June 1, 1905: NEW YORK CITY – Just before 3 o’clock in the afternoon, a man rushed into the workhouse of the city prison on Blackwell Island (now known as Roosevelt Island), shouting that a fire was burning in the attic above. The island, located in the middle of the East River, housed a thousand men and women inmates, several of whom under the direction of the guards served as the fire brigade. The 10 appointed men responded to their posts at the sounding of the alarm gong. Within a minute, they were on their way to fight the fire. One guard was overcome by dense smoke and was rescued by his partner. Several minutes later, an inmate was felled by the thick smoke and was dragged to safety by a fellow prisoner. By the time the FDNY was ferried to the scene, the stubborn blaze had been extinguished by the prison fire brigade.
June 4, 1905: KNOXVILLE, TN – A fire broke out in a four-story dry goods building on Gay Street and fierce flames soon filled the structure. The entire fire department struggled with the dangerous fire until the fire building collapsed. The block of buildings was no stranger to fire, having suffered a major blaze eight years earlier.
June 5, 1905: WHITE PLAINS, NY – An afternoon fire, caused by an overturned stove, swept through the dog kennels at Gedney Farm, the country estate of Howard Willets, a horse-show exhibitor. Quick work by servants saved 40 valuable dogs and eight horses from the flames. Ten female servants battled the flames with extinguishers while the male servants rescued wolfhounds, cocker spaniels, English sheepdogs, Irish setters and the horses.
June 7, 1905: TRENTON, NJ – While sitting in her drawing-room window, Emily Roebling spotted a fire in her father’s huge stables. (Emily was the daughter of Charles Roebling, who with his brother finished the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, begun by their father.) As the gardener called firemen, Emily rescued nine horses. When the firemen arrived, she continued helping with the horses and even assisted in changing a burst length of hose. Her valiant actions were applauded by the fire chief.
June 8, 1905: BROOKLYN, NY – A one-story brick warehouse at Reed and Conover streets was the scene of a three-alarm fire fed by bales of cotton. The blaze caused the collapse of the roof, injuring a number of firemen who were deep inside the structure battling the flames with a hose. Fireman John Carbush of Engine 102 (now Engine 202) was removed with serious injuries and later died in the hospital.
June 14, 1905: WORTHINGTON, PA – At about sunset, a fire broke out in the Walker & Campbell store and began leaping from building to building. The men formed a bucket brigade, but the flames spread to a drug store, harness shop, a tailor’s shop, a blacksmith’s shop and several homes. One man struck in the head by a falling bucket was rushed to a nearby home where it was feared he would die from his injuries.
June 24, 1905: RED BANK, NJ – The Red Bank Opera House was destroyed by an early-morning fire. Within two hours of the alarm, the structure was a mass of smoldering rubble. Actors and firemen were able to save the personal effects of the acting company, but all the costumes, scenery and music were lost. As hosemen pressed into the alley between the burning building and the exposed hotel next door, the roof of the theater collapsed, burying several firemen. One fireman, John Holmstodt, was buried for more than 10 minutes until he was rescued by his comrades and removed. He suffered a dislocated hip and shoulder, burns and cuts.
June 23, 1905: MUSKEGON, MI – The Muskegon County Poor House, filled with more than 100 people, burned to the ground after a gasoline tank exploded. Most of the people housed in the structure were rushed to safety, but an elderly woman was severely injured during the crush to leave the blazing building.
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.
