Site of: The Antlers Hotel Fire of 1929
Wichita Falls, Wichita County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A three-story brick hotel building was constructed at this site in 1920 by the firm of Bachman and Goodwin. Originally known as the Argonne, the name was later changed to the Antlers Hotel when the structure was purchased by H. G. Karrenbrock. In the early morning hours of December 12, 1929, a fire broke out in the building. Firemen of the central station were the first to arrive on the scene and were promptly aided by additional units responding to a second alarm. Flames were visible throughout the city and quickly attracted a large crowd. Thirty minutes after the first alarm, the west wall of the structure began to crumble. Although some of the fire fighters escaped, assistant city fire chief Smiley Turner and fireman Guno Anderson were killed by the collapsing wall. One occupant of the hotel, Kenneth (Toby) Brice of Bowie, also died in the fire that morning. As a result of the destructive Antlers Hotel fire, significant changes were made in the Wichita Falls Fire Department. Equipment was updated, new training programs were established, and city officials began strengthening ordinances in an effort to actively enforce the municipal fire code. (1981)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On a December night in 1929, flames tore through the three-story Antlers Hotel — built in 1920 as the Argonne — and lit up the whole of Wichita Falls. As crowds gathered, the west wall gave way just half an hour after the first alarm, killing assistant fire chief Smiley Turner, fireman Guno Anderson, and hotel guest Kenneth Brice. The disaster shamed the city into modernizing its department, funding new equipment, training, and finally enforcing its fire code.
Why it matters
Many of America's modern fire-safety standards were written in the ashes of tragedies exactly like this one, where the deaths of a few firefighters forced a city to take public safety seriously.
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Related people
- · Smiley Turner
- · Guno Anderson
- · Kenneth Brice
- · H. G. Karrenbrock
Related events
- · Antlers Hotel Fire of 1929
Themes & tags
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