1973 National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) Fire

In 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO, destroyed millions of military personnel records. To mark the 50th anniversary, the National Archives created the most comprehensive online collection to date of records, photos from the scene, and academic and agency texts about the event and its aftermath.

This Special Topics page gathers these existing resources related to the fire and adds:

• An extensive ongoing oral history project from the National Archives Historian
• A story on National Archives News, "Remembering the 1973 Fire"
• Images and videos from the St. Louis Preservation Lab of staff working on the affected records
• A one-page fact sheet

“It's been 50 years since the NPRC fire, and the National Archives and the nation are still recovering from the ashes,” said Dr. Colleen Shogan, Archivist of the United States. “I’ve seen firsthand the extraordinary lengths our staff in St. Louis go to every day to piece back together the records our veterans and their families need. It's a sobering reminder of both how important and how fragile our mission can be.”

Connect with the Records

Blog posts, articles, and presentations

• The National Personnel Records Center - A History

• St. Louis Preservation Branch

• Today's Document: Timeline of the NPRC fire, July 11-12, 1973

• Pieces of History: "National Personnel Records Center Fire Series: Origins" (2023)

• Pieces of History: "National Personnel Records Center Fire Series: The Fire" (2023)

• Pieces of History: "Fall In! Morning Reports with the National Archives" (2022)

• Pieces of History: “Becoming Bigger and Better: The NPRC After the Great Fire of 1973” (2021)

• National Archives News: "Archives Recalls Fire That Claimed Millions of Military Personnel Files" (2018)

• Pieces of History: “Burned and brittle records are in good hands” (2013)

• Pieces of History: "Burnt in memory: Looking back at the 1973 St. Louis fire" (2013)

• Pieces of History: “It’s why I do what I do” (2013)

• Pieces of History: "One Fire, 5 Days, and 381 Men" (2013)

• Pieces of History: "After the fire: Peter Waters helps save water-damaged records" (2013)

• Prologue: “Burnt in Memory”(2013)

• Prologue: “1 Archives Drive: Personnel Records Are Consolidated at New Location in St. Louis” (2011)

• 22nd Annual Preservation Conference: The ABC's of Modern Fire Suppression in Cultural Institutions (2008)

• Prologue: "The World War II Army Enlistment Records File and Access to Archival Databases" (2006)

• The Record: "Task Forces Report on Personal Data Files," by Constance Potter (1995, p. 9)

• American Archivist: "The National Personnel Records Center Fire: A Study in Disaster" (1974)

Enlarge

A moldy, fire- and water-affected military personnel record damaged by the 1973 NPRC fire. St. Louis, MO, June 2023. National Archives photo by Sean Derrick.

Records in the National Archives Catalog

Partially or fully available online (including images of the building before the fire)

• Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration

  • Photographs Relating to the Fire at the Military Personnel Records Center in 1973, 1973–1974

  • St. Louis Fire, July 13, 1973 - Photos

  • Photographs Documenting Events and Facilities, ca. 1972–ca. 1980

  • Historic Photograph File of National Archives Events and Personnel, 1935–1975

• ​Annual Report of the Administrator of General Services: The National Archives and Records Service (1973 and 1974)

Not yet available online

• Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration

  • Series: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Program Subject Files, October 1, 1985–1996

    • File name: Archives: National: Disasters: Fire: St. Louis Military Records Center 1973

  • ​Series: Program Files of James B. Rhoads, 1968–1979

    • File name: 4-1 Committees and Boards: Federal Fire Council

  • Series: Response and Recovery Reports, 10/1/1973 - 9/30/2008

    • File name NRS_239-1 St. Louis, MO Records Center Fire 1973

• Record Group 111: Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer

  • Dedication of military personnel record center, St. Louis, Missouri

• Record Group 269: General Records of the General Services Administration

  • Series: Monthly Activity Reports, 1973–1975

  • Series: Deputy Administrator: Subject Files, 1961-1979

  • General Subject Files, 1973

• Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense

  • Series: Motion Picture Films Relating to Vietnam, compiled 1965–1976

    • 6–12 July 1973

    • 13–19 July 1973

  • Series: Moving Images Related to Combat Visual Information, ca. 1966–ca. 2015

    • Aerial Footage of the National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records

Enlarge

A burned and brittle stack of military personnel records damaged by the 1973 NPRC fire. St. Louis, MO, June 2023. NARA photo by Sean Derrick.

Additional Resources for Veterans' Records

• eVetRecs (online portal to request veterans' records)

• History Hub - "How to get a DD-214 that was burned in 1973 fire?"

• National Personnel Records Center: Federal Records Center Program

External resources

• Congressional Research Service: "Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources" (updated 2023)

• fold3: "Reconstructing the Past: The National Personnel Record Center Fire of 1973" (2022)

• U.S. Government Accountability Office: "Fire Damage At The Military Personnel Records Center St. Louis, Missouri, And Fire Protection At Other GSA Records Centers"(1974)

Videos

Notes: Headline photo by National Archives Preservation Technician Sean Derrick, St. Louis, MO, June 2023; grid "Photograph Documenting Damage Following the 1973 Fire at the Military Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri" (NAID: 176251164)