ROME, NY: Nov. 1, 1908 - Ward Building B of the State Custodial Asylum for Feeble-Minded Women caught fire and threatened about 150 patients, 30 of them bedridden. Amazingly, all of the patients were safely evacuated by the hospital staff. The two-story brick building was destroyed and, being a state-owned facility, was not insured.
LAKE HOPATCONG, NJ: Nov. 1, 1908 - An early-morning fire started in Allen's Pavilion and quickly spread to a nearby stable, icehouse and frame building on Nolan's Point. The swelling wall of flames then leaped to the post office, a long row of summerhouses, a coal shed and two loaded train cars. A telephone call was placed to the closest fire department, but a train could not be secured in time to make a difference.
PHILADELPHIA, PA: Nov. 2, 1908 - A fire in the lumber yards of the Williams Co. at Second and York streets destroyed millions of feet of costly hardwoods valued at $250,000. The fire, adjacent to the Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge, warped the tracks and caused the detour of President Theodore Roosevelt's train traveling toward his home in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Three firemen were injured as they drove their chemical engine into the yard, only to be cut off by the flames. Although they were injured, they beat a hasty retreat and the chemical engine exploded a short time later.
SAVANNAH, NY: Nov. 3, 1908 - An early-morning fire that started in a bakery on Main Street was quickly beyond the local volunteers and their hand-operated apparatus. Flames leaped from building to building as mutual aid was requested from Syracuse and Clyde. By the time help arrived, the fire had burned itself out. Twenty-two buildings lay in smoldering ruins as the sun came up.
CAREY, OH: Nov. 9, 1908 - According to newspaper reports, a 60-year-old woman and her grown children apparently all became demented, shutting and locking all their doors and windows before pouring coal oil on all their furniture and bedding. Just as the family ignited the fire, concerned neighbors who had been keeping a close watch on their bizarre actions broke into the home and rescued them. The entire family was arrested and charged with arson.
BROOKLYN, NY: Nov. 13, 1908 - A huge crowd assembled in the streets surrounding the famed Park Theatre as flames swept through the empty auditorium. The fire, apparently caused by faulty wiring, broke out a half-hour after the last show had ended. Thousands watched as firemen battled to stop the flames from spreading to nearby structures. The third alarm was just transmitted when a large section of the roof collapsed into the street. A number of firemen were working on the roof at the time of the collapse, but luckily none was injured.
CLEVELAND, OH: Nov. 16, 1908 - Two firemen were injured as they battled flames in a large five-and-10-cent store. The five-story building on Euclid Avenue was completely gutted and the adjoining buildings suffered water and smoke damage.
BARDSTOWN, KY: Nov. 18, 1908 - Two warehouses of the Tom Moore Distilling Co. were burned during a late-afternoon fire. The contents of the buildings, 15,000 barrels of whiskey, were also destroyed. Townspeople formed bucket brigades and saved a third warehouse and the distillery. Flaming waves of whiskey flowed from the warehouse into a nearby stream, which continued to burn for hours.
DUBLIN, NH: Nov. 22, 1908 - Flames swept through structures on the north side of Old Monadnock Mountain, including Leffingwell House, a famous hotel. The hotel's annex, stables and a Unitarian parsonage were destroyed as the wall of fire grew. Mutual aid from three nearby departments helped to save the library, Town Hall and a number of expensive residences.
PHILADELPHIA, PA: Nov. 29, 1908 - Disgruntled employees of the Brill Co., a large-car building plant, apparently set fire to the company lumber yard in response to a cut in wages. The fire destroyed a large store of hardwood, a pumping station and several finished vans. Also damaged were a section of train tracks and several railroad structures.
PAUL HASHAGEN, a Firehouse® contributing editor, is a retired FDNY firefighter who was assigned to Rescue Company 1 in Manhattan. He is also an ex-chief of the Freeport, NY, Fire Department. Hashagen is the author of FDNY 1865-2000: Millennium Book, a history of the New York City Fire Department, and other fire service history books.
