In July 1926, the fashionable inn at Tannersville, New York, was destroyed by fire so completely that even counting the dead became difficult. The hotel safe, which likely contained records that could have helped identify guests and staff, was buried in the ruins.
As Red Cross workers, police, and search parties returned to the flattened remains, they faced smoldering fires, charred debris, and the grim possibility that the final death toll might reach twenty.
Early reports listed twelve bodies recovered, more people missing, and twenty-one injured. None of the dead had yet been definitely identified. The uncertainty only deepened the horror of the disaster, as families waited for news while searchers picked through the ashes.
Amid the tragedy, stories of courage began to emerge. Night watchman H.S. Stryker was credited with discovering the fire and rushing through the building to wake the sleeping guests. After escaping, he reportedly saw a woman trapped and ran back inside to help her. He was not seen again.
Two college men, Harold Flynn and M.J. Moriarty, also made repeated trips into the burning hotel to rescue women and children until flames and exhaustion forced them back.
Dead in Hotel Fire May Reach 20 When Search is Finished
TANNERSVILLE, New York. — Fires which still smoldered in the flattened litter of the Twilight Hotel handicapped the work of parties which today resumed the task of seeking the dead.
Gaunt chimneys standing above a mass of glowing embers and charred litter in which more bodies may be hidden were the only remains of the fashionable inn.
Dead Undetermined
The fact that the hotel safe was buried in the ruins made a check of casualties difficult.
The exact casualty list had not been determined officially today but the Red Cross and police reported 12 bodies recovered, “from seven to nine missing” and 21 injured.
The list of dead was expected to exceed 15 and might run close to 20. None of the dead have been identified definitely.
Heroes of Fire
The names of Harold Flynn and M. J. Moriarty, said to be students of the University of Minnesota, and of H.S. Stryker, a night watchman, stood out today among the heroes of the fire.
Stryker, survivors agreed, discovered the fire in one of the wings of the hotel. He ran thru the building giving the alarm. When all the guests were aroused, he was seen outside the burning building. Then he noted a woman, unable to make her way out. He dashed in to guide her. From that moment he has not been seen and is listed as missing. His body is believed in the ashes.
Two College Men
Flynn and Moriarty were university students who had traveled East in an automobile, working a few days at successive mountain resorts, to finance their vacation. They were employed at Twilight Inn when the fire broke out.
The two were among the first to be aroused by the alarm. They made trip after trip into the burning building, to rescue women and children. Finally the flames forced them to give up. Flynn was badly burned and Moriarty exhausted.
Source: The Washington Daily News. Washington, D.C.. July 15, 1926.
