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In the early hours of March 2, 1939 a devastating fire struck the Queen Hotel on Hollis Street taking 28 lives and injuring many more.
The five storey Queen, built in sections between 1849 and 1908 was mainly brick with wooden interiors.
The Hotel was not equipped with the protective devices of modern day.
There was no alarm system or sprinkler system and fire escapes could not be easily accessed. |
HRM Archives photo #102-16N-0010.1 . |
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Firefighters responding from Station 4 Bedford Row and Station 3 University Avenue were on the scene very quickly and witnessed guests jumping from windows.
The Halifax Fire Department's only available aerial ladder was raised with difficulty through the overhead wires.
Firefighters also used ground ladders to rescue hotel guests and staff.
The grim task of rescue and firefighting continued for many hours. |
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HRM Archives photo #102-16N-0010.6 |
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Firefighters dramatically rescued hotel guests.
"A desperate father was able to get his two children out through a window and into a life net nine metres below before following them to safety."
"Two firemen raced up a ladder, ducking shooting flames to rescue a woman who only moments before had tried to reach a ladder, missed and was left cling by her fingertips to a narrow ledge. The firemen had just enough time to slip a rope under her arms and lower her to safety before she passed out"* |
HRM Archives photo #102-16N-0010.5
Taken by Roy Tidman Halifax Chronicle |
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HRM Archives photo #102-16N-0010.4. Taken by Roy Tidman Halifax Chronicle
The fire also destroyed two adjoining buildings, causing $800,000 damage.
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Justice M.B. Archibald's Inquiry faulted the hotel owner for lack of safety features and staff training, the Provincial Fire Marshall for not enforcing its fire safety regulations for Hotels, and the fire department for lack of adequate equipment.
In the end the cause of the fire was never proven although there were several possibilities.
The Fire Marshall's Office acted on recommendations to implement better fire safety regulations with the power to enforce them. |
HRM Archives photo #102-16N-0010.3
Taken by Roy Tidman Halifax Chronicle
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Text suggested by Don Snider, retired member of Halifax Fire Department, with reference to Allison Lawlor, 250 Years of Progress: Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, Nimbus Publishing Ltd., 2005.
Photographs are from the Queen Hotel Fire file of the Halifax Police Department photographs series. More photos available at the Archives.
*Source: Lawlor, p. 41
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