This day in history: The Collinwood school fire (also known as the Lake View School fire) was a major disaster that occurred on this day in 1908 at the Lake View School in Collinwood, Ohio, when a fire erupted, killing 172 students, two teachers and one rescuer. It is one of the deadliest school disasters in United States history.
"About nine o'clock in the morning on March 4, 1908, nine-year-old Niles Thompson jumped out of a window at Lakeview Elementary to escape a fire that had started in the basement of his school. Nearly two hundred children who had also been lucky enough to escape watched as flames engulfed the Collinwood school. Niles frantically ran among his schoolmates, searching for his little brother, Thomas. Once Niles realized his brother was not one of the safe children, he ran back into the school to save Thomas. Neither of the two Thompson boys walked out of their school again." Source
The origin of the fire remains uncertain, although numerous explanations abound. Newspapers circulated many possibilities, sometimes blaming the building's janitor Fritz Hirter for inattentiveness and for running the boiler too hot. Another theory held that the fire was caused by girls smoking in a basement closet near flammable materials. A quickly completed coroner's inquest concluded that heating pipes running next to exposed wooden joists ignited the building. The coroner blamed the fire on "conditions" and held no one legally accountable for it. Many parents condemned the speed of the inquest and objected to its refusal to hold the school board, the architects, Hirter or anyone else responsible. J.H. Morgan, Ohio's chief inspector of public buildings, explained the problem in his annual report to the governor and citizens: "The cause of the fire cannot be determined. Many believe it originated from the heating system or boilers, but proof has been offered to the contrary."
A memorial plaque placed at the site by the state of Ohio in 2003 asserts that the fire was of "unknown origin."
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