“The St. Elizabeth Fire" at the German American Heritage Center -- January 26.

Sunday, January 26, 2 p.m.

German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport IA

Presented as part of the Davenport venue's popular Kaffee und Kuchen series, an in-person and online program on one of the most horrific tragedies in Iowa history - one that took place just over 75 years ago - will take place in The St. Elizabeth Fire, with Bret Grimes, the Bettendorf-based author of The St. Elizabeth Hospital Fire in Iowa, leading the January 26 discussion at the Herman American Heritage Center.

On January 7, 1950, a fire erupted at Davenport's St. Elizabeth's Mental Health Facility for women, located at what is now MercyOne Genesis Davenport West Medical Center. This disaster garnered state-wide and national attention as the second-largest loss of life in the history of the state and the third-largest hospital fire in the nation, to date. Started by a patient, the fire claimed the lives of 40 additional patients and one nurse, while 25 other patients were miraculously rescued. However, rescue efforts were hampered by the fact that most patients were locked in their rooms at the time.

In his book The St. Elizabeth Hospital Fire in Iowa, Grimes recounts the lives of those who fought and survived the ordeal, and as he recently explained on WQAD-TV, "Our local history matters. It matters because fire safety standards were significantly changed in response to a detailed fire investigation that showed less than ideal conditions on that fateful night. It matters because firefighters, police officers, and nurses risked their lives to help complete strangers in a time of need."

Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten told WQAD-TV, "It's changed how fire codes and different things, how fire departments react to these kind of conditions throughout the world. The bars on the windows and things like that in buildings were people can't rescue themselves, are things that we do not actually want to have in place. We understand security is one thing, but human life and life safety is most important for the fire service."

The St. Elizabeth Fire will be presented at Davenport's German American Heritage Center on January 26, with refreshments served at 1:30 p.m. and the program beginning at 2 p.m. This program is both in-person and virtual, as the session will be recorded and available to watch at a later time. (Virtual access will be sent Thursday, January 23, and again on the morning of January 26.) Copies of presenter Bret Grimes' book The St. Elizabeth Hospital Fire in Iowa will also be available, and there will be time available for the author to sign copies.

Admission to this "Kaffee und Kuchen" event is free for Heritage Center members and $5 for non-members, and more information is available by calling (563)322-8844 and visiting GAHC.org.

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