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By D«bra Ri*morGazette StaffDense smoke and fumes from a massive fire in the Jeffris Theatre, 319 W. Milwaukee, killed one man in the adjoining downtown hotel early Sunday morning, injured 15 persons and prompted the evacuation of some 50 tenants of the historic Monterey Hotel.The fire, which started about 4 a.m. in the manager’s office of the theater, with smoke billowing into the 95-unit hotel, killed David White, 44, a hotel resident.White, pronounced dead of carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke inhalation, was found about 2Vz hours later in a second-floor hotel room. A diabetic and amputee, White may have returned to the hotel, which faces 5 S. High, after the initial evacuation and a room-to-room search by firefighters, officials said.Another hotel resident, Charles Miller, 79, was in “good” condition at Mercy Hospital today, suffering from smoke inhalation.Two of 14 firefighters injured required hospital treatment. MichaelGang, 27, suffered a broken rib in a fall down a staircase and Capt. Bernard Haschke, 44, suffered a burn to his forehead and glass cuts to his feet. Both were treated at Mercy Hospital and released.The fire was discovered by a hotel desk clerk at 4:04 a.m. when smoke began filling the third floor of the seven-story complex. He and Sophie Pulliam, assistant manager, alerted firefighters and ledtenants into the hotel lobby.“It was orderly, very calm,” Margaret Barnsley recalled of the evacuation. “People sort of drifted down very slowly. ”It didn’t take long for the smoke to intensify and force residents to seek temporary refuge at the Milwaukee Bar, 401 W. Milwaukee. Smoke became so dense, it hovered over High Street and a portion of the downtown area.Haschke, who commanded the first fire crew, immediately directed masked men to the third floor but found no flames. Moments later, smoke seeped out of the theater next door.A second crew, directed by Lt. Eugene Erickson, moved operations to that vantage point, as others searched the hotel. Next, all available Janesville firefightersand an aerial truck and crew fromthe Beloit Fire Department were solicited to battle the stubborn blaze.Early in the fire, it was thought the blaze—which had extended from the theater’s hallway and office area into the floor above— had moved across to the second floor of the hotel. The theater and motel walls abut; a fire door on the second floor serves as the building’s connecting link.Firefighters unsuccessfully triedtteiDense smoke poured from the Jeffris Theatre Sunday morning, partially obscuring the adjoining Monterey Hotel where a man diedDisplaced people/IB timeserved nothing suspicious at theto move toward that fire door to knock down the theater fire. “There was so much heat, we were driven back,” said Shift Commander Jerry Burhans.Hotel windows were broken to establish cross-ventilation. Two aerial buckets were raised to jetty three streams of water into the theater. “We were able to make headway when she broke through the roof,” said Burhans.Then, flames about 15 feet high, danced from the rooftop. The fire, under control by 7:30 a. m., still had a few hot spots two hours later. Overhaul took most of the day.The state fire marshal was at the scene all day Sunday and returned today to investigate the fire’s cause, which has not been established yet. Loss estimates are not known.Marilyn Wilson, Jeffris manager, said she closed the theater about 11:40 p.m. Saturday and ob-Fire damage in the office of the Jeffris, which is owned by Larry Ormson, is most extensive in the office, a storage area on the second floor and the roof above the lobby and a barbershop. The projection room and auditorium are intact.The hotel, owned by Archie Johnson, sustained significant heat, water and smoke damage. Estimates are the building will not be habitable for a week.Other businesses, those from 315 to 327 W. Milwaukee, sustained water losses. They were: the Monterey Barber Shop; Christian Science Reading Room; Donald Balfour’s optometry office, and Richter Realty Insurance Agency.Other firefighters injured were: John Casper, Thomas Cunningham, David Sheen, Robert Howard, Robert Geschke, Eugene Erickson, Robert Selby, Mark Shelton, Jim Dennis, Timothy Ehlers, Jim Osenga and Gary Trulson.Gary Porter/oozeneJanesville firefighter plays hose onto burning building from the aerial ladder• . .v7 * ■/.• - ,;x •-*.....^7 - • -
Newspaper Details
Janesville Gazette
Janesville, Wisconsin, US
Mon, Mar 28, 1983
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
CA 14 Apr 2021
Other Publications Near Janesville, Wisconsin
Janesville Badger State
Janesville Alliance Messenger
Janesville Morning Gazette
Janesville Daily Gazette
Weekly Gazette and Free Press
