A fire in the mental ward of Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa killed 41 people today. "The flames spread rapidly through the 60-year-old brick structure, one of four buildings comprising this eastern Iowa city's largest hospital," reported The Oakland Tribune on January 7, 1950.
"Screams of the trapped women spread the alarm. Aid was sent at once from the nearby five-story main Mercy Hospital building, and 14 fire companies came immediately. As the flames swept upward, the scene became one of horror. The women patients, many of them infirm of both body and mind, beat against the barred windows and screamed their terror. Some fainted away into the smoke and flame," continued The Oakland Tribune. The fire raged for several hours before firefighters were able to get it under control. ... Read Full Story
Following a large sales slump in December, car manufacturer Toyota has decided to halt production at its Japanese plants for 11 days. The decline in sales, at 37%, was larger than similar falls at U.S. manufacturers GM and Ford, pointing at a global crisis within the automotive industry. Toyota employs more than... Read Full Story