The Daily Alaska empire., 1946-06-05
5S PERSONS
 ARE KNOWN
 TO BE DEAD
Many 5uffotdfed by Smoke While Asleep in Bed-
 Five Extra Alarms

CHICAGO, June 5--At least 58 persons were killed--many suffo- cated in their beds without being awakened today in an early morning fire that swept through the 22-story La Sale Hotel in the heart of Chicago's loop district
 Fire department sources estimat- cd about 200 persons were injured.
 The first alarm was turned in at 12:35 am, when most of the HOO guests had retired for the night. Within 10 minutes the first three floors WI engulfed in flames and both of the main street exits from the 37-year- -old hostelry were im- passable.
 Five Extra Alarms
 Five extra alarms were sounded and more than 300 firemen battled the blaze bringing 1t under control about 3::30 am.
 Most of those who were burned had been housed on the third, fourth and sixth floors About the sixth floor. smoke and panic claimed their victims. At least 10 persons died as they leaped from their rooms and fell to the street or in a courtway
 Of the B bodies which overflow ed the County morgle-27 were listed as unidentified. On many of the bodies there were only few fragments of burned clothing, which crumbled when touched. Nest were clad only in pegligecs or robes.
 Tn addition three unidentified bodies those of two young boys and a woman--had not been re- moved from St. Luke's Hospital to the morgue 12 hours after the blaze.
 Explosions Heard
 Fire Marshal Michael Corrigan, calling the fire the worst in his 35 years of experience and "one of the hardest to explain said siremen had heard three explo- sicns. spaced about a minute and q half apart were heard preceding discovery of the fire,
 John Flanagan, Chief House De- tcctive at the La Salle. said the fire started in the No. elevator shaft. He quoted Detective Edward McNamara as saying that the op- orator of the No. elevator rushed into the lobby and said there was ] fire in his pit.
 Several persons with fire ex- tinguishers went to the reported location of the fire. and the fire department was summoned, arriv- ing in five or six minutes.
 Appalling Fire Spread
 But it was simply appalling the way the fire spread McNamara said Tn a twinkling the whole lobby was mass of flames. From then on, everything was chaos" Coroner A. L. Brodie called an inquest this morning, and said he would use prominent hotel man. agers and engineers for members of the jury.
 Bremen and volunteers rushed into the hotel, to control the blaze, and assist the guests from the building. Smoke and heat rushed to the upper floors through the elevator shafts, permeating all the halls and filling the rooms. On the fourth floor, seven bodies were found in crawling position. The victims had been headed toward fire escape. and had been over- come on the way.
 On glass canopy were found the bodies of mother and her child, arms banding one another. Both were burned beyond recog- milton.
 The figures of many persons ap- peared in windows. as if they were planning to leap. Even as flame and smoke menaced those in the windows, firemen cautioned.
 Sit tight--well get you out
 Rescue ladders were quickly rais- ed and more than 50 persons were rescued. Military police and shore patrol members banded together with police. firemen and other vol unteers to stretch nets in the streets to catch those who chose to leap. One woman was carried down fire escape by a fireman and rushed to passavant Hospital Almost on arrival, she gave birth to baby.
 If only some of them had not