Remembering the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center

Fifty years ago, over 16 million veterans' records were consumed in a massive blaze on the sixth floor of the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO.
Local firefighters responded immediately, but the fire was so intense that they were forced to retreat as their masks began to melt on their faces.
Hailed as an architectural wonder when it was built in 1956, the NPRC was second only to the Pentagon in size at the time. Two NFL regulation football fields would fit comfortably within each of its six floors with room to spare.
It had no sprinklers in the records storage areas and few firewalls in the building. Ultimately, it was a recipe for disaster.
The fire burned uncontrolled for more than 22 hours.
After the fire was officially declared “out,” water stood on every floor of the building, and burnt and waterlogged records could be seen among the debris.
Without the dedicated service of the first responders, our loss would have been far greater. Fifty years later, we are still thankful to the fire departments that came to our aid.
This event-unprecedented in the scale of its damage to federal records-changed how the National Archives builds its facilities, maintains its holdings, and serves veterans and the public.
To learn more, visit www.archives.gov/news
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Audio recorded by the North Central County Fire Alarm System