The tragic Christmas of ’76: Wentworth Arms fire was one of Hamilton’s worst
It was Hamilton's saddest Christmas.
Amid a snowy drizzle on Dec. 25, 1976, the Wentworth Arms Hotel at Hughson and Main streets erupted into a horrific fire that took the lives of six people.
A deadly combination of malice, mental illness, neglect and complacency had come together when at 7 p.m. the landmark hotel, restaurant and bar lit up the night sky with flames that could be easily seen from the mountain," retired Hamilton Fire Department Deputy Chief John Verbeek wrote in his 610-page, 2012 book Hamilton Fire Department - A Historical Look Back."
When the fire broke out, a restaurant in the building was packed with diners eating Christmas Day dinner while long-term residents were in their rooms. In all, there were more than 100 people in the 76-room building.
People didn't evacuate immediately because they were so used to false alarms. They would just ignore them," says Verbeek, who retired in March 2020, after 38 years, and is recognized as the foremost expert on the fire department's history.
Alarm bells had been muted by people stuffing paper in them. An inquest heard about a special switch that employees used to easily turn off frequent fire bells.
During the dinner at the hotel, a man begging for money was asked to leave. But, he later returned to set a Christmas tree on fire with flames that spread through the building.
Firefighters quickly responded, but the hotel was already a fireball when they arrived. Men and women were screaming and those who could, were running out the doors. Others were desperately banging on windows in the upper floors. Firefighters used ladders to break windows and rescue people," Verbeek says.
Nearly every piece of available fire equipment in the city was called to the scene. But Verbeek says the building was doomed from the minute the fire was lit." The hotel had been renovated many times over the years and its walls and ceilings were filled with voids and spaces that acted as conduits for the fire. Flames raced through these spaces and allowed for the fire to spread before it erupted essentially in all corners of the building."
Eventually, the roof and the east wall collapsed. The building was later demolished, and a parking lot sits there today.
The man who set the fire, Vaughan Copp, 26, was arrested at the YMCA nearby. He faced six charges of second-degree murder but was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was committed to the mental health centre at Penetanguishene and released in 1990.
Copp, who had suffered from psychotic schizophrenia, believed he was a prophet of God and that every time he lit a match something positive would happen somewhere in the world.
HAMILTON'S MOST HISTORIC FIRES
The Wentworth Arms tragedy was one of the five most significant fires in Hamilton over the past 80 years, according to Verbeek.
Here are the other four:
Moose Hall
Wilson and Cathcart streets
May 24, 1944
The deadliest fire in Hamilton's history took place 77 years ago, at a dance for Royal Oak Dairy employees at the Moose Hall at Wilson and Cathcart Streets. Ten people died and 47 were injured after an arsonist set fire to a staircase inside the building that prevented party goers from escaping. More than 70 people ended up jumping out of second floor windows. A new employee at the dairy, Douglas Dunsmore, 26, was arrested two weeks later. He was tried and sentenced to life in prison as well as receiving 15-year concurrent terms for three other arsons. In 1962, he was released from Kingston Penitentiary. The tragedy led to fire prevention bylaws being strengthened, two additional fire halls being constructed, and 18 additional firefighters being hired. More than 75 years later, the fire serves as a sad reminder of the need for vigorous regulations, inspections and enforcement to prevent similar fire tragedies in the future.
St. Joseph's Hospital
Charlton and James
May 1, 1980
It is remembered as the most logistically challenging evacuation in Hamilton history. More than 500 patients were safely escorted from St. Joseph's Hospital during an electrical fire that started in a basement boiler room on May Day, 1980. Hundreds of emergency responders from across the city and as far away as Toronto and Niagara Falls helped in removing patients from the building. No injuries were reported, among patients, except for one person who had a heart attack and died. Five firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation. The hospital building remained closed for two weeks. More than 40 years later, the incident continues to serve as a guidepost for disaster planning and emergency preparedness in Hamilton.
Plastimet
363 and 371 Wellington St. N.
July 9-12, 1997
Recognized as one the worst environmental disasters in Canadian history, more than 400 tonnes of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other recyclable plastics burned in a highly toxic inferno that was started by a child arsonist. It took firefighters more than 70 hours and 22 million gallons of water to extinguish the fire that forced the temporary evacuation of more than 650 residents. It cost taxpayers $5 million, and caused air, soil and groundwater contamination. Plastimet led to increased awareness of health and safety issues for firefighters and regulatory and enforcement changes to deal with the perils of storing large amounts of materials collected for recycling.
House fire
129 BROADWAY
March 1, 2008
The tragic deaths of five people from a house fire on Broadway Avenue in March 2008 led to increased fire prevention education and enforcement programs after it was discovered the home did not have functioning smoke detectors. Four victims were removed from the fire by firefighters but later died in hospital. The body of a fifth victim was discovered after the fire had been extinguished. A 22-year-old woman and her three daughters aged 4, 2, and 1 died as did a 19-year-old who rented a room. Careless smoking was the cause of the blaze.
HISTORIC FIRES PART II
See next week's Flashbacks, to go further back - as far as 1832 - to look at five additional major fires that had the greatest impact on Hamilton's history.