May 2, 1904: PAWNEE CITY, NE – A train belonging to the Campbell Brothers Circus & Menagerie caught fire during the afternoon. The trainyard was in an uproar as circus folk and firemen struggled to battle the flames and save the caged animals. Lost to the flames were three elephants, four camels, two bears, three water buffaloes, a cage of monkeys and a number of horses.
May 2, 1904: DANBURY, CT – “Dan,” a big bay fire horse assigned to Hose 1, had been suffering with a lame leg for several days and was placed in a box stall near the back of the station while a spare horse took his place in the regular stall. At 1 A.M., the gong began sounding an alarm. As firemen turned out, a crashing sound could be heard from the rear of quarters. Upon their return, “Dan” was found on the floor with a severely broken leg and was still trying to stand up. He had kicked his way through the walls in an attempt to answer the alarm. Sadly, the horse had to be put down.
May 3, 1904: CARMEL, NY – One of the pioneer higher education institutions for women in the United States, Drew College, caught fire during the night. Flames leaped from one building to the next. The last building to catch fire was the dormitory, where the staff and the students had time enough to escape to safety. The entire campus was lost.
May 8, 1904: PECKVILLE, PA – A fire broke out in the engine house of the Blue Ridge Colliery, a mining company, trapping 15 men below. James Shay, an engineer for the mine, entered the blazing building as firemen directed a stream of water on him. Surrounded by flames, Shay began to operate the hoist and rescued all of the trapped miners. He staggered from the building with his hands and face badly burned. Moments later, the building collapsed.
May 11, 1904: TRENTON, NJ – Flames raced through a four-story brick building on Warren and West Hanover Streets. Several employees narrowly escaped the fast-moving afternoon fire. On the second floor, however, a salesman appeared in a window, holding an unconscious woman in his arms. With fire closing in, he jumped to the ground and, amazingly, suffered only cuts and bruises.
May 20, 1904: MONTREAL, QUEBEC – An afternoon fire swept through the Ledoux Company carriage factory on Osborn Street. The fire began near a forge on the ground floor and, fed by flammable materials, spread quickly throughout the seven-story structure. Firemen struggled to hold the fire to the original building, but had to retreat as the walls began to collapse.
May 21, 1904: WHIPPANY, NJ – A fire that began in a stockroom spread with surprising speed through the 300-by-100-foot United Boxboard and Paper Company. Workers battled the flames until Morristown firemen arrived (there was no fire department in Whippany yet) and were able to contain the fire.
May 24, 1904: INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Automobiles were lined up in a procession to provide a tour for a visiting dignitary, Prince Pu Lun. Before the prince arrived, however, his auto caught fire, sending the large group into a frenzy. One cool-minded individual ran to a nearby milk wagon and returned with several large cans of milk, which he used to douse the flames.
May 25, 1904: YAZOO CITY, MS – Over 200 buildings were destroyed as fire swept the wealthy delta town. Twenty-eight blocks of commercial buildings and numerous homes and residences burned to the ground. Soon after the initial report of a house fire at Main and Mound Streets was answered, the fire department realized the blaze was out of control and sent for mutual aid. Departments from Greenwood and Jackson responded by train to help battle the inferno. At least three people were killed and scores were left homeless.
Time Capsule
MAY 14, 1904 – SPECTACULAR RESCUES AT MANHATTAN FIRE
As a contingent of firemen marched in a parade up Broadway, a fire broke out several blocks away in a four-story tenement at Third Avenue and 110th Street. Flames started in a first-floor store and trapped numerous women and children above. A man in the crowd, Mike O’Brian, a plasterer who was known as “One-Eyed Mike” (who had lost his right eye), saw the people trapped and sprang into action. He raced to the second floor just as the first-due company, Ladder 14, arrived.
Climbing out onto a narrow coping, O’Brian crawled to the adjacent burning apartment with Fireman Webber close on his heels. O’Brian drove his elbow though the window and was lost from sight as a cloud of heavy smoke enveloped him. Grabbing a quick breath, he plunged into the room. Moments later, he appeared with an infant in his hands and passed him out to Webber, then he dove back into the apartment. He returned to the window two additional times with small children in his arms. The children were removed by ladder by Webber.
On the other side of the blazing corner building, several women and children were caught in a lifenet by firemen as the occupants were forced to jump to avoid the terrible smoke and heat. “One-Eyed Mike” shook hands with Webber and left the scene quietly, refusing to be hailed as a hero.
