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Story
March 28, 1944
The Daily Monitor Leader
Mount Clemens, Macomb County, Michigan
What is this article about?
Suspected arson fire at San Francisco's New Amsterdam Hotel kills 21, injures 20 war workers; Chief Sullivan cites incendiary origin amid three nearby fires. Female operator missing.
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OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
Seek Fire Bug in Wake of Fatal Blaze
Score Injured; Officials Cite Incendiarism
SAN FRANCISCO, March 28 (AP) - Twenty-one persons were known dead and a score of injured were in hospitals after a blaze which Fire Chief Albert J. Sullivan said "undoubtedly must have been of incendiary origin" swept through the New Amsterdam Hotel early today.
The three-story frame structure housed about 100 tenants in its 72 rooms, firemen said after talking to some of those who escaped. Most of the tenants are shipyard and war industry workers, police said.
The operator of the hotel, a woman, had not been located several hours after the blaze spread so quickly through the two upper stories that policemen at the Southern District Station, half a block away, said the entire building was in flames when they rushed to the street as the alarm was turned in.
The fire broke out "too suddenly and swept through the hotel too quickly to have been of ordinary origin," Fire Chief Sullivan said.
Three other fires of unknown origin had been reported within a radius of five blocks of the hotel earlier on the night.
Score Injured; Officials Cite Incendiarism
SAN FRANCISCO, March 28 (AP) - Twenty-one persons were known dead and a score of injured were in hospitals after a blaze which Fire Chief Albert J. Sullivan said "undoubtedly must have been of incendiary origin" swept through the New Amsterdam Hotel early today.
The three-story frame structure housed about 100 tenants in its 72 rooms, firemen said after talking to some of those who escaped. Most of the tenants are shipyard and war industry workers, police said.
The operator of the hotel, a woman, had not been located several hours after the blaze spread so quickly through the two upper stories that policemen at the Southern District Station, half a block away, said the entire building was in flames when they rushed to the street as the alarm was turned in.
The fire broke out "too suddenly and swept through the hotel too quickly to have been of ordinary origin," Fire Chief Sullivan said.
Three other fires of unknown origin had been reported within a radius of five blocks of the hotel earlier on the night.
What sub-type of article is it?
Disaster
Crime Story
What themes does it cover?
Catastrophe
Crime Punishment
What keywords are associated?
Hotel Fire
Arson Suspicion
Fatal Blaze
San Francisco
Incendiary Origin
War Workers
What entities or persons were involved?
Albert J. Sullivan
Where did it happen?
San Francisco, New Amsterdam Hotel
Story Details
Key Persons
Albert J. Sullivan
Location
San Francisco, New Amsterdam Hotel
Event Date
March 28
Story Details
A blaze of suspected incendiary origin killed 21 and injured about 20 at the three-story New Amsterdam Hotel, housing shipyard and war industry workers. Fire Chief Sullivan stated the fire spread too suddenly to be ordinary. The female operator was missing, and three other fires occurred nearby.