100 years ago in Spokane: Fire forces complete evacuation of St. Luke’s Hospital

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100 years ago

Chaos erupted at St. Luke’s Hospital when a fire broke out on the roof and smoke filled the halls.

“It was too smoky for anyone to live there, so I told the nurses to begin moving patients out of the west wing at once,” said the hospital engineer, who called in the alarm.

A reporter described the scene:

“Inside the building, as the last patients were removed, all was confusion. … Friends and relatives sought to gain an entrance. Bedding was thrown from windows on every floor to the lawn, and halls and fire escapes were choked with beds, wheelchairs, surgical ambulances and furniture.”

Nurses worked “heroically” to carry the patients to the lawn and to nearby houses. Two patients who had just been operated on that day “were carried to the closest homes in tender arms.” Others, able to withstand an auto ride, were taken to the freezing lawn and whisked away in autos and ambulances.

Meanwhile, the fire spread from the west wing to the main building. “Thousands of dollars worth of surgical instruments and appliances” were hurriedly loaded into suitcases and boxes, and carried to the lawn.

When it was all over, all 105 patients, as well as all of the nurses and attendants, escaped safely. The building, however, was a total loss. In a hurriedly convened meeting, the trustees vowed to build a new $200,000 hospital.

The exact cause of the fire was unknown, but it started around the chimney for the heating plant.