Fire Hits Apartment of Lionel Hampton

A five-alarm fire sparked by a falling lamp swept through vibraphonist Lionel Hampton’s apartment, injuring 19 people and sending smoke billowing through the Manhattan skyscraper. Two attendants who work for the 83-year-old Hampton, who is confined to a wheelchair since suffering two strokes in 1995, got him safely out of the apartment. The fire apparently started when a halogen lamp tipped over, igniting a piece of furniture. Nine civilians, nine firefighters and one emergency medical service worker were injured.