The first call to the Jacksonville Fire Department was made at 7:45 a.m., by hotel doorman Alton Joseph Crowden. Smoke was traveling throughout the 13-story building, and hotel visitors climbed out of the smoky building with the help of other patrons and bedsheets tied together. For some that saw that fire department ladders would not reach them, guests threw mattresses to the ground in an attempt to soften the landing. Guests were warned not to jump by a county patrol officer, who drove on the sidewalk and used his microphone to broadcast; "Don't jump. The firemen, are coming to get you."