I've written in the past on this blog about destructive fires, especially business district fires and school fires, in the Ozarks and surrounding region, but I know of only one fire in the immediate Ozarks area that claimed a multitude of lives. (By "multitude," I mean more than just a half dozen or so.) That one fire was the West Plains dance hall explosion/fire in 1928, which claimed somewhere around 38 lives, I think. However, if we look beyond the immediate Ozarks region to include the entire state of Missouri, there has been at least one fire in the Show-Me State that was more deadly than the West Plains disaster. (Maybe more than one. I haven't tried to research the topic extensively.)
On February 17, 1957. a fire broke out at the Katie Jane Memorial Home, a nursing facility for the elderly, in Warrenton, Missouri. Initial reports said at least 71 people perished in the blaze, and later estimates upped the figure a notch or two. At the time, it was the worst fire in Missouri history in terms of the number of victims, and, as far as I know, it still holds that dubious distinction.
It was a Sunday afternoon, and about 100 visitors were at the home in addition to the 150 or so patients/residents. The fire broke out about 2:30 p.m. in a first-floor sitting room and quickly spread to other parts of the 2 1/2-story brick structure, which had formerly housed the Central Wesleyan College. The fire swept down hallways and from room to room, feeding on wood furniture, wood floors, curtains, rugs, and other flammable materials. Almost all of those who died were elderly and infirm patients at the home.
Headlines in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch told the horrifying, heartrending story: "Screams of Elderly Patients Were Quickly Stilled by Flames" and "Rescuers Worked in Eerie Silence Soon After Fire Engulfed Nursing Home."
Several survivors told harrowing stories of their attempts to rescue others from the burning building. A Lutheran minister who was conducting a Sunday service for about 20 people told of leading his congregants to safety and then going back into the building to save other people. His first trip back into the building was successful, but then he got trapped by the fire and had to be rescued himself by climbing through a window and down a ladder. A nurse led several old men to safety, but when she tried to re-enter the building, the front entrance was already engulfed in flames. A neighbor who lived just a block or so away hurried to the scene with a ladder and began rescuing people. He told of one old woman who didn't want to abandon her belongings, and he had to coax her out the window. "I used some pretty strong language," he said. "I got hold of her and dragged her out over my shoulder."
Investigators blamed the fire on faulty wiring. The home had recently been inspected in order to have its license renewed, and the license was being held up, partly because the wiring had yet to be inspected by a competent electrician. After the fire, Missouri governor James T. Blair, Jr. called the fire "a terrible tragedy" and said he was going to appeal to the legislature for stricter inspection laws in the state.
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This and an earlier fire in 1952 that claimed 20 lives caused the Missouri legislature to introduce,"A bill to require sprinkler systems in all nursing homes, and other institutions in the state." The bill was entered the very next day after the Katie Jane fire.
My father was one of the firemen from Warrenton Volunteer Fire Department that responded to that fire. I was just a baby at the time. This fire was so traumatic for my father that he never spoke about it even unto his dying day. I asked my Mom once about it and she said to never speak of it. So I know no more than I can find in papers about the horrible incident. It was the unspoken tragedy in Warrenton - I grew up there and never was it spoken of.
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