Hotel Roosevelt fire

Fire and evacuation

The fire started in the ballroom's ceiling. The old ceiling, which was deemed a fire hazard, was not removed when the new ceiling was installed, providing kindling for the fire, which started from faulty wires.

The first call to the Jacksonville Fire Department was made at 7:45 a.m., by hotel doorman Alton Joseph Crowden. Smoke was traveling through the 13-story building, and hotel visitors climbed out of the smoky building with the help of other patrons and bedsheets tied together.

Mayor W. Haydon Burns immediately called for assistance from the U.S. Navy, and eight helicopters flew to downtown from Cecil Field and NAS Jacksonville. The airmen helped the patrons exit the building, and transported them to a nearby parking lot, where ambulances were waiting.

The fire was extinguished by 9:30 a.m., and it was estimated that nearly 475 people were saved from the burning building.

Victims

After a day of recovering dead, firefighters found 20 residents dead in bed from smoke inhalation. A woman died after attempting to climb to safety from her 11th floor room, but slipped while on a rope she made from bedsheets. In addition, assistant chief J.R. Romedy collapsed of a heart attack during initial rescue efforts and died at the scene.

Notable survivors

Survivors of the fire included 1964 Miss America Donna Axum,

Aftermath

Immediately after the fire many local Jacksonville residents, churches and businesses took in displaced hotel guests, and provided food and clothes to those displaced.

Property damage to the Hotel Roosevelt was immense, and the hotel was closed in 1964, with most of the hotel's businesses and staff relocating to the equally upscale Hotel George Washington. After much renovation, the building was re-opened as a retirement home and the Jacksonville Regency House, which closed in 1989.

Legal

The city and fire department were cleared of liability in nearly 40 lawsuits, which were seeking $10 million in damages related to the fire. The ruling by Circuit Judge Marion Gooding, left Hotel Roosevelt Inc and the fire insurer U.S. Fidelity and Guarantee Co. as the targets for damage claims in the fire, and not the city and the insurance company.

Memorials

The former Hotel Roosevelt, located on Adams Street in downtown, is still standing. The building was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in February 1991. Memorials are still held to remember those who died in the fire; the most recent gathering occurred in December 2003, for the 40th anniversary of the blaze. The building was renovated in recent years and is now known as The Carling, an upscale apartment residence.

References

References

1. (December 30, 1963). "Tragedy Ends Gator Bowl Fete". [[Los Angeles Times]].
2. (December 30, 1963). "Hotel Fire". [[Los Angeles Times]].
3. (January 1, 1964). "Report Near in Probe of Hotel Blaze". [[The Tampa Tribune]].
4. (January 1, 1964). "Fire Cause Is Mystery". [[Spokane Daily Chronicle]].
5. (December 30, 1963). "Jacksonville, FL Hotel Roosevelt Fire, Dec 1963". The News Tribune.
6. Soergel, Matt. "Roosevelt Hotel Fire: 22 people died in blaze, but heroes prevented that total from being even higher". The Florida Times.
7. (December 30, 1963). "Hotel Met All Fire Hazard Regulations". [[The Palm Beach Post]].
8. (December 30, 1963). "21 Perish In Hotel Fire In Jacksonville". [[Observer–Reporter.
9. (December 31, 1963). "Florida Hotel Fire Damage Expected to Be Tremendous". [[The Times (Shreveport).
10. (December 30, 1963). "Basketball Team Rescued From Florida Hotel Fire". [[The Times (Shreveport).
11. (2016-05-09). "50 years ago: Judge absolves city of liability in deadly Roosevelt Hotel fire {{!}} Jax Daily Record {{!}} Financial News & Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida". Financial News & Daily Record - Jacksonville, Florida.
12. "The Carling".
13. "Carling Hotel".
14. Gelbert, Doug. "A Walking Tour of Jacksonville, Florida".