Maury County Jail Fire of 1977

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The Maury County Jail Fire of 1977 was a fire that broke out at the (now former) Maury County Jail on June 26, 1977.[1][2] Forty-two people -- 33 prisoners and 9 visitors -- died as the result of this fire, and it has been described as one of the worst tragedies in Tennessee history,[3][4] and the second-worst jail fire in American history.[5]

Background

The building then used as the Maury County Jail, located at 201 East 6th Street in Columbia, was constructed in 1963 and opened in 1964.[6][7] It replaced the previous jail that was constructed in 1884 that stood on the same site.[8][9] The building was constructed (more or less) in the shape of a cross, with four wings. The north wing (furthest from East 6th Street) was called the "workhouse" and had ten cells (five on either side) that housed four prisoners each. The west wing contained storage areas, the kitchen, laundry, and two maximum-security, two-person cells. The east wing contained two "drunk tanks", a padded cell for disruptive prisoners, and two eight-person cells (one of which was used for female prisoners). The south wing (nearest East 6th Street) contained the sheriff's office and other administrative and operational rooms. At the center of the jail was the dispatch room.[10][11]

The cell doors of the jail could be operated manually or remotely, but each door required a separate key, and there was only one set of keys accessible to the Sheriff's Department staff that day.[12] The jail had portable dry-chemical fire extinguishers, but it had no manual fire alarm or smoke detectors, nor did it have a fire-suppression system (e.g. sprinklers) or emergency lighting. Due to a lack of a secure refuge area, the only practical response to a fire would be for all of the building's occupants to exit the building.[13][14][15] Despite the need for such an evacuation, Sheriff Bill Voss had not conducted any fire drills or developed evacuation plans for the building.[16] The jail was built from fire-resistant materials, but the foam rubber materials used to pad the padded room was combustible.[17][18] The design of the air conditioning system in the jail may also have made it prone to spread smoke rapidly throughout the building.[19][20][21] Despite these flaws, the Maury County Jail had been giving a passing grade - indeed, the head of the inspection department later praised it as "one of the better jails in the state" -- during a routine state inspection only two days before the fire (Friday, June 24).[22]

Most of the inmates of the Maury County Jail at the time were being held for relatively minor offenses.[23]

June 26 was a Sunday, a visitation day at the county jail. At the time of the fire, dozens of visitors were present.[24] Security was tighter than usual that day due to an escape earlier that week.[25]

Andrew Zinmer, an emotionally-disturbed 16-year old boy, was picked up by local law enforcement for hitch-hiking along Interstate 65 in southern Maury County on the morning of Saturday, June 25. Zinmer, who had run away from a state rehabilitation facility in Wisconsin earlier that week, was placed in his own cell apart from the adult population for his protection.[26][27][28][29] On Sunday, Zinmer was temporarily placed in the padded cell in the east wing of the jail after the toilet in his cell was plugged (allegedly by Zinmer himself as a prank), causing the cell to be flooded.[30][31][32]

Fire and Rescue Efforts

Sometime after 1:30 p.m., Zinmer asked one of the visitors in the jail for a cigarette.[33] The visitor obliged Zinmer's request and gave him an unlit cigarette and some means of ignition.[34] Several minutes later, a fire began in the padded room, and Zinmer began crying for help.[35]

Jailer Willie Cummins unlocked the door and Chief Deputy Bob Farmer opened it. Once the door was opened, the deputies were hit with a blast of hot, black smoke and flames.[36] Deputy William Earl Duke, who was not on-duty that day, reached into the padded cell and pulled out Zinmer; Chief Deputy Farmer and Deputy Duke then pulled Zinmer to safety. Zinmer's clothes had been set on fire and he was suffering from burns (he would be the only person to have burn injuries in this fire).[37][38]

Visitors began pushing their way to the exits as smoke filled the building, causing Sheriff's Criminal Investigator Jerry Wayne Dickey to be pinned against a wall and to drop the keys needed to unlock the cell doors. In the commotion, the keys were lost in the smoke.[39] It was only after firefighters arrived with oxygen masks that a search for the keys was able to commence, and by that time nearly 20 minutes had passed since the building had begun to fill with smoke.[40]Even if the keys had not been lost, it would have been very difficult to find the right key on the keyring for each padded cell.[41]

As thick black smoke filled the building, trapped prisoners began to panic and pray; some attempted to use wet towels as makeshift masks; while others tried to turn on the showers to suppress the smoke in their cells (which was, ironically, futile, because the jail's water main ran in the ceiling above the padded room and was damaged by the fire).[42]

Out of desperation, deputies and passers-by began knocking holes in the jail's walls with a sledgehammer, cutting steel bars with torches and saws, and pulling the bars out of the wall with a tow truck.[43] A bulldozer was also commandeered for the purpose of breaching the masonry walls of the jail.[44][45] Firefighters broke out glass windows to try to ventilate the smoke-filled jail. All surviving prisoners were pulled through these holes; no prisoners escaped through the front door of the jail.[46]

Survivors and the dead were transported to Maury County Hospital (now Maury Regional Hospital) in Columbia using ambulances (some from other counties) and hearses provided by local funeral homes. Five were treated and released; 12 were transferred to Vanderbilt Hospital or St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville by Army medevac helicopters from Fort Campbell; 16 (including six firefighters) were admitted at Maury County Hospital.[47][48][49][50]

The bodies of the fire victims were found covered in black soot from the thick smoke.[51][52] Later toxicology reports would confirm that those who died succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of smoke inhalation.[53][54][55][56] Because the dead included both inmates and their visitors, several families were particularly hard-hit; the Bellanfants lost two family members; the Goldens lost five family members, and the Rowland/Anderson family lost six of their kin in the fire.[57][58]

Aftermath

Andrew Zinmer was indicted as an adult with arson and 42 counts of involuntary manslaughter;[59] Zinmer was later re-charged(for procedural reasons) as second-degree murder.[60] After 18 months of being held before trial, Zinmer pleaded guilty (as part of a plea bargain between his attorney and District Attorney Robert Gay) to arson and involuntary manslaughter, and was sentenced by the Circuit Court to five years of probation and time-served.[61][62] Zinmer (who admitted to starting the fire but denied intending to harm anyone) served out his probation in Wisconsin.[63]He has led a quiet life, avoiding inquiries about the fire.[64][65]

The (now-former) Maury County Jail was rebuilt after the fire, with some safety improvements, and was in operation from November 1977 until February 1999, when a new jail opened on Lawson White Drive on the outskirts of Columbia.[66][67][68] Since March 2001, the Maury County Archives has occupied the former jail building.[69]

Many of the first responders and survivors of the jail fire have been haunted by the experience.[70][71] Moreover, the fire caused social strain in Columbia due to rumors and conspiracy theories about the fire.[72] Some expressed contempt for the victims.[73][74]

Several lawsuits were file, with plaintiffs seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation. These suits were either settled or dismissed.[75][76][77]

The Maury County Jail Fire led to several changes in fire codes and jail practices that have likely helped to prevent such tragedies.[78][79][80][81][82]

Bucky Rowland, who was a young child when the fire occurred and lost six family members (including both of his parents) in the fire, was elected Sheriff of Maury County in August 2014.[83][84]

There are currently no public monuments to the Jail Fire.[85][86]

References

  1. ↑ New York Times. "Tennessee Jail Fire Kills 42, Including Locked-Up Prisoners", 27 June 1977, p. 1, Web (nytimes.com), 10 Feb. 2021.
  2. ↑ "42 Die in Jail Fire." The Tennessean. 27 June 1977. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 10 Feb. 2021.
  3. ↑ Coggins, Allen. Tennessee Tragedies: Natural, Technological, and Social Disasters in the Volunteer State. Knoxville, University of Tennessee Press, 2012, pp. 113-114. Web (proquest.com). 10 Feb. 2021.
  4. ↑ Carmichael, Alan. "Jail Blaze Termed Worst Such Tragedy in History." The Tennessean. 27 June 1977, p. 15. Web (newspapers.com). 10 Feb. 2021. Note that the Tennessean reporter and others have noted that the jail fire was far worse than other notable fires in Maury County history, such as the Bethel House Hotel fire in 1949 or the Columbia Institute fire of 1954.
  5. ↑ Tinsley, C.R. Tragedy in Small Town TN: The Maury County Jail Fire. Self-Published, Lexington (Ky.), 2018. Although self-published, C.R. Tinsley (a local author) has done extensive work and is generally regarded as authoritative on this subject.
  6. ↑ "42 Die in Maury County, Tennessee, Jail Fire." NFPA Fire Journal. March 1978. pp. 30-31, 37. Web (nfpa.org). 10 Feb. 2021.
  7. ↑ Schwartz, Jeffrey A., and Barry, Cynthia. A Guide to Preparing for and Responding to Jail Emergencies. Washington, United States Department of Justice-National Institute of Corrections, 2009, p. 155. Web (nicic.gov). 10 Feb. 2021.
  8. ↑ McClure, Sue. "Cell doors sprung for new duty." The Tennessean. 8 April 1999. p. 1B. Web (newspapers.com). 10 Feb. 2021.
  9. ↑ Tinsley at pp. 15,43.
  10. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at pp. 30-31.
  11. ↑ Schwartz and Barry at pp. 155-156.
  12. ↑ Schwartz and Barry at p. 156. While there are some apparent discrepancies in Schwartz and Barry's recounting of the events, the fact that other sources (e.g. NFPA Fire Journal at p. 32) attest to a desperate effort by deputies and firefighters to find the keys strongly indicates that there was no backup set readily available. Schwartz and Barry claim that there was another set but that it was on the person of the sheriff (i.e, Bill Voss), who was not present at the jail that day. Tinsley (at p.22) states that the keys were likely locked in Sheriff Voss's office in the south wing of the jail. In a press conference after the fire, Sheriff Voss stated that there were two sets of keys but did not clarify where the second set had been. See "42 Die in Jail Fire" cited above, at p. 15.
  13. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at pp. 30-31, 37.
  14. ↑ Schwartz and Barry at pp. 155-156.
  15. ↑ Tinsley at pp. 17, 20.
  16. ↑ Hunt, Keel and Alexander, Pat. "Lockup System Possibly Hurt Rescue Effort." The Tennessean. 27 June 1977. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 10 Feb. 2021.
  17. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at pp. 30-31.
  18. ↑ The synthetic materials used in the padded cell - particularly styrene-butadiene (SBR) and polyurethane - have been noted as a particularly significant contributor to this tragedy and others. An eerily-similar jail fire occurred five days earlier (June 21, 1977) in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. That fire, like the one at the Maury County Jail, started when a disturbed prisoner in a padded cell started a fire that rapidly burned through the padding material, generating toxic smoke. The St. John fire killed 21 inmates. ["21 Die in Saint John, New Brunswick, Jail Fire." NFPA Fire Journal. March 1978. pp. 34-37. Web (nfpa.org. 13 Feb. 2021. See also Fire Safety in Correctional Facilities. United States Department of Justice - National Institute for Corrections. 1981. Web (ojp.gov). 13 Feb. 2021. Tinsley at pp. 45-47 relates details on the type of synthetic materials used and their potential safety hazards.
  19. ↑ Coggins at 114.
  20. ↑ Schwartz and Barry at p. 157.
  21. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at p. 33.
  22. ↑ Associated Press. "No Fire Codes Violated in Jail." The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle. 28 June 1977. p. 2. Web (newspapers.com). 10 Feb. 2021.
  23. ↑ Schwartz and Barry at pp. 158-159 state that there was only one "serious" criminal, probably referring to Lanny Bellanfant, who was being held for first-degree burglary, armed robbbery and kidnapping. Tinsley at pp. 131-141 lists all the victims of the fire and, for those who were inmates, what they were being held for. Her list, and a similar one published contemporaneously by the Tennessean ("Complete List of Dead, Hurt in Maury County Jail Blaze Released." The Tennessean. 28 June 1977. p. 2. Web (newspapers.com). 13 Feb. 2021.) shows that the charges against most of the inmates were for these sorts of offenses: public drunkenness, possession of small amounts of marijuana, "impersonating a female", vagrancy, criminal mischief (vandalism), passing bad checks, third-degree burglary (breaking-and-entering), violating a condition of driver's license requiring the driver to wear eyeglasses (see also Tinsley at p. 114), or driving while intoxicated (DWI). Note also that several of those being held had not yet been tried; at least seven of those killed were either waiting trial or arraignment (that is, had just been arrested one or two days prior to the fire).
  24. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at p. 31. The exact number of prisoners and visitors present is unclear; the NFPA Fire Journal report, which is a summary of the Tennessee State Fire Marshall's investigation, states that there were 63 prisoners in the jail at the time and 20 visitors present. The Tennessean article printed the day after the fire states 64 prisoners (they also stated 34 prisoners and 8 visitors died, so it is possible that one of the visitors was initially misidentified as being a prisoner). The New York Times states that there were 64 prisoners and 30 visitors at the jail when the fire started. Schwartz and Barry - who do not cite sources, although presumably had access to official reports -- state at p. 156 that the jail population was only 40 and do not state the number of visitors; their figure seems suspiciously low given 42 deaths and approximately 30 injuries (meaning that there must have been at least 72 people present). Coggins, whose work is based primarily on media reports, states 56 prisoners and 40 visitors. C.R. Tinsley (cited above, at pp.15-16) gives a count of 53 inmates (50 males and 3 females), 39 visitors, 2 deputies (Chief Deputy Bob Farmer and Deputy Wiliiam Earl Duke), 1 criminal investigator (J.W. Dickey), 1 dispatcher (Layne Pullum), and 1 jailer (Willie Cummins). Tinsley further states at p. 17 that all of the inmates, except 2 trusties, were locked in their cells (the trustees, having proven their good behavior, were permitted to mingle with the visitors in the corridor).
  25. ↑ New York Times at p. 1. stated that the lobby door may have been locked, although Tinsley (at p. 16) states that only visitor was behind a locked door at the time of the fire. Tinsley states on p. 75 that Dickey and Farmer would not have normally been present on a Sunday, but both were working that day because of the earlier breakout (which occurred three days earlier on Thursday, June 23) and rumors of another attempt that might occur that day. See Prosser, Glenn. "2 of 3 Maury Jail Escapees Captured." The Tennessean. 24 June 1977. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 12 Feb. 2021.
  26. ↑ Schwartz and Barry at 156.
  27. ↑ Coggins at 113.
  28. ↑ Deckbar, Margaret. "Jail Fire Cited as Need for Runaway Program." 'The Tennessean. 28 June 1977. p. 22. Web (newspapers.com). 10 Feb. 2021.
  29. ↑ Tinsley at p. 57.
  30. ↑ NFPA Fire Program at p. 31
  31. ↑ Coggins at p. 113.
  32. ↑ Tinsley at p. 56.
  33. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at p. 31.
  34. ↑ The NFPA Fire Journal at p. 31 states that the visitor gave Zinmer his own, lit cigarette to light his with; Schwartz and Barry at p. 156 state that the visitor gave Zinmer matches; Coggins at p. 113 states a match was given to Zinmer; contemporary reports quote the visitor who allegedly gave Zinmer the cigarette as saying he gave him one unlit and one lit cigarette (same as the NFPA Fire Journal account). United Press International. "Maury Jail Visitor Admits He Passed Cigarettes To Boy Charged In Fire." The Kingsport (Tenn.) Times. 28 June 1977. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com)> 10 Feb. 2021.
  35. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at p. 31.
  36. ↑ Tinsley at pp. 18-19.
  37. ↑ Tinsley at pp. 18-19, 71.
  38. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at p. 32.
  39. ↑ "42 Die in Jail Fire" cited above.
  40. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at 32. Note that that the Columbia Fire Department was only about one minute away from the (now former) county jail. The fire itself was quickly put out using hoses. Tinsley at p. 24; NFPA Fire Journal at p. 32.
  41. ↑ Tinsley at p. 21.
  42. ↑ Thompson, Jerry. "Witnesses Describe Panic, Horror, Death." The Tennessean. 27 June 1977. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 10 Feb 2021.
  43. ↑ Both Gray's and Haywood's towing/wrecking services arrived and participated in the rescue. Tinsley at pp. 25-26.
  44. ↑ Tinsley at pp. 24-25.
  45. ↑ Schwartz and Barry at p. 158 give primary credit to the bulldozer in breaching the walls, stating that "jackhammers" were mostly ineffective; The Tennessean article "42 Die in Jail Fire" at p. 15 states that the bulldozer "did not arrive in time" and that significant holes were made using the sledgehammers. Tinsley (at p. 24) describes the bulldozer as a "backhoe"; Schwartz and Barry state that it was a Caterpillar D-9.
  46. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at p. 32.
  47. ↑ Tinsley at pp. 27,31,94-96.
  48. ↑ "42 Die in Jall Fire" at pp. 1, 14.
  49. ↑ "Partial Name List of Dead and Injured." The Tennessean. 27 June 1977. p. 15. Web (newspapers.com). 13 Feb. 2021.
  50. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at p. 32.
  51. ↑ Tinsley at p. 30.
  52. ↑ Coggins at p. 113
  53. ↑ NFPA Fire Journal at p. 33.
  54. ↑ Tinsley at pp. 33-35.
  55. ↑ United Press International. "Cyanide Ruled Out as Columbia Fire Death Cause." Kingsport (Tenn.) Times-News. 3 July 1977. p. 5A. Web (newspapers.com). 13 Feb. 2021.
  56. ↑ See "Statement of Tom D. Copeland, Chief of Fire Prevention, Division of Fire Prevention, Nashville, Tenn." Fire Prevention Study Act of 1977: Hearings Before The Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Finance. Serial No. 95-76. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1978, p. 23. Web (Google Books). 13 Feb. 2021. In this hearing the state fire inspector was asked by Congress about the consequences of burning polyurethane and the lab reports showing the traces of both carbon monoxide and cyanide; the inspector emphasized that the deaths were attributed to carbon monoxide.
  57. ↑ Tinsley at pp. 125-129.
  58. ↑ Thomas, Susan. "11 of 42 of Maury Jail Fire Deaths from 2 Families." The Tennessean. 28 June 1977. p. 2. Web (newspapers.com). 13 Feb. 2021.
  59. ↑ Tinsley at pp. 57-58.
  60. ↑ "New Second Degree Death Warrants Filed Against Zinmer in Maury County Jail Fire." The Tennessean. 6 May 1978. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 13 Feb. 2021. The specific procedural defect with the original indictments was that they had not first been filed in Juvenile Court
  61. ↑ Tinsley at p. 59.
  62. ↑ Associated Press. "Zinmer gets probation for fire which killed 42." The (Madison, Wisc.) Capital Times. 21 Dec. 1978. p. 38. Web (newspapers.com). 13 Feb. 2021.
  63. ↑ Tinsley at p. 59.
  64. ↑ Schwartz and Barry at p. 159.
  65. ↑ Tinsley at p. 59.
  66. ↑ Prosser, Glen. "Maury Jail To Again House Inmates." The Tennessean. 16 Nov. 1977. p. 19. Web (newspapers.com). 13 Feb. 2021. One notable change was that the padded room was eliminated.
  67. ↑ Aldrich, Martha (AP). "Fatal jail blaze leaves costly legacy, lesson." Johnson City (Tenn.) Press. 26 June 1987. p. 6. Web (newspapers.com). 13 Feb. 2021. (Cited below as "Aldrich 1"). This article notes that after the fire, the Maury County Jail added smoke detectors, video surveillance, oxygen masks, additional exits, and regular fire drills.
  68. ↑ Tinsley at pp. 47-50.
  69. ↑ Duncan, Bob. "The Fire That Never Stops Burning." River of Fire. Columbia, Maury County Archives, 2005, pp. 149-150.
  70. ↑ Tinsley at pp. 61-112. She relates the memories of inmates, first-responders, medical staff, funeral directors, and reporters who were involved in the jail fire, and many of them mention emotional difficulties related to it.
  71. ↑ Duncan, cited above.
  72. ↑ Tinsley at 148.
  73. ↑ Schwartz and Barry at p. 159.
  74. ↑ Aldrich, Martha (AP). "Aftermath of State Jail Fire Leaves Lingering Questions." The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle. 25 June 1987. p. 4B. Web (newspapers.com). 13 Feb. 2021. (Cited below as "Aldrich 2"). This article noted the opinion of some attorneys that lawsuits would fail because jurors would view the victims as "jailbirds."
  75. ↑ Aldrich 2, cited above. This article notes that suits seeking $166 million had resulted in a total payout of only $2 million.
  76. ↑ Allison, Sue (UPI). "Tragic Maury County jail fire had national impact." The Kingsport (Tenn.) Times-News. 26 June 1987. p. 7A. Web (newspapers.com). 13 Feb. 2021. This article quoted County Attorney Will Dale as saying that the litigation lasted eight years and resulted in a $1.5 million settlement to the survivors and family of the victims from the company that manufactured the polyurethane used in the padded room.
  77. ↑ Tinsley at p. 124 (stating the same as the Allison article).
  78. ↑ Lowe, Richard (AP). "Jail Safety Five Years After the Columbia Fire." The Tennessean. 27 June 1982. p. 7-B. Web (newspapers.com). 13 Feb. 2021.
  79. ↑ Aldrich 1, cited above.
  80. ↑ Schwartz and Barry at p. 157
  81. ↑ Tinsley at p. 123.
  82. ↑ Allison, cited above.
  83. ↑ Tinsley at p. 128.
  84. ↑ Bennett, James. "Sheriff Rowland campaigns for re-election." The Daily Herald. 1 May 2018. Web. 13 Feb. 2021.
  85. ↑ Duncan, cited above at p. 150.
  86. ↑ Tinsley at p. 124.
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