On February 28, 1913, around midnight, Omaha police officers smelled smoke and traced it to the Dewey Hotel’s chimney. They alerted the manager, Jesse Nold. He inspected the basement but saw nothing amiss. Hours later, a guest fled her room after smelling smoke. She never raised the alarm! There was a fire in the basement, and it was given time to grow, until it eventually reached the Raphael-Pred clothing store, on the building’s main level.
At about 4:30 a.m., a guest discovered heavy smoke in his room. He attempted to escape via a hallway, and nearly fell through a collapsing floor before reaching a fire escape. The night clerk, Garrett Vliet, encountered smoke in his office, roused Nold, and together they began alerting guests. Panic ensued as dense smoke filled corridors; some guests escaped to fire escapes, others became disoriented.
Despite the worsening fire, the fire department was not immediately called. It was night watchman Frank Penry who activated the alarm at 4:44 a.m., in sub-zero temperatures. Rescues began immediately upon the fire department’s arrival minutes later. Engine No. 2, led by Captain John Coyle, entered via the Farnam Street side, while other companies attacked the locked 13th Street entrance, where they found unconscious victims piled against the door. Firefighters and bystanders carried people out, often encountering resistance from confused or panicked guests.
Two primitive fire escapes were accessible only through certain rooms marked by red lights, and many guests were unaware of them. Others were trapped behind locked exits. Rescues were chaotic—firefighters carried or dragged victims down ladders and stairs, and some civilians also participated. Notably, Russian paperboy Izzy Steiss made multiple ladder rescues before being overcome by smoke.
At 4:51 a.m., Assistant Fire Chief Martin Dineen arrived, followed by Fire Chief Charles Salter. A major explosion rocked the building, worsening conditions and cutting off escape routes. Within the first 15 minutes, most rescues were complete; afterward, efforts shifted to containing the fire, preventing its spread to adjacent businesses.
Four confirmed fatalities resulted: bartender Charles Cummings, who fell or jumped from a third-floor ledge; guest Alice Bonnevie, overcome inside; rancher Renfree Rickard; and Grace Burton, who succumbed later to burns and pneumonia. Early media reports falsely claimed 20–50 deaths, a figure still repeated today.
The fire was under control within about an hour, but structural collapse at 7:15 a.m. destroyed the roof and floors. Debris removal and searches for additional bodies continued under freezing conditions, drawing large crowds. Despite salacious press coverage, no further victims were found.
An inquest determined the hotel violated fire escape laws and had been repeatedly cited without compliance. Testimony revealed suspicious circumstances, including missing business records from the clothing store and recent dismissal of the hotel’s fireman. The cause was never determined; theories included a boiler malfunction, gas leak, or ignition from stored gasoline.
Property losses totaled about $200,000 (over $6 million in today’s dollars), mostly insured. The owner, John D. Creighton, was later found liable for Rickard’s death and ordered to pay damages. Manager Nold, hailed as a hero, later died by suicide in 1915.
The Dewey Hotel fire, quickly overshadowed by Omaha’s devastating Easter tornado weeks later, remains a footnote in the city’s history—misremembered for exaggerated death tolls but significant for exposing lax enforcement of fire safety in early 20th-century lodging houses.
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