The Mankato free press., 1923-12-28
INSANE PATIENTS
PERISHFD IN FIRE
Seventeen Lost Lives In Chi
cago Blaze
MANY STILL AT LARGE
illinois State Hospital. Old Wooden
/. Structure, Was Fired
I ~ Last Night
IAssociated Press Dispatchl


a swiftly spreading fire of unascer-
tanned origin destroyed an old wood
en- pavilion known as the death
house" at the state hospital for the
insane at Dunning, at the north
western edge of Chicago. Fourteen
of the dead are known to have been
patients in various stages OF insan-
ity. Three others were E. ]. Carak-
er and his wife, attendants, and
Lowell, their eight year old son.
Only one patient has been identi-
fed. The bodies OF the others were
burned beyond Identification.
About thirty nye OF the patients,
including several of q violent type,
broke away in the excitement OF
herding more than 500 inmates from
the danger zone. Several were TAX
en- back to the institution after hard
struggles with the police.
Worst Fire Of Kind
A dozen supposedly dangerous
patients were reported still at large
early today.
It was one OF the worst institu-
tional fires in Illinois history. The
building, witnesses said, seemed to
go up in one great burst of flame. 1t
was given the name death house"
when IL was the property Of Cook
county because OF its f1imsy con-
struction, It is said. II housed ap-
proximately 900 patients suffering
with the milder forms OF insanity.
A number Of patients were epilep-
tics, usually in full control of their
faculties. and they aided in rescuing
the helpless.
The institution houses approx
mately $500 patients, and the shrek
of the fire alarm threw them into a
frenzy. Attendants battled to drive
them back from doors and windows
CONSUMED the wdotIn serzct !,
The cries Of the charges led past the
buildings housing the more danger
ous patients excited them all the
NOSE, and for an hour the scene
was one Of bedlam.
More than a dozen fire depart
ment companies responded to a
general alarm. but their apparatus
was stalled in the mud of the insti-
difficulty that the fire was fought.
Bed ticking, blankets and clothing
were laid in the mud to provide
traction for the fire trucks, and
. some literally were brought UP by
man power. sr
Hold Joint Investigation
Blame for the deaths in the fiimsy
building. win be fixed by joint in
vestigation OF five official agencies
working with Oscar Wolff. Cook
county coroner.
The institution recently had been
crowded beyond its limits by an in
fux Of patients from the county
courts, psychopathic hospital and
from other county institutions.
The Dunning asylum has had. in
GLIDING that Of last night, eight
ntw
the others were OF any serious con-
sequence.
o.. investigations To Start
Formal inquiry into the fire will
be inaugurated today by Judge c. H.
jenkins Of Springfield, director Of
the department Of public welfare,
according to hospital attendants.
Judge Jenkins was expected to ar
rive early in the day to take charge
of the investigation in behalf of the
state.
Three other inquiries by city and
county officials also were scheduled
to begin today, one under the di-
rection OF Coroner Wolff, another by
iCounty Judge Jarecki, and a third
by City Fire Attorney E. J. Witty.
J. Hours of informal investigation
last night failed to disclose the pro-
bable cause OF the blaze. Several
THEORIES have been advanced by at
ltendants, but conclusive evidence in
tsupport OF any probability still is
lacking.
The oyercrowded condition of the
frame structure, which housed be-
tween 600 and 700 patients, probab-
ily will be the starting point OF at
fleast one Of the county investiga-
tions, It was indicated.
To Start Vigorous Probe
Coroner Wolff said he would Sc
1ect city officials and business men
70 SIT on the coroner's jury.
"I am going to get to the bottom
OF this as quickly as possible" he
declared.
| Three OF the thirteen inmates who
were at large during the night re-
turned to their homes in the city
this morning, according to reports
to the superintendents Of the in
stitution.
/ Ten inmates still are unaccount-
ed for. They are believed to have
wandered from the grounds during
the confusion, but the ruins Of the
building still are being searched for
County Judge Jarech indicated he
would launch vigorous investiga-
tion Of the crowded condition of the
institution, which he branded "a
shame to the community"
Removal Of Inmates
Judge Jarecki Immediately set in
motion machinery to remove a num-
Der OF patients to other state insti-
tutions. Between 600 and 700 in
mates were driven to improvised
emergency quarters in other build
ings, already filled to capacity.
A check of the dead and missing
this morning made little change in
the figures Seventeen are known to
be dead, thirteen OF them unidenti-
fed and ten others unaccounted for.
The list Of unaccounted for had
stood at thirteen until relatives re-
ported the arrival at their homes OF
three OF the patients. Until the ten
can be accounted for Identification
! ~ charred bodies cannot be made.