10 Die as Fire Races Through Motel
Ten guests lost their lives when fire raced up a stair tower serving the two wings of a motel in Greece, N.Y., and spread through a common cockloft. There were 51 persons, 17 were fire fighters and 34 civilians, injured in the early morning fire last November 27 in the Rochester suburb.
Flames traveled rapidly through the two wings of the Rochester Holiday Inn Northwest containing the 91 guest rooms occupied by 190 to 200 persons and fire fighters said that three fire doors in the wings were propped open. The fire moved swiftly up the stair tower, which was paneled and carpeted. Discarded packing cartons, fire fighters reported, were piled high not only in a hallway, but also in the stair tower.
The gable roof of the motel was supported by wood trusses and the “fire wall” in both the north wing and the west wing did not extend into the cockloft, fire officers reported.
It was the worst fire in the history of Monroe County.
Spots flames in motel
Off-duty Lieutenant Harold Phillips of the Greece-Ridge Fire Department in Greece was driving on Ridge Road West at 2:38 that Sunday morning when he spotted flames issuing from the northwest section of the motel. He transmitted an alarm over his car radio to the Greece-Ridge dispatch office.
Box 49 was struck within the same minute, sending Greece-Ridge Pumpers 252, 253 and 255, Ladder 251, Squad 4 and Division 1 fire fighters (volunteers) to the motel. Soon after his initial call, Phillips informed all units that people were trapped. Chief Kenneth Volkmar and Deputy Chief Ralph Chennell were both responding within a minute of the alarm.
Greece-Ridge volunteers and paid personnel led many to safety before the first apparatus arrived. A chief from the neighboring Albion Volunteer Fire Department was passing just as the box was being struck. He was credited with leading 10 persons to safety. Another fire fighter, who did not hear an alarm sounding in the hotel, immediately activated the pullbox in the lobby. This attempt did not produce an audible signal. The alarm was strictly local and was not connected to Greece-Ridge Headquarters.
Victims at windows
Guests were now calling for help from many second-story windows in the north wing and third-story windows in the west wing. Phillips informed the Greece-Ridge dispatcher that the west wing was fully involved.
Pumper 252 pulled into the front parking lot near the lobby and dumped all its ladders, breathing apparatus and spare air tanks before hitting a hydrant on Ridge Road West. With so many persons calling for help, Chennell radioed for two aerials. Truck 8 from the Rochester Fire Department was directed to the east side of the west wing while Barnard Fire District Ladder 221 was assigned to the west side of the west wing. This call was placed at 2:43 a.m. A 25-mph wind out of the north made visibility difficult in the center parking lot as smoke banked down to the ground.
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The initial call for ambulances was made at 2:43. The Greece Volunteer Ambulance dispatched two ambulances as well as 22 medics to the front of the motel. A minute later, additional ambulances were summoned from the Barnard and Lakeshore Fire Districts.
Rescue units called
During the first quarter hour of fire fighting and rescue, rescue-salvage units were called from the Gates Fire District (RS-458), the North Greece Fire District (A-276) and the Barnard Fire District (M-220 and R-222), These units provided lighting and additional air tanks.
Rescues were needed at so many second and third-story windows that fire fighters first concerned themselves with those they could see and attempted room searches immediately afterward. Lines were being placed into operation soon after the accessible guests were brought down to safety.
At 2:46 a.m., Volkmar requested the last Greece-Ridge pumper, 254, to the front parking lot to supply the ladder pipe on Ladder 251 and a 1 1/2-inch hand line. Pumper 254 worked in relay from Pumper 252. Engines 10 and 11 from Rochester were also summoned on this call as the interior attack began. Engine 10 was ordered into the center parking lot in back of the north wing to assist Truck 8 and Pumper 255.
Fire fighters entered the stair tower connecting the two wings with a 2½inch line. The fire raced overhead as the suspended ceiling was pulled down. The men were withdrawn from this area after the flames burned their line.
The fire was now making its way across both undivided cocklofts. Seven victims were pulled from the west wing before the roof came down. Five were found in a hallway corner and two others were pulled from their rooms.
At 2:50 a.m., the North Greece Fire District dispatched Pumper 273 to cover at Greece-Ridge Headquarters.
Many guests were now collecting in the parking areas and shelter was needed as soon as possible. Some guests were taken care of at a nearby Howard Johnson’s Restaurant while the balance of the guests awaited the arrival of Greece School District buses, which eventually took them to the downtown Genesee Plaza Holiday Inn.
At 2:55 a.m., additional air cylinders were requested from the Rochester Fire Department and a private refilling firm. The deputy chief called for North Greece’s Pumper 273 from the GreeceRidge Headquarters along with North Greece’s Squrt 1. These two units were positioned at the northwest corner of the north wing.
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Covering companies were once again requested from the Barnard and North Greece Fire Districts. Barnard Pumper 226 was located at the Greece-Ridge Station No. 2 and North Greece Pumper 274 was relocated to Headquarters.
Volkmar and Chennell feared they would have 30 or more casualties, so a morgue was set up at the southern end of the motel. The efforts of fire personnel kept the death toll below the initial estimate.
Fire fighters first found that entry into the guest rooms with axes was quite time-consuming because each room had a metal door and frame. The deputy chief ordered the men to knock in the doorknobs and cylinders with a sledge hammer. Almost every door was opened with one blow.
Truck 3, from the Rochester Fire Department, was dispatched at 3:23 a.m. for ladder pipe operations at the east end of the north wing. Barnard’s Ladder 221 now had its ladder pipe in operation on the west wing. Pumper 253 placed its deluge set in action near the common stair tower.
At 3:26 a.m., North Greece Pumper 274 was ordered to the rear of the complex to augment water supplies to Engine 10 and Pumper 255. Pumper 274 worked in relay from Engine 11 at a hydrant on Ridge Road West and stretched an additional supply line through the backyard of 56 Allerton Street to a hydrant. At 3:27, Pumper 453 was requested to cover GreeceRidge Headquarters and 28 minutes later, was dispatched to supply Squrt 1 with additional water.
The final fill-in was made at 3:58 a.m. when the Spencerport Fire District dispatched Pumper 295 to Greece-Ridge Headquarters.
Volkmar declared the fire under control at 4:43 a.m.
Investigators determined the point of origin to be a storage area under the stairway in the stair tower serving the two wings of the motel. Fire investigators from Monroe County and two other New York State areas assisted the Greece Police Department in their determinations.
Five bodies were just 2 feet from the open door at the far end of the west wing. The guests apparently used the wall for a guide as they made their way down the hallway. As they came to a corner, they fell upon each other and perished next to the exit.
Deaths caused by smoke
One victim was in the north wing as the roof collapsed. This was the only death in this wing. The victim was removed after the fire was knocked down and the death was attributed to smoke inhalation, as were the other nine.
During the height of the fire, each of the Monroe County hospitals received the injured. Rochester General Hospital admitted nine guests and one Greece-Ridge fire fighter. Highland Hospital treated two guests for minor injuries while St. Mary’s Hospital cared for five. Genesee Hospital treated and released five hotel occupants. Strong Memorial Hospital admitted one victim. The Park-Ridge Hospital, a short distance from the Greece-Ridge Headquarters, received the bulk of the transported injured. Two motel guests were dead on arrival at Park-Ridge’s emergency room.
Nine pumpers, four aerials, four emergency squads and a Squrt were working at the height of the blaze.
For hours after the fire, police and fire fighters sifted through the ruins to try to recover possessions of the occupants. One hundred of the motel guests were visitors from Canada on a shopping trip and were carrying large sums of money and valuables.
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