Hotel Royal fire

The Hotel Royal fire occurred on February 7, 1892, at the Hotel Royal in New York City, killing 28 people.[1][2] The fire began in the hotel's elevator shaft, where the night engineer was performing maintenance work by the light of a candle. The candle's flame either ignited a gas leak in the shaft, or it caught a dry tinder such as dust and was then flamed by the strong winds blowing through the shaft.[3] A coroner's jury assigned no fault for the fire and made no recommendations for safety improvements; however, legislation was introduced in the New York State Assembly that sought to tighten the building code in light of the fire as well as the 1891 Park Place disaster.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ Hellmann, Paul T. (2006). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Routledge. p. 776. ISBN 9781135948597.
  2. ^ "BURNED IN A DEATH TRAP: TERRIBLE AND FATAL FIRE IN A SIXTH AVENUE HOTEL THE HOTEL ROYAL DESTROYED IN THE EARLY MORNING FIVE GUESTS KNOWN TO BE BURNED TO DEATH, WHILE OVER FORTY ARE MISSING FIFTEEN OTHERS HURT THE ONLY STAIRCASE CUT OFF FROM THE INMATES-- THRILLING SCENES AND NARROW ESCAPES-- GALLANT WORK OF THE FIREMEN AND POLICE". The New York Times. February 8, 1892. p. 1.
  3. ^ "HOW THE FIRE STARTED.: MARSHAL MITCHEL'S REPORT ON THE HOTEL ROYAL DISASTER". The New York Times. February 14, 1892. p. 8.
  4. ^ "THE HOTEL ROYAL FIRE.: AN INCONSEQUENTIAL VERDICT BY THE CORONER'S JURY". The New York Times. February 25, 1892. p. 2.
  5. ^ "TO PROTECT HUMAN LIFE: A NEW BUILDING LAW PROPOSED IN THE ASSEMBLY PRECAUTIONS SUGGESTED BY THE PARK PLACE AND HOTEL ROYAL DISASTERS-- INSPECTORS TO BE PUNISHED FOR NEGLECT OF DUTY". The New York Times. February 16, 1892. p. 2.

40°45′12.2″N 73°59′5.5″W / 40.753389°N 73.984861°W / 40.753389; -73.984861