Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 9, 1946, Winnipeg, Manitoba Smoke stained Walls punctured by holes which were once windows Are All that remain of the Barry hotel at Saskatoon after flames swept through the 36-year-old, three Storey Structure Early sunday morning. Eleven per sons perished in the fire and 18 were sent to Hospital making this one of the worst hotel fires in Canada s history. Pictured 011 the left Are the smoke stained Walls of the building show ing the broken windows from which Many persons jumped either to safety or death. Those same windows also provided Many persons with avenues of escape As firemen ran ladders up to the ledges and aided guests to the ground. Looking at the remains of the building from the outside there is Little to suggest the night of horror which the hotel housed sunday. At right is shown the hotel lobby after the flames had died Down and the heat of the fire passed out into the chilled air. Isto thing remains but charred embers and fire blackened timbers. This is where the hotel Register was kept and destroyed by the flames. This handicapped workers in making identification and accounting for the number of guests in the hotel. Final edition Winnipeg free press 26 pages vol. 61 Price 5 cents with comics Loc Winnipeg monday december 9, 1946 Sun rises 8.14 . Moon rises 5.21 . Sun sets 4.2s . Moon sets 9.29 . Colder Saskatoon fire St. Boniface Blaze takes toll damage amounting to More than was caused Early sunday when a fire of unknown origin destroyed the red River Grain elevator 35 Nicholas Street and the adjacent Grande Prairie elevator 70 Yards West along the Canadian Pacific railway Spur track that linked the two. See pictures on Page the fire was first noticed at 2.35 . By Edmund Leonard 133 Dumoulin Street night watchman at the red River elevator who phoned in the alarm when he noticed smoke filling the building. The fire subsequently spread to the Grande Prairie elevator. Destroyed in addition to the elevators were bushels of Grain a warehouse and Furnace room a lunch room and empty Grain bags which had been unit pred saturday Midway be tween the two elevators. The fire added strength to re mors of arson which have been six Atlanta dead unidentified Atlanta ga., dec. Seared bodies remained unclaimed monday As officials moved to prevent a repetition of the tragic Early morning Blaze which claimed 120 lives sat urday and gutted Atlanta s 15-Storey fire proof Winecoff hotel. Physicians feared the death list still might mount from the list of 89 persons in hospitals suffering from Shock Burns smoke and in 9 homeless after morning fire nine persons including a family of seven were forced to seek temporary living quarters Early monday morning when fire swept through a two and one half Storey Rooming House at 3s2 notre Dame Avenue. Breaking out about 2.55 ., the Blaze is believed by police to have originated near overheated pipes in the basement. Climbing up Between the , the flames caused extensive damage to six of the nine rooms in the House. An unofficial fire department estimate placed the loss to the building at about and to furniture at damage to fur was caused stations one nature and clothing chiefly by water. Attended by fire and three the fire was never out control nor did it threaten neighbouring dwellings. It was extinguished shortly after four . Or. And mrs. Noel Coulombe and their five children spent the rest of the night with relatives at 395 Hargrave Street. Miss Agnes Ahlarn and George Curling stayed at the Homes of neighbors. The remainder of the 15 occupants stayed in the burned Home. Landlord of the House police said is Edward Routley. Rental agents Are Oldfield Kirby and Gardiner. Another fire caused by Over heated stove pipes destroyed the Canvas top of a shed used for drying Concrete construction blocks in the City of Winnipeg Yards at the Corner of Tecumseh juries received when they jumped from windows. Two torontonian in the hotel escaped by a Basil Wolfe told How he and Morris Fishman both Well known in on Tario racing circles lowered them selves from their sixth floor room by bedsheets. A few minutes after they reached the ground our bed sheets went up in try to identify bodies sunday relatives of missing guests toured morgues and mortuaries looking at bodies which still were nameless. One or two May never be identified. Among victims of the fire were 18 delegates to a state . Youth Congress who were among 51 registered at the Winecoff. In one burned out room occupied by a youth conferences Delegate a Bible was found open at a burial verse. Trapped by flames a Bellhop said he had noticed no fumes or smoke when he delivered some soft drinks to a room on the fifth floor. But when he turned to leave the room he found he was trapped by flames in the doorway. The death toll eclipsed Chicago s Lasalle hotel fire of six months ago when 61 died and More than trebled the 34 dead terminal hotel fire 1938. In Atlanta s of May 16, Canadian hotel fires death of 11 persons in a fire at Saskatoon sunday recalled these other Canadian hotel fires March 17, died in fire at Woodbine hotel Toronto. Aug. 19, dead in Wawa hotel fire near Hunts Villa ont sept. 1. Dead in Medway court apartments Winnipeg. Sept. 11, dead in hotel Blaze at Rimouski. Que. Nov. 12, dead in fire at Albert s hotel Rouyn one. March 5, dead in fire at Queen hotel Halifax. July 1, dead in red Lake hotel fire red Lake out. .11 die 18 Are injured in hotel holocaust Saskatoon dec. 9 up fire scarred Shell of the 36-year-old Barry hotel stood monday As a grim reminder of an Early morning fast spreading Blaze which claimed 11 lives and sent 18 per sons to Hospital with varying degrees of Burns and other injuries. An inquest into the fire will open today with or. W. Oliver As Coroner. The fire worst in Canada since the Queen hotel fire in Halifax March 5, 1939, which took 28 lives followed by Only 24 hours the Winecoff hotel fire at Atlanta ga., in which 120 persons were killed. It marked a week end of costly blazes in Many parts of the continent in the Dominion alone the total damage from fires was estimated in the neighbourhood of Al circulating As a result of three other St. Boniface fires in the last 11 Days tache Block nov. 27, Winnipeg rendering company dec. 1, and Anderson packers dec. 7. However h. E. Putter fire commissioner of the province could see no evidence of a fire Bug. Discounts Rumor present i Don t see it my he said though our investigation is he added that there was Little information to go on at present since both buildings had burned almost to the ground but investigators were Busy. Chief a. Spence of the St. Boni face fire department also Dis counted the fire Bug Rumor. Although we can t attribute it to a he said we have no idea As yet what caused the it was Learned that two men one Well dressed and the other like a were reported to have been seen prowling around the Vicinity late Friday night by two night watchmen of the can Ada packers Plant. The watchmen were Harry Reed of 422 Eugenie Street and w. Speed of 224 har Bison Avenue who reported seeing a neat Dresser in a Black Over coat and hat walking about the packing company s grounds shortly elevator on Page 4, column 3 Over the Rotunda when the fire survivors of fire horrors Saskatoon dec. 9 cup stories of raging flames of frantic jumps from upper Storey windows and through skylights were recounted sunday by persons who had spent saturday night in the Barry hotel Here Only to be driven from then Beds when fire destroyed the three Storey Structure Early sunday with a loss of 11 lives and injury to is. H. Mitchell tenant in the Hote since last june said he was asleep when he heard someone shouting in the hallway. He dismissed the noise until he heard the wort he found the hallway filled with smoke and saw flames Licking to Ward him from a raging inferno several feet from where he stood i sure thought i was a goner i really did t think i d get of of there alive.1 he was eventually rescued a firemen who placed a ladder against a nearby window. Eddie Markosky University o. Saskatchewan student and Joe Schmidt of Humboldt sask., awoke to find a foot of water in their room. Markosky who ran into the Hall and jumped through a sky Light suffering cuts to his few and minor bruises was remove by ladder. Olga Stelmaschuk of Tarnopol sask jumped through the skylight and Ross about 11.30 . Day. Sun More i i shopping Days to i 1 Christmas i miners return to work after walkout Pittsburg dec. 9 Coal miners trooped Back to their jobs monday and resumed production of desperately needed fuel ending a 17-Day work stoppage that crippled United states Economy. Early reports from Pennsylvania and West Virginia which have about one half of the Coal miners showed miners generally obeyed John l. Lewis order to return to work although full production May not be reached before tuesday or wednesday. The Back to work movement which came after nearly other workers had been made Idle and Complete economic paralysis was threatened started sunday at three Small Ohio pits. A Carnegie Illinois steel corporation spokesman said it would be the latter part of the week be fore men slated for Layoff monday could be recalled because banked blast furnaces and cooled open hearths must first be fired up. The Ford motor company in Detroit after laying off workers late last week said efforts would be made to resume full production schedules to Morrow. Lewis ends strike Washington. Dec. 9 John l. Lewis gave in to the United states government saturday and ended the soft Coal strike. With which had shackled Industry like the finish of a Nightmare went virtually All the restrictions it had brought and the economic peril it had poised Over this and other countries. President Truman cancelled the broadcast he had planned for Sun Day night and went to an Art show smiling hut silent on the outcome. Or. Lewis ordered the miners to end the 17-Day walkout and go Back to work immediately. At the same time or. Lewis announced his readiness to negotiate with the private mine owners for new wage and other demands a step which could Clear the Way for the govern ment to get out of the Coal business. The sudden end of the strike brought Swift action by officials junking the Coal conservation Mea and darkened the Christmas out look. The freight and express embargoes were lifted the ban on passenger travel revoked and the 21-state dim out cancelled in time for saturday night shopping throngs except in a few places where utilities Are nearly out of fuel. A partial . Owners continued on Page 4, column 4 plan Lake Success. N.y., dec. 9 United nations poll tical sub committee monday wrote into its proposed reduction programme a recommendation that member govern ments begin a balanced Vith drawl of forces outside Home Borders and Institute a general demobilization of All troops. Fire scenes Page 9 awoke her Landing on what she thought was a Corpse. She scram bled to safety through the door Way. The Corpse was later discovered o be fireman George Hill of the my. 2 fire station. He was treated or Back injuries. Dave harms of Aberdeen sask. Was one of a group of five who crouched on the ledge of a sky ight after climbing out of his Oom. Closer he said the flames crepe and closer As they edged Back along the ledge. Just As firemen poked the top of a ladder through the Glass from Elow the flames trapped them on oth sides. Harms received minor Burns before making his escape Down the ladder. John Epp of Saskatoon who had Een in a motor Accident a few months ago and was still under doctor s creams care was awakened by of he left his Oom and found the corridor filled Vith smoke. Rushing Back to his room and pening the window he called on fire stories continued on Page 4, column 6 freight rates hearing Jan. 8 Ottawa dec. 9 Ings into the application of the acadian railway s for a 30 per ent increase in freight rates will pen Here Jan. 8 before the Board f transport commissioners it was in outed Friday. J. A. Croc chief commissioner the Board had not yet decided whether it would move outside be capital o hear represent a Lons. Meanwhile organizations rom any part of the country Ould present submissions at of Awa. List of casualties the identified dead William Niiro Mary Garnita Wall Nels Peterson and a or. Larson All from Saskatoon. R. Mcneil believed to be from Hamilton ont. Charles Robert Lyons Tisdale. Sask. Ronald Proctor Sovereign sask. Stanley Currie believed to be a resident of . Lee latin Alsask sask. Yon Wing believed to be from Melfort sask. One of the dead has not yet been identified. The injured ill. And mrs. Albert Scheiber Saskatoon. Eddie Merkosky Saskatoon University student. Annie Nixdorf Jansen sask. Walter Ennis Regina Canadian Pacific airlines employee. 4 Yip Chow Saskatoon. John Epp Saskatoon. Bertram Dykeman address unknown Joe Schmidt Humboldt sask. John a. Stelmaschuk Tarnopol Sasic David harms Humboldt. George Armitage Northside sask. Stewart Mcginnis Northside. R. J. Tyreman i taillight sask. W. Mitchell address unknown. Walter Osika re Berry sask. R. C. Rodgers he Berry. Ben Yea address unknown. Now owned by France former liner Europa j9. Of Germany sinks though Only Here was there loss of life. Reported to have started Early sunday from the explosion of a gasoline stove in a restaurant on the hotel s main floor the fire spread so rapidly through the three Storey building that firemen were or dered by acting capt e. Glare o forget the building there Are lives to. Be identification hard identification of the victims was hampered through loss of the hotel Register and it was several hours before a list of names issued. One body still remained unidentified monday. Some victims died of suffocation 3u t the bodies of others had been charred horribly by the flames. Fred Fries a waiter in. The res Aurant in which the Blaze origin ated recounted later How he had made a futile attempt to Stem its Advance. He was called to the Kitchen by he Cook he said. There he found he gasoline Range blazing and a can of gasoline on the floor shooting Lames eight feet High. Fries grabbed the can and tried o run to the Street with it a tightened customer bumped into Lim the can fell and rolled into the Lotel lobby. Another Man tried to kick it out through the door but the draft from a heavy electric Ian was believed to have sent the flames spiralling inward. "all1 hell then broke Fries Aid. The. Flames shot higher than a doorway and within a minute the building was an inferno. Coroner w. Oliver of Saskatoon monday launched the investigation. Dec. 9 the Frerich acquired former German luxury liner Europa re christened he liberte Sank in be Havre har Bor monday. The trans Atlantic liner broke its moorings at the French Ine docks in a storm and Sank at noon Agency France Presse re ported. The liner broke Loose and hurtled across the Basin in less than three minutes smashing against the Nulk of the sunken French liner a gaping Hole was staved into the. Liberte s Side. All abroad were Aken ashore at 8 ., 1 . C. S. Experts on the spot said Ihen hoped the ship could be re floated. The sinking occurred the Day after search ships found an Oil spot marking the. Watery Yard deep grave of the submarine 23-26, which had been unreported since it loft Toulon thursday with .6 men aboard. Luckless career the Europe s career was luckless from the Start. She was launched As a North German Lloyd liner in Germany in August 1928. A mysterious fire delayed her Maiden voyage to new York until March 1930. She set a West Ward Cross record of four Day 17 hours six minutes. Later she lost a passenger at sea and disabled a propeller on age. Jewelry Worth Dis appeared off her and her first master died. Twelve passengers were Hurt in a 1936 storm. In november 1940, the r. A. F. Claimed she had been bombed squarely amidships in a Bremen Dock and in August 1941, a uni Ted states Consul reported she Ana the Bremen had been wrecked by saboteurs. When United states troops went into Germany in May they found her in. Her port in relatively Good condition. While she was being reconditioned at five fires were found aboard her almost simultaneously. The United states Navy blamed a firebug. Saskatoon fire continued on Page column 1 Snow showers Are expected with he advancing cold air Over Mani Oba today and Over Northwest pm Ontario tonight and tuesday. The Kies will Clear rapidly Over the Western portion of the District to night and the Eastern portion on tuesday evening but the cold Veather will continue. In Winnipeg the High temperature sunday was 35 and the Low during the Nikki was 32 above. Bed River and Winnipeg Cloudy. Becoming overcast with widely scattered Snow showers in he late afternoon and Early even ing. Clearing tonight and Clear and much colder tuesday. Northwest winds 20 Mph. Low. Tonight at Winnipeg 8 below. High on tuesday ;