Zoo president reflects on devastating fire

Early on Dec. 24, 1995, Philadelphia Zoo President Pete Hoskins was sound asleep.

Around midnight, however, he was awakened by a phone call informing him of a fire at the zoo.

That night, 23 primates died in one the most devastating zoo fires in history. Last night, Hoskins was at Penn to discuss his leadership during the crisis.

Hoskins, along with zoo consultant Marilyn Nyman, went through the tragedy of the zoo fire in intimate detail.

He explained the facts, then asked students, "If you're ... the president of the Philadelphia Zoo, you get a call that there's a fire at the World of Primates. What do you do?"

The electrical fire at the zoo sent smoke into the room where the primates were sleeping. All of the primates in the building died.

"No zoo in the world has suffered a loss quite like that outside of war," Hoskins said.

Ten years later, Hoskins still gets emotional when discussing the loss.

"As I went through, I saw the forms of these animals, these people to me, dead," Hoskins said with tears in his eyes.

Hoskins continued to discuss the decisions he had to make as a leader the night of the fire. As president of the zoo, Hoskins was responsible for the balance between informing the press and managing the events at the zoo.

"You could hear chains rattling on the fences of the reporters trying to get in," said Hoskins.

"The main thing is to get things done that need to get done. The press can wait," he said.

Hoskins struggled with the way in which he would present this personal tragedy to the world at a press conference the following morning.

"My goal for that press conference was to have the world share our pain," he said. "That was my hope, but a lot of people were angry, and a lot of people thought I should have lost my job."

Hoskins related how he overcame the negativity that came from the fire and went on to rebuild the World of Primates with a new center that would set the standard for the future.

"We would look forward to ... a moment of triumph for the institution. That moment of triumph was the opening of the PECO Primate Reserve."

"We were able to tell the world, 'We are back. The Philadelphia Zoo is back,'" he said.

Most people at the event were affiliated with Fox Leadership or the zoo.

"As someone in Fox, I think it's a good way for students to become interactive with leaders. It's a way for students to see in leaders' heads," College senior Kat Hannah said.

"I worked at the zoo as an educational ambassador this summer," College junior Rachel Aronson said. "I had the staff perspective; now I got the executive perspective."

Hoskins himself was wowed by the audience.

"I'm just impressed with the maturity of these young people and the insights they have. I can see in this group there are students who will become leaders themselves," Hoskins said.

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