The 1978 Suitland National Archives Film Vault Fire was a fire at the Suitland National Archives Film Vault on December 7, 1978. The fire destroyed historical films from 1929 to 1967, including film of the

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, other

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combat footage and film from the time of

The Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

Background

The films stored in the vault were donated by Universal Pictures in 1970. When the

nitrate film Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...

was moved to the vaults, fire safety improvements such as sprinkler systems were also added.

Fire

Workers, who were upgrading the building's air conditioning had disabled several sprinkler heads in the building. According to a government report, the fire started when one of the workers' power tools sparked. The workers claimed that the fire was caused by an old air conditioning system. The fire started at around 12 p.m. The Suitland fire department responded to a 911 call in minutes, but films in 21 vaults ended up getting destroyed. The firefighters opened the fireproof doors, allowing the fire to spread while looking for people who could be trapped inside.

References

{{reflist 1978 fires in the United States Building fires in the United States Fires in Maryland 1978 in Maryland