injuries in the
Paxton fire. The report concludes that the
factors include (1) fire spread in combustible concealed spaces; (2) stairways
without doors; (3) the lack of subdivisions in corridors; (4) the lack of an
operating building-wide fire alarm system; and (5) the delay in fire department
notification due in part to the absence of fire detection equipment.
March 16, 1966 – Prince Philip races through a packed 14-hour schedule in Chicago, ending with a $100-a-plate fundraising dinner in the Grand ballroom of the Conrad Hilton Hotel attended by 1,000 guests, with most of the proceeds from the event going to La Rabida sanitarium in Jackson Park. The prince flies into O’Hare on the preceding evening and is taken to the Drake Hotel where he stays the night. The next day begins with an entourage leaving the Drake, headed for City Hall on La Salle Street, where the Chicago fire department band and Omar, its Saint Bernard mascot, greet the prince. Mayor Daley meets his royal guest in front of the building, and the Chicago Highlanders kilty band leads them into the City Council chambers, where the prince is made an honorary citizen of Chicago. The Mayor says, “The city remembers July 1959, when the sky smiled down and Chicago opened its arms for the queen and you; it was an unforgettable occasion. No individual so genuinely reflects the most admirable qualities of modern England in trade, in science, in sports, and culture as you do.” [Chicago Tribune, March 17, 1966] The prince then meets with executives at Marshall Field and Company and Sears, Roebuck and Company and delivers a speech at a business men’s luncheon at the Ambassador West. From there he is taken to La Rabida where he “chatted casually with the youngsters, all dressed in their best finery.” A stop is also made at the University of Chicago campus where Prince Philip is greeted by the university’s president, George Beadle, and his wife and Mrs. Laura Fermi. The above photo shows the prince talking to Robert Sorenson, a C.T.A. motorman during his short stay in Chicago.
March 16, 1937 -- Workmen begin driving 1,600 piles that will form a coffer dam a third of a mile east of the outer drive bridge. Ultimately 32,000 tons of concrete will rest on the piles, serving as support for the steel gates that will lie at one end of the lock intended to control the flow of water from Lake Michigan into the Chicago River. The work comes as a result of a 1930 U. S. Supreme Court decision that ordered installation of such a lock with a deadline of December 31, 1938. Today an estimated 50,000 vessels and 900,000 passengers go through the lock each year. It is one of two entrances to the Illinois Waterway system from the Great Lakes. The other is the Thomas J. O'Brien lock on the Calumet River.
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