The Cleveland Clinic X-Ray Incident | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror

yesterday

"On the 15th of May, 1929, hundreds of doctors, nurses and patients were going about their business inside the outpatient building of the Cleveland Clinic..."

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Transcript

00:00On the 15th of May, 1929, hundreds of doctors, nurses, and patients were going about their

00:18business in the outpatient building of the Cleveland Clinic, a modern and in some ways

00:24revolutionary healthcare center in Cleveland, Ohio. At around 11.30am, the upper floors of

00:31the clinic were suddenly flooded with a thick, yellowish-brown gas. Those who inhaled it were

00:37dead within moments, never knowing or understanding exactly what had killed them.

00:45The Cleveland Clinic opened its doors to patients on the 28th of February,

00:501921. It was very much ahead of its time. The clinic was a single, not-for-profit organization

00:58that would be a base of operations for professionals with a range of specialities.

01:03Its mission was to provide patient care, education, and opportunities for valuable medical

01:09research. In this it was certainly successful. Among many other contributions, the Cleveland

01:16Clinic helped to revolutionize the treatment of people with diabetes by making use of the then

01:22relatively new drug insulin. It was also consistently at the forefront of cardiac medicine,

01:29while at the same time pushing relentlessly for better, more comfortable conditions for patients

01:34in wards. Year on year the Cleveland Clinic grew, going from a single building to a complex of

01:42several, including a four-story outpatient clinic, along with an adjoining hospital,

01:48and several houses designed to provide lodgings for patients undergoing long-term treatment.

01:54For eight years the Cleveland Clinic was an extraordinary force for good in the world.

02:00The 15th of May, 1929, began just like any other day at the clinic. The outpatient building was

02:08busy, filled with doctors, nurses, patients, and visitors. Being an outpatient building meant that

02:15there were no wards or beds. Everyone attending the clinic that day was there for investigations

02:21or treatments that would see them home again by the evening. The fire began down in a sub-basement

02:28room which was used to store x-ray film. In 1929 x-rays made use of nitrocellulose film,

02:36a volatile substance that could easily catch fire. Moreover, when it burned it produced poisonous

02:43gases and resisted the use of water to extinguish any flames. In fact, immersing burning nitrocellulose

02:51film in water would usually only increase the production of poisonous gases. The exact cause

02:58of the fire is uncertain, but many sources blame an unprotected light bulb that was situated too

03:05close to a stack of film. Whatever the cause, once at least some of the film had ignited the rest soon

03:13followed, creating a powerful blaze which produced huge quantities of poisonous gas.

03:20This gas seeped slowly up into the building proper, initially going largely unnoticed.

03:28Its progress was slow enough to cause no disruption or alarm. As the fire consumed

03:34more film, however, the situation worsened significantly. Caches of film ignited en masse,

03:41resulting in two explosions, the blasts from which not only severely damaged the fabric of the

03:48building but also had the deadly effect of blasting the gas through pipes, doors, vents, and conduits

03:56into every part of the building. Now, rather than seeping slowly up from the basement, the gas was

04:04everywhere. Doctors and nurses were killed before being able to rise from their desks.

04:10Patients died in moments, having scarcely registered the presence of the gas.

04:16It enveloped people so quickly that they often had no time to even think about escaping.

04:22An Associated Press report from the day detailed the conditions that were found in the aftermath

04:28of the disaster. Surgical equipment lay ready for use in the examining rooms. In the x-ray

04:35developing room a roll of film was stretched to dry. A wheelchair with the blanket thrown aside

04:42blocked a balcony overlooking the waiting room. A stenographer's half-finished letter was found

04:49in an office. Everything was abandoned as the victims realized too late that the brown fumes

04:56curling through door casings and along the halls carried death. Passers-by outside the hospital

05:04heard the explosions and rushed to help, only to be struck down by the gas themselves,

05:10or to find themselves quite unable to render aid to those inside.

05:16The fumes were so strong as to act almost instantly. Pedestrians caught outside the

05:23building fell to the ground and lay unconscious until dragged to safety when the gas lifted.

05:30One woman smashed a third floor window and was preparing to leap as firemen spread a life net.

05:38She stood poised, the amber gas swirled about her shoulders, and she collapsed, falling inside the

05:45building. Rescuers converged on the clinic, but their efforts were hampered by the lingering gas.

05:54One witness reported being overcome when still almost a city block away from the clinic. Police,

06:02ambulance, and fire personnel had to get much closer than that if they were to have any hope

06:08of rescuing anybody. In many cases it was only when the gas had dissipated that a rescue could be made.

06:15Although several people were willing to risk, and indeed sacrifice, their own lives in order to drag

06:22patients to safety. Policeman Ernest Staab, just 30 years old, entered the building again and again

06:31despite visible fumes still hanging in the air. He dragged 21 people away from the choking vapor

06:38before he was overcome and passed away. Though he gave his life in the course of

06:45effecting a rescue, several of those he dragged from the building went on to survive.

06:52In the aftermath of the disaster the clinic was devastated.

06:57The building was severely damaged from the explosions and it looked as though operations

07:01could not possibly continue until a local philanthropist, Samuel Mather, stepped in

07:07and provided alternate premises nearby. This meant that the Cleveland Clinic could continue

07:14treating patients, including those who had suffered serious damage to their lungs from

07:19inhaling even tiny amounts of the poisonous gas. In many cases recovery was a slow and painful

07:26process, if it was possible at all. Patients were given oxygen, but often this was not sufficient,

07:35with some victims dying weeks after the disaster.

07:39In total the incident claimed the lives of 123 people and severely injured many more.

07:48In the aftermath of the disaster, and as the cause could not be positively identified,

07:54it was found that the hospital was not at fault. The way in which the x-ray film had been stored

08:00was in line with what was required at the time. To address this the guidelines for the storage of

08:07not just film but many other hazardous materials were revised. The horror of the Cleveland Clinic

08:14disaster had so captured the public's attention that this reform extended beyond Ohio and was

08:21applied nationwide, something which may well have prevented numerous other disasters.

08:27Ultimately the Cleveland Clinic would survive. The building was completely renovated and restored,

08:34and remains in place to this day. Now, however, it's part of a sprawling complex of medical

08:40facilities. The Cleveland Clinic has grown from a handful of buildings to a huge campus,

08:47and has further establishments all over the city and beyond. It's one of the best-rated

08:54hospitals in America, and is consistently among the best in the world for cardiac care.

09:01In line with its original ethos it provides patient care, teaching facilities, and opportunities for

09:07research... but on a scale which its founders could never possibly have imagined. The Cleveland Clinic

09:15disaster is a footnote in its history, a tragic series of events that cost 123 people their lives.

09:23The clinic has gone on, however, to save and transform the lives of hundreds of thousands.

09:53you

The Cleveland Clinic X-Ray Incident | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror

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