Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
The Daily Alaska Empire
Juneau, Juneau County, Alaska
What is this article about?
A fire fueled by oil stoves rapidly engulfed the wooden guardhouse at Sandia Base military prison in Albuquerque, N.M., on March 9, killing 14 prisoners and critically injuring 2 others. Guards' rescue attempts failed amid smoke; 20 more treated for effects. No explosion; victims suffocated quickly.
Clipping
OCR Quality
Full Text
COPLON
GETS
FIRESWEPT
15 YEARS
RED
14
ARE
DEAD
ORDERED
OUT
Oil-fed Flames Leap Like
Lightning Through
Military Prison
ALBUQUERQUE. N.M., March 9
-(A)-Oilfed flames, leaping lightning
fast through a Sandia base
guardhouse, snuffed out the lives
of 14 military prisoners last night.
Trapped with them in the tinder-
dry wood structure, the prison's
other two inmates were injured
critically. It was the first major dis-
aster in the history of the war-
built installation-now a semi-sec-
ret assembly point for the atomic
bomb. None of the victims were
from the Pacific Northwest.
Two guards, alerted by prisoners'
cries, vainly tried to rescue them
from behind bars and meshed wire
windows. They were overcome along
with six others fighting the blaze.
Twenty additional officers and men
also were treated for smoke effects.
Investigators said there was no
doubt the fire started from one of
two big oil stoves used to heat the
guard house.
Victims Die Quickly
It was all over 25 minutes after
the first alarm was sounded at 7:35
p.m. (MST). Thirteen of the prison-
ers apparently died in the first few
seconds; the other succumbed two
hours later at a hospital.
Most of the victims were believed
to have inhaled the intense, almost
instantaneous heat and suffocated,
Sandia authorities said.
Contrary to first reports, Maj.
Kenneth Kolster, Sandia's intelli-
gence officer, said there was no
evidence of an explosion.
Examination of the charred, dank
smelling structure afterward bore
him out.
The prisoners had finished their
evening meal a short time before.
Some already were in bed, reading
or sleeping.
Personal effects littered their
quarters, some scarcely touched by
the blaze.
Major Kolster described five of
the prison inmates as "bad cookies,"
jailed after conviction on serious
charges by a military court. The
others he labelled minor offenders.
Kolster said the fire-swept guard-
house-a temporary type building-
is at least three-quarters of a mile
from the nearest restricted area, in
which activities are secret.
What sub-type of article is it?
What keywords are associated?
What entities or persons were involved?
Where did it happen?
Domestic News Details
Primary Location
Albuquerque, N.M., Sandia Base
Event Date
March 9
Key Persons
Outcome
14 military prisoners dead, 2 inmates injured critically, 8 guards and fighters overcome by smoke, 20 additional officers and men treated for smoke effects
Event Details
Oil-fed flames from two big oil stoves spread lightning fast through the tinder-dry wooden guardhouse at Sandia base, trapping 16 military prisoners inside. Guards attempted rescue through bars and meshed wire windows but were overcome. The fire started at 7:35 p.m. MST and was over in 25 minutes. Thirteen prisoners died in seconds from heat and suffocation, one later at hospital. No explosion occurred. The guardhouse is a temporary structure at least three-quarters of a mile from restricted areas. Five inmates were serious offenders, others minor.