April 23, 1978: Two men killed when fire destroys downtown King Edward Hotel
Fire broke out at the downtown King Edward Hotel, killing two men and sending 15 guests to hospital.
Flames shot through the roof as smoke billowed through the rest of the hotel at 101st Street and 102nd Avenue, ruining most rooms.
Fire broke out just after 1:30 a.m. By dawn, the roof of the south wing had collapsed, while floors sagged under the combined weight of water and debris. Many guests opened windows, broke out the screens and leaned outside for air.
Some crawled onto the narrow ledge in an effort to get as far from the smoke and flames as possible. Firefighters with ladders moved quickly along the wall, rescuing the perched guests, while other firefighters donned oxygen gear and entered the building for a roomby-room search.
A fleet of ambulances took the injured to hospitals.
Joe Lutsky, a director of the hotel, estimated there were 100 guests inside at the time.
Local architect Herbert Alton Magoon designed the hotel, named for King Edward VII, the reigning monarch of the day. Businessman and alderman John Coleman Calhoun opened it in November 1906 on land he had been using for a livestock operation.
The site was razed in 1980 to make way for Manulife Place.
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