The Hotel Roosevelt (in the foreground), in a 2001 Navy photograph. (Photo credit: Jeff Hilton)

The Hotel Roosevelt fire, on December 29, 1963, was the worst fire Jacksonville, Florida had seen since the Great Fire of 1901, and it contributed to the worst one-day death toll in the city's history. Twenty-two people died, mostly from carbon monoxide poisoning. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 2 days remaining. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: Where Florida Begins Motto: Official website: http://www. ... The Great Fire of 1901 in Jacksonville, Florida was one of the worst disasters in Florida history. ... Carbon monoxide toxicity is due to two main mechanisms: CO binds to hemoglobin and decreases the oxygen content of blood; this results in acute tissue hypoxic injury CO binds to mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase and impairs oxidative phosphorylation and causes cell damage Carbon monoxide (CO) binds very strongly to the iron...

The Hotel Roosevelt was, at the time, one of only two luxury hotels in the city's downtown, with many restaurants and businesses located on its ground floor, including a ballroom and a barber shop. At the year's end, the Hotel Roosevelt hosted hundreds of travelers who came to attend the Gator Bowl. A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated puprose of which is holding dances (balls). ... The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played at ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. ...

Timeline

The fire was said to be started after a cigarette was left unattended in the ground-floor ballroom after a Gator Bowl celebration^[1], but was in reality started in the ballroom's ceiling; the old ceiling, which was deemed a fire hazard, was not removed when the new ceiling was installed, providing kindling for the fire, which started from faulty wires.^[2] A cigarette will burn to ash on one end. ... Kindling is material for starting a fire. ...

The first calls to the Jacksonville Fire Department were made at 7:30 a.m. Smoke was traveling throughout the 13-story building, and hotel visitors climbed out of the smoky building with the help of other patrons and bedsheets tied together. Mayor W. Haydon Burns immediately called for assistance from the U.S. Navy, and eight helicopters were flown to downtown from Cecil Field and NAS Jacksonville. The airmen helped the patrons out of the building, and transported them to a nearby parking lot, where ambulances were already waiting. William Haydon Burns (March 17, 1912 - November 22, 1987) was the thirty-fifth governor of Florida. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... Naval Air Station Jacksonville, located in Jacksonville, Florida, is the third-largest naval installation in the United States. ... An ambulance is a vehicle designated for the transport of sick or injured people. ...

The fire was extinguished by 9:30 a.m., and it was estimated that nearly 475 people were saved from the burning building. After a day of recovering the dead, firefighters found 21 residents dead in their beds from smoke inhalation. In addition, assistant chief J.R. Romedy collapsed of a heart attack during the initial rescue efforts, and died at the scene.

Aftermath and remembrance

Property damage to the Hotel Roosevelt was immense, and the hotel was closed in 1964, with most of the hotel's businesses and staff relocating to the equally upscale Hotel George Washington. After much renovation, the building was re-opened as a retirement home, the Jacksonville Regency House, which closed in 1989. For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX in Roman) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The former Hotel Roosevelt, located on Adams Street in downtown, is still standing. The building was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in February 1991. Memorials are still held to remember those who died in the fire (the most recent gathering occurred in December 2003 for the 40th anniversary of the blaze). The National Register of Historic Places is the USAs official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 2003: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - → Events December 31, 2003 In Taiwan, President Chen Shui-bian signs a law that allows referendums to be held. ...

Myths about the fire

A popular urban legend that circulated in the months and years after the fire was that the 1963 "Gator Bowl Queen" jumped from the roof to her death, but was later proven as false. ^[3] 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Notes and references