HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) -
Thursday marks 50 years since a deadly fire at Hartford Hospital claimed more than a dozen lives.
A memorial service is being held at the hospital at 2 p.m., the time the fire began.
A smoldering cigarette in a trash chute in the High Building caused a massive fireball that exploded through a faulty chute door on the ninth floor, creating a wall of fire.
In all, 16 people were killed in the blaze: seven patients, five visitors and four employees.
The inferno captured the nation's attention at the time and forced a national debate on fire safety.
As a result of the fire, hospital design and construction were changed forever. Trash chutes were banned, smoking was limited and later banned inside, and fire doors were redesigned as well as patient doors.
Dan Kain is attending the memorial service and will have a full report starting at 5.
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