Cleveland Clinic fire of 1929
The Cleveland Clinic fire was a major structure fire at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on May 15, 1929. It started in the basement of the hospital and it was sparked when an exposed lightbulb came too close to flammable nitrocellulose x-ray film. The fire, generating poisonous gas and two separate explosions, claimed 123 lives, including that of one of the clinic's founders, Dr. John Phillips. Policeman Ernest Staab was killed by the gas while rescuing twenty-one victims. Disaster. The Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit Ohio corporation, founded in  1921 by four physicians. Late in the morning of May 15, 1929, an exposed lightbulb came too close to and ignited some nitrocellulose x-ray film. The burning film quickly produced a significant amount of poisonous gas, causing victims to inhale phosgene, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, and methyl chloride. Their faces turned yellowish-brown within minutes as they suffocated. Further complicating response to the fire, nitrocellulose continues to burn even while immersed in water and fighting the film-fueled fire simply caused more poisonous smoke to accumulate, raising the death toll. A first explosion came at a few seconds past  11:30 am; a clock on the third floor balcony stopped at that time. After the hollow center of the building was filled with poisonous gas, a second explosion shattered a skylight and sent the vapors into every corner of the clinic. Many of the building occupants succumbed to the poisons. Aftermath. Despite the heavy loss of life, firemen estimated the property damage at only $50,000 (about $800,000 in 2021 dollars). According to investigators, the Cleveland Clinic was not at fault for the fire. Nonetheless, the disaster was responsible for influencing significant changes to firefighting techniques. The city of  Cleveland issued gas masks to its fire departments and proposed a city ambulance service. Nationally, the disaster prompted medical facilities to establish standards for the storage of nitrocellulose film and other hazardous materials. Some historians have argued that the Cleveland Clinic fire was also a catalyst for the development of non-flammable, non-toxic chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants. Nevertheless, most of the deaths were from breathing carbon monoxide and nitric oxide rather than methyl chloride itself, and even at the time of the disaster chemical companies were aware of the hazards of existing refrigerants.