About 9.45pm on December 8, 1942, fire broke out in ward 5, a two-storeyed wooden building that had been added on to the original stone building when the hospital was expanded at the end of the 19th century.
There were 39 female mental patients in the ward, all locked in either single rooms or the 20-bed dormitory. Most of the windows were locked and could be opened only by a key from inside. Because of a shortage of nursing staff (many were involved in wartime duties), no-one was on duty in the ward at night, although staff from other wards made checks every hour.
The fire was noticed by a male attendant, who raised the alarm and ran to bring the fire hoses and reels from the small hospital fire station to a fire hydrant near ward 5.
He was able to save one patient by pulling off the grating over her window and dragging her out. Another patient was rescued from the first floor. Both survivors were in rooms that did not have locked window shutters.
The hospital’s firefighters tried to put out the fire, but it was too fierce, and within an hour, only ashes remained of ward 5. However, they were able to stop the flames from spreading to other wooden buildings.
The cause of death of the 37 patients was given as suffocation.
