The Wincrest Nursing Home fire took place on Friday, January 30, 1976, in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
The addition was built with precast concrete floor and roof slabs connected to steel beams and columns.
The construction of the third building, consisted of precast concrete floor slabs, metal roof deck on steel bar joists.
[2] After the entire complex was finished in 1973, it had nursing area, lounges, and a small kitchen with no cooking appliances, closets and bathrooms on the all three floors.
Overall, the entire structural system of the building complex consisted of a reinforced concrete foundation and floor slabs up to 8 inches (200 mm) thick.
[2][3] All of the patient rooms, lounge areas, and chapel on all three floors had a natural ventilation system (i.e. open windows).
The automatic fire alarms are activated by heat sensors which are located on the third floor, both stairways and in the storage closet.
[5] At the time of the fire, the building was occupied by 83 residents, three nurses, 2 aides and eleven office, kitchen and maintenance staff.
At 11:46 A.M., firefighters fighting the fire, discovered the third floor heavily laden with smoke and trapped elderly patients in wheelchairs.
The room where the fire broke out was completely gutted and the adjacent corridor sustained only moderate smoke and heat damage.
Although the actual cause of the fire was unknown, the Police Bureau of Investigation arrested a housekeeper who was charged with multiple counts of arson.
[7] The investigation also indicated that the smoke and heat from the fire raced down the corridor and entered rooms where doors were left open.
In addition, a window was left open, reducing the amount of smoke and toxic gas entering the chapel area and the lounge room thus preventing further fatalities.