One Firefighter Killed and Eight Others Injured in Ceiling Collapse During Three-Alarm Restaurant Fire – The Happy Hour Bar and Café Fire – Minneapolis, Minnesota – November 5, 1947
Submitted by Rick DeGroot
On November 5, 1947, Minneapolis Fireman Henry Obinger of Ladder 6 was killed while operating at a fire in the Happy Hour Bar and Cafe after a suspended ceiling collapsed trapping him under a pile of debris. As crews were trying to reach flames that had spread from a broiler in the kitchen into the void space above the ceiling, a smoke explosion suddenly occurred co
llapsing the plaster and wire lath ceiling down onto the members working below. Several members were caught in the collapse but managed to escape the wreckage however Fireman Obinger was pinned by debris and could not be rescued for some time because of the flames and smoke. When Obinger was finally pulled from the tangle of plaster and wire lath, he was unresponsive. Efforts on the scene to revive him were unsuccessful. Eight firemen were injured in the collapse and treated at the hospital. The fire began in a broiler in the kitchen and spread via an exhaust duct to the void space above the suspended ceiling. Fire investigators believed that the collapse of the plaster and wire lath ceiling was caused when the flames ate away at the light wooden supports that suspended the ceiling above the restaurant dance floor and dining area. Fireman Henry Obinger was the seventh firefighter to die in the line of duty during the deadliest year in the history of the Minneapolis Fire Department.
The structure involved in the incident was a one-story Type II Noncombustible construction concrete block and steel frame commercial building that housed the Happy Hour Bar and Café, a popular night spot located at 1523 Nicolette Avenue on the northeast corner of East 16th Street in a commercial area south of the downtown business district of Minneapolis. The building measured about 40 feet wide, 150 feet long, and 15 feet high. The floor was concrete slab and the exterior walls were concrete block faced with brick. The roof was steel decking on a frame of steel joists and beams. The ceiling was plaster over metal lath suspended from the underside of the steel deck roof. The ceiling height was 12 feet. The roof was flat with a four-foot-high masonry parapet wall on Sides Alpha, Charlie and Delta. The bar and restaurant had a corner main entrance flanked by glass-block walls at the corner of Nicolette Avenue and East 16th Street. A service entrance was on Side Charlie. The building had very few windows. Side Alpha faced 80-foot-wide Nicolette Avenue. On Exposure Bravo was a one-story concrete and steel commercial building that housed two stores. A two-story wood frame commercial building was located about 25 feet away on Side Charlie. On Side Delta was 60-foot-wide East 16th Street with a row of two-story mercantile shops across the street. The building was not equipped with a fire alarm system or an automatic fire sprinkler system. Fire hydrants fed from a six-inch water main were located a short distance away at Nicolette Avenue and West 15th Street and East 16th Street and 1st Avenue South. The nearest fire alarm call box was located two blocks east at East 16th Street and Stevens Avenue.
Minneapolis is the largest city in the State of Minnesota and the seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Located in the southeastern portion of the state, the city is about 400 miles northwest of Chicago. Minneapolis has its origins in the timber industry and as the flour milling capital of the world. It occupies both banks of the Mississippi River and adjoins Saint Paul, the state capital of Minnesota. According to the 1940 U.S. census, the population of the 57.51 square mile city was 492,370 residents at the time of the fire.
The Minneapolis Fire Department traces its roots back to the establishment of a volunteer force in 1847. The creation of the paid municipal department began in 1879 when an on-call force with two horse-drawn steamers, one ladder truck, and six hose companies operated from seven fire stations. By 1940, the force had expanded to cover the growing city with more than 500 career firefighters deployed from 24 fire stations operating 22 engine companies, 3 quad companies, 9 aerial ladder trucks, 1 rescue truck, 1 water tower, 3 salvage trucks, and various specialty apparatus and chief’s vehicles.
Today the Minneapolis Fire Department currently operates from 19 fire stations located throughout the city and organized in 5 battalions, under the command of 5 battalion chiefs and 1 deputy chief each shift. 422 career members staff 19 engine companies, 8 ladder companies, 1 rescue company, 2 hazardous materials units, 7 rescue boats, and 1 light and air unit. The department is also home to the Minnesota Task Force One (MN-TF1) USAR Unit. The department responded to nearly 60,000 calls for service in 2023, with rescue and emergency medical calls making up 65.7% of calls.
Area weather conditions on the evening of the fire incident included an air temperature of 39 degrees F and a relative humidity of 86% with winds from the northeast at 12 mph gusting to 20 mph under fair skies (Weather Underground). Note: Research by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has shown wind speeds on the order of 10 to 20 mph are sufficient to create wind-driven fire conditions in a structure with an uncontrolled flow path (Madrzykowski and Kerber 2009). The wind condition likely had an impact on fire development and the outcome of the incident.
At about 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 5, 1947, a cook working in a small glass-enclosed kitchen at the Happy Hour Bar and Café lit a gas-fired broiler. Flames suddenly flared up from the broiler and there was a small explosion in a grease vent duct over the broiler. The cook immediately knocked down the fire with an extinguisher. At first patrons seated at the bar watched the flare-up and said they thought the fire would be easily controlled, however, the flames shot up the duct and managed to break into a small attic over the bar. Minneapolis firefighters were summoned and responded on a first-alarm assignment at 7:09 p.m. Smoke began pouring into the bar and dining room, driving about 70 patrons into the street.
First arriving firemen from Fire Station No. 10 found smoke showing from the building. Hoselines were stretched into the one-story brick building to attack the fire above the bar while other members completed a primary search of the restaurant to ensure that all of the occupants had been evacuated. Members were having difficulty opening up the plaster and wire lath ceiling that was suspended over the interior of the restaurant. As firemen were tearing away at the ceiling, a backdraft or smoke explosion occurred, collapsing a large portion of the ceiling onto the heads of nine members working in the kitchen and bar area. The collapse occurred about 20 minutes after the first fire units had arrived on the scene. Eight members were injured but were able to quickly extricate themselves from the debris but Fireman Henry Obinger of Ladder 6 was trapped under the rubble.
A second alarm was transmitted at 7:16 p.m. as firemen frantically tried to remove the injured Obinger from the wreckage. The fire in the cockloft intensified after the ceiling collapsed and additional hoselines were stretched into the building to hold back the flames as firefighters dug through the pile. Rescuers had to pull Obinger from his boots as his legs were pinned in the debris. When the trapped fireman was finally extricated from under the collapsed ceiling, he was not breathing. Rescuers removed him from the building and an inhalator was applied to the unresponsive fireman for more than half an hour but were they were unable to revive him. The other eight members who were injured were transported to General Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. A third alarm was transmitted at 07:26 p.m. summoning additional resources to combat the fire and complete the rescue of the trapped fireman.
The injured members included District Chief William Huttner; Captain Richard Craddick and Firemen Victor Eklund, A.L. Berryman, and R.G. Petroske of Ladder 1; Captain Henry Story and Fireman W.F. Horton of Engine 6; Fireman H.G. Tisbury of Engine 4; and Fireman Bernard Hirt of the Rescue Squad.
Deputy Chief Charles Johnson said the ceiling broke in the center as plaster and wire lath cascaded to the floor. The firemen who escaped were near the walls; the full brunt of the crash hit Fireman Obinger who was standing near the middle section of the floor. Fire raged through the gap in the ceiling and extra hoselines were needed to combat the flames and protect the dozen firemen struggling to reach the trapped Obinger. Rescuers finally lifted up a section of the ceiling, pulling Obinger free. The Chief said he believed the weight of the debris prevented Obinger from breathing.
Chief Johnson said an investigation determined that a suction fan, located at the outlet of the exhaust duct near the roof, had been turned on after the employees believed they had stopped the blaze. Unknown to the employees, flames had reached the top of the duct and action of the fan served to speed the blaze until it broke through the protecting sides of the duct. The blaze then extended to the cockloft void space above the suspended ceiling.
Police roped off the front of the restaurant as hundreds of spectators gathered at the scene. Two ambulances from General Hospital were sent to transport the injured members. The fire was declared under control at 8:16 p.m. A total of 19 pieces of apparatus including four ladders, nine engines, two hose companies, a rescue squad and three chief’s cars responded to the scene. Fire Chief George S. Lockhart was also at the scene. The fire was prevented from extending to the exposures on Sides Bravo and Charlie. Fire officials estimated the loss to the building and contents to be $75,000.
Chief Lockhart later stated that the suspended ceiling at the Happy Hour Café was identical with those in most night spots in the city in that thin wooden slats were extended across the room, suspended from the regular ceiling. Wire netting was attached to the slats for plaster and light fixtures. As flames raced across the room, between the false ceiling and the underside of the roof, the slats burned out, leaving the false ceiling with little support. Fireman Obinger was among six men from Fire Station 10 who were near the dance floor attempting to poke a hole in the false ceiling so they could get at the flames. The false ceiling then collapsed with a roar. The five other men and three men from Engines 4 and 6 happened to be near booths and tables which broke the fall of the ceiling, partially protecting them from the weight of the collapse. Obinger was in an open area and had been smothered by the time other firemen dug through the debris. “It would have been an ordinary fire if the ceiling had been built with steel braces,” said Chief Lockhart. He stated he would fight for additional regulations that may be necessary to eliminate such hazards and require that metal ceiling supports be used in such ceiling installations. Fire officials began a citywide inspection sweep of all night clubs to identify which occupancies had similar false ceilings.
On November 12, the city council directed the fire prevention chief and the director of the building department to draft an ordinance that would require suspended ceilings in commercial occupancies to have metal reinforcements to prevent collapse during a fire. The city officials were also asked to draft legislation that would require fire-resistive enclosures for cooking exhaust ducts in commercial kitchens.
Fireman Henry Andrew Obinger, age 34, was a member of the Minneapolis Fire Department assigned to Ladder 6. He was survived by his wife, Gladys, and two children: Tommy, age 6, and Diane, age 2; his brother, Leo Obinger; and his three sisters, Mrs. Margaret Scheller, Mrs. Marie Chapman, and Mrs. Elizabeth Hruska. His funeral was held on November 8at the Washburn-McReavy Chapel with full fire department honors. After the services conclude interment followed at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.
Fellow firemen of Henry Obinger recalled that he was killed only a little more than nine months after the fireman who formerly held the same post died. Fireman Harlow J. Tischer, age 30, was killed along with three other firemen while fighting a basement fire when the terrazzo floor collapsed at the Hull-Dobbs automobile dealership at 2610 Hennepin Avenue on January 23.
The name of Firemen Henry A. Obinger is engraved on the Minneapolis Firemen’s Monument in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. Standing watch atop the tall, somber monument is a statue of a firefighter dressed in the uniform of the day, including a long coat and square-billed cap. Surrounding the monument are the graves of firefighters including Obinger who died between 1881 and 1979.
The name of Fireman Henry A. Obinger is inscribed at the Minnesota Fallen Firefighters Memorial which is located on the south side of the State Capitol grounds in St. Paul. The Memorial features a large monolith that forms a ceiling above the statue of a firefighter rescuing a child. The monolith is supported by 86 columns on which the names of the 255 Minnesota firefighters who have given their lives in the line of duty since 1881 are inscribed. Every year, on the last Sunday of September, a solemn ceremony is held at the site to commemorate the fallen firefighters.
The building was repaired following the fire and remains in operation today housing an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment center. There is no memorial marker at the site.
Commentary:
A suspended ceiling is a secondary ceiling built several inches or feet below the supporting floor or ceiling beams of a building. A suspended ceiling can be found in almost all types of occupancies and construction types. They are most often found in Type I Fire-Resistive and Type II Noncombustible occupancies such as offices, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, places of public assembly and mercantile buildings. They may also be found as part of renovations to legacy Type III Ordinary and Type IV Heavy Timber/Mill construction buildings.
In many legacy Type III brick and wood joist buildings, such as taxpayers and rowhouses, the ceiling of the top floor rooms may be suspended from the roof rafters or joists via wood connecting members. The resulting space above the ceiling and below the roof surface forms a void often known as a cockloft. These types of suspended ceilings are usually made from a wooden framework covered by a heavy plaster and lath surface. Firefighters have been seriously injured or killed when the heavy plaster and lath ceiling suddenly collapsed into the room due to fire exposure or the weight of water from fire streams.
Also, it is common to find in many legacy Type III buildings several older ceiling layers including a tin ceiling above a more recently installed suspended ceiling surface. This condition may prove problematic for firefighters searching for fire extension in the void spaces above a suspended ceiling because multiple void spaces may have been created by successive layers of finished ceilings. Such conditions have led to backdraft and smoke explosion conditions that have killed and injured unsuspecting firefighters.
In 1991, FDNY Firefighter Kevin Kane was caught under the collapse of a plaster-and-lath suspended ceiling while searching for occupants ahead of a hoseline in a top floor apartment during a fire in an abandoned Type III brick and joist residential building in Brooklyn, New York: https://www.facebook.com/groups/192218352449074/permalink/1314652120205686/
In 2011, a Los Angeles California Firefighter/Paramedic Glenn Allen was killed in the sudden collapse of a heavy suspended drywall and plaster ceiling during a structure fire in a private residence: https://www.facebook.com/groups/192218352449074/permalink/1455888099415420/
We have attached photos from the incident. We have also attached a detail from the 1952 Sanborn fire insurance map showing the configuration of the fire building and the surrounding exposures.
We have also attached the link to a BCFS Question of the Week article on suspended ceilings: https://www.facebook.com/groups/192218352449074/permalink/1561963358807893/
Thanks to multiple media sources for the content of this article.
Honor the service of Fireman Henry Obinger by studying the dangers of suspended ceilings and by touring a legacy commercial occupancy equipped with a suspended ceiling with your crew members today.
Remember Fallen Brothers.
Get Out There And Know Your Local!!!
Photo of the front entrance to the bar.
Detail from the 1952 Sanborn fire insurance map showing the configuration of the fire building (circled in red) and the surrounding exposures.
Fellow firemen of Henry Obinger recalled that he was killed only a little more than nine months after the fireman who formerly held the same post died. Fireman Harlow J. Tischer, age 30, was killed along with three other firemen while fighting a basement fire when the terrazzo floor collapsed at the Hull-Dobbs automobile dealership at 2610 Hennepin Avenue on January 23.
