| Date | December 7, 1978 |
|---|---|
| Location | Suitland, Maryland, United States |
| Cause | Ignition of stored nitrate film by electrical short |
| Outcome | Destruction of archived Universal Pictures films |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 18 (14 firefighters, three civilians and one police officer)[1] |
The 1978 Suitland National Archives Film Vault Fire was a fire at the National Archives and Records Administration Film Vault in Suitland, Maryland on December 7, 1978. The fire destroyed 12.6 million feet of Universal Pictures newsreel footage from 1929 to 1967, including film of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, other World War II combat footage and film from the time of The Great Depression.[1]
The films stored in the vault were donated by Universal Pictures to the National Archives in 1970. When the nitrate film was moved to the vaults, fire safety improvements such as sprinkler systems were also added.[2]
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,[3] but films in 21 vaults ended up getting destroyed.[4] The firefighters opened the fireproof doors, allowing the fire to spread while looking for people who could be trapped inside.[2]