The most deadly indoor structural fire in what is now Canada [in 1942 the Dominion of Newfoundland, was not yet a part of Canada] swiftly consumed the Knights of Columbus Leave Centre (Hostel) in St. John's, Newfoundland on 12 Dec 1942. At about 11 P.M. an arsonist set fire to the wooden building which was covered in imitation shingles, when the building was packed with military personel and their guests. The recreation centre was a firetrap: windows had been boarded over because of the 'Blackout' regulations; doors opened inward or were locked or barred from the outside; exits were restricted; there was no emergency lighting system in place; the hall had been decorated with a lot of paper streamers. Within a short 10 minutes after the fire started, 99 people had been killed and 100 more were seriously injured. The main fire station was only 180 metres away, but the building and most of its occupants were doomed before the fire trucks could get there.

The regular weekly Saturday night "Uncle Tim's Barn Dance" had been going on that night—the event was even being broadcasted on the local radio station. There were about 500 people in the building that; some were at the dance and some were asleep upstairs in the servicemen's dormitories.

It was the most popular Newfoundland recreation spot for the many Newfoundlander, Canadian, American and British military servicemen, temporarily based in St. John's-it was their 'home away from home.' Three years of work on the part of hospitable Newfoundlanders, interested in giving men of the navy, the army and the air force services a home away from home, was undone in the tragic 10 minutes it took the destructive fire to reduce the two-storey structure to ashes and charred ruins.

Canadian Prime Minister MacKenzie King's Message:--

Ottawa, Dec. 14. -- Prime Minister MACKENZIE KING Sunday night issued a statement expressing sympathy for those whose relatives had lost their lives or had been injured in the St. John's Nfld. fire Saturday.

The statement said:

"The prime minister is deeply grieved to learn of the loss of life occasioned by the fire at St. John's, Newfoundland. and wishes to express, through the press, his own sympathy and that of his colleagues for the bereaved families and those who have been injured."

On the site of this tragic blaze there is a granite memorial commemorating those who died in the fire.

Military Service:-

Rank: Able Seaman

Service Number: V/23432

Age: 26

Force: Navy

Unit: Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve

Division: H.M.C. 'Orillia'

Awards/Honours: 1939-1945 Star, Atlantic Star, C.V.S.M. & Clasp, War Medal

A shipping clerk by trade, residing on De Bullion Street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve on 15 August 1940 in Montreal.

Son of Louis and Rachel (née Hammer) Epstein of Montreal, Quebec, Canada; brother of Saul, Dave and Manny Epstein and Rose (née Epstein) Spear (married to Sydney Spear) and Mary (née Epstein) Harris.

Able Seaman Irving Epstein is commemorated on Page 72 of Canada's Second World War Book of Remembrance.

He is also commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.