NEW YORK CITY: Sept. 1, 1908 -- An accidental fire that was ignited on the second floor sent clouds of dense smoke throughout an apartment house in Manhattan. The captain of Engine 22, Mike Ruddy, rescued an unconscious woman from the third floor while the fire was being battled. One quick-thinking woman had placed her canaries, cage and all, into the icebox when she first smelled smoke. After the blaze, firemen escorted her back to her flat and her birds were taken from the icebox unharmed.
SONORA, CA: Sept. 2, 1908 -- The Calaveras group of big trees, one of the natural wonders of the world, were in danger as fire swept the area. Caused by sparks from a big engine used to haul logs, a forest fire that started the day before began to spread toward the huge trees. Employees of a nearby hotel were battling the blaze both protecting their buildings and hoping to stop the spread as it approached the stand of famous giant Sequoias.
WATERVILLE, ME: Sept. 3, 1908 -- With a crowd of 25,000 watching, the well-known aeronaut Charles Oliver Jones maneuvered his dirigible balloon to a height of 500 feet over the Maine fairgrounds. Upon reaching that height, flames became visible just in front of the motor and directly beneath the gasbag. Unaware, the pilot continued until the fire had grown in size and intensity. Before he could activate his safety rope, the bag burst into flames and the man and his machine plummeted to the ground. He died several hours later from his injuries.
SUMNER, MS: Sept. 4, 1908 -- Practically the entire business district was destroyed and one man lost his life after a fire began in the H.H. Polk Building. Flames spread to the newly erected Court House, a hotel, seven stores and offices, and seven homes.
RAWHIDE, NV: Sept. 5, 1908 -- Three thousand people were left homeless by a fire that began in a drug company building and spread, driven by gale-force winds. The volunteer fire department and 500 miners worked together in a valiant attempt to halt the flames. In two hours, more than $750,000 in buildings and contents were lost.
DENVER, CO: Sept. 8, 1908 -- A fire in the Belmont Hotel on Stout Street left four men dead and scores injured, including a number of firemen. Patrick Treadwell, a fireman from Cripple Creek who was in town at the time of the fire, was credited with saving at least 10 lives. Treadwell coaxed those trapped in upper-story windows to jump across to an adjacent rooftop. Each of these 10 guests he was able to catch in his arms.
NEWARK, NJ: Sept. 6, 1908 -- While battling a blaze in a tenement house on Spruce Street, firemen saw a mother and her three children trapped at a third-floor window. As ladders were being raised, a life-net was quickly brought to the scene by members of Ladder 5 and deployed beneath the trapped family. Fireman William Saupe reached them and helped the mother jump into the net. He then tossed each of her children to safety before searching in the dense smoke for one child that was still missing. He quickly found the unconscious child and dropped her to safety as well.
DETROIT, MI: Sept. 15, 1908 -- Two men were suffocated by dense smoke from burning timbers and tar paper in the Number 4 Shaft of the Michigan Central tunnel under construction beneath the Detroit River. About 200 men were at work in the tunnel when the fire was discovered and a slight panic ensued as each man had to pass through an airlock used to maintain pressure in the tunnel. The pressurization was sacrificed to allow the blaze to be fought. The two men killed were believed to have been searching for those overcome in the smoke. Two men taken to the hospital in serious condition were the tunnel superintendent and a fireman.
BALTIMORE, MD: Sept. 17, 1908 -- A fire in the top floor of McCoy Hall, the library of Johns Hopkins University, caused inestimable damage to rare documents and artifacts. In a room adjoining the fire area, 25,000 unbound periodicals in various languages were feared ruined by water damage. A collection of Roman and Hellenic artifacts and a valuable collection of papyri and archaeological specimens from Thebes and Memphis in Egypt were also destroyed.
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.
