Rekindles: September 2005

Sept. 1, 1905: WITHAM, ENGLAND - Responding members of the fire brigade were faced with a horrific scene as the express train from London to Cromer derailed as it entered the Witham station. The cars smashed into the station offices and platform, killing 11 people and injuring more than 20. Many were trapped in the debris of the ticket office and the wreckage of the cars themselves. A gasometer beneath the train burst into flames, further complicating the rescue.

Sept. 2, 1905: LITTLETON COMMON, MA - Two women and a child perished in an early-morning fire that destroyed the structure. Several other occupants were able to escape as the flames consumed the wooden house and ignited a neighboring home.

Sept. 3, 1905: ADRIANOPLE (now the city of EDIRNE), TURKEY - Several thousand homes were destroyed in the Greek, Armenian, Bulgarian and Jewish quarters of the city. Numerous lives were lost as the fire spread in the densely populated neighborhoods. The city was the ancient site of the famed battle between the Romans and the Goths in 378 A.D. that was considered the beginning of Roman Empire's decline.

Sept. 4, 1905: PITTSBURGH, PA - A young woman acrobat and star of the spectacle "Fighting the Flames" was killed during her evening performance at the city's Exhibition Grounds. More than 1,000 people watched as the woman perched "trapped" in a burning building, crying for help. Her rescuer, another acrobat, moved into position, but for unknown reasons, the woman jumped early. She fell to her death and left him dangling from the roof'�s ledge, where he was rescued by "real" firemen.

Sept. 4, 1905: DETROIT, MI - Gasoline vapors ignited in the hold of a motor launch, causing several of those onboard to panic, jump overboard and drown. According to the vessel's captain, a passenger kicked open a cock on the engine that allowed gasoline to flow out, then after lighting a cigar, carelessly threw the match into the flammable liquid. A number of the 30 passengers leapt into the water and two men and two women drowned. The fire was quickly extinguished.

Sept. 4, 1905: BROOKLYN, NY - Shortly before 3 A.M., a milkman saw flames pouring from a house on Grand Street and turned in the alarm. Thirty people were trapped as Engine 113 (now Engine 213) rolled up. Crews split, sending a hoseline into the blazing staircase as other firemen scrambled to pull the trapped people from rear fire escapes. Three alarms were sounded for the incendiary fire. Due to the great work of the first-due unit, no lives were lost.

Sept. 7, 1905: NEW YORK CITY - It was a particularly difficult day for FDNY units that started as they faced a deadly early-morning fire on East 71st Street in Manhattan that claimed four lives. A fire that later broke out in Grand Central Station caused a small panic before fire crews pressed into a blazing basement storage room. Downtown companies then responded to a building collapse at the corner of Mott and Grand streets. Two people were killed and a dozen seriously injured as the previously condemned structure fell to the ground. Several of the injured were dug from the ruins by teams of firemen.

Sept. 15, 1905: AVON, CT - The explosion of a fuse ignited a huge fire in the Climax Fuse Company's buildings. The initial explosion apparently was small, but nearby inflammables quickly ignited and sent a sheet of flames and dense smoke throughout the area. As employees raced blindly for the exits, a second, more powerful explosion knocked out a bearing wall and started a domino effect. Seven people were killed by the explosions and collapse of the burning buildings.

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.