Rekindles: April 2004
April 3, 1904: ALTOONA, PA – A supply of Easter bonnets from the milliner in Altoona was being shipped by wagon to the town of Baker’s Summit. During the trip, the driver of the wagon fell asleep and dropped his cigar into a pile of straw in the wagon. He awoke with his coat and the wagon in flames. He saved his life by rolling in a mud puddle at the side of the road. The cargo, the supply of bonnets for the entire town, was burned to a crisp as the frightened horse galloped away, pulling the blazing wagon.
April 4, 1904: TAMPA, FL – Fire swept through West Tampa, burning 15 business blocks and nearly 200 tenements. Panic swept through 40 cigar factories, sending men, women and children fleeing into the streets. The Tampa Fire Department responded and struggled with the advanced fire conditions and a lack of water. One fire fatality was reported in a cigar factory.
April 6, 1904: YORK, PA – During the afternoon hours, a devastating fire broke out in the York Carriage Factory. During the height of the blaze, a wall collapsed, burying a number of firemen. Horace Strine, Solomon Strubinger and Patrick Sultzgiver were killed by the collapse and three other firemen were seriously injured.
April 6. 1904: EASTPORT, NY – Two destructive wildland fires swept the woods to the west and northwest of the Long Island village, burning standing trees and cut lumber. Strong winds drove the flames and greatly hampered firefighting efforts. Hundreds of acres were lost as firemen battled the flames into the night.
April 7, 1904: ORANGE, NJ – Local firemen were summoned to a rather unusual fire situation as flames engulfed the dry spring grass and spread across Saint Mark’s Cemetery, leaving the graveyard ablaze. Firemen moved quickly trying to stop the flames from damaging historic headstones from the Civil War era. Unfortunately, the intense heat damaged many.
April 9, 1904: HONESDALE, PA – Three men lost their lives in an early-morning fire that destroyed the home of State Senator Joel Hill. The senator and three members of his family escaped, but three guests, including his father, perished in the flames.
April 10, 1904: GALESBURG, IL – During the early evening hours, a fire was discovered in the basement of Galesburg High School. Firemen responded quickly and began a desperate battle to save the school. During the operation, a wall collapsed, taking the life of Fireman John Slater.
April 23, 1904: NEWARK, NJ – Two firemen were killed and 17 others were injured while battling a blaze in a four-story building on Mechanic Street. Within 15 minutes of the alarm, the entire top two floors were a mass of flames. Firemen used every vantage point to direct their streams against the wall of fire. While operating on a two-story roof adjacent to the fire building, 20 men had to scramble as the fire building wall collapsed. Six men were trapped under the smoldering bricks. Firemen Jacob Bleythe and William Crane succumbed to their injuries and several others were transported to nearby hospitals with life-threatening injuries.
Time Capsule
APRIL 4, 1904: NEW YORK CITY – HOTEL FIRE ROUSES CIRCUS FOLK
An early-morning fire in the Putnam House, a hotel across the street from Madison Square Garden, drove many excited guests into the street. Among those registered were performers from Barnum & Bailey’s “freak show,” including “Beautiful Marie the Human Mountain,” “Auger the Welsh Giant,” “Lionel the Lion Faced Boy,” the bearded lady and the tattooed man. The bearded lady stroked her long red beard and took full credit for waking the guests.
“I was really the cause of Marie’s not getting burned up,” she claimed. “You see, I feel I am under obligations to show more than feminine self-control on such occasions.” Beautiful Marie differed, saying she was responsible. “If it hadn’t been for me, there’s no telling if that tattooed man would ever have to wake up.”
The actual first performer to reach safety was the Lion Faced Boy. “I couldn’t afford to have my face singed,” offered Lionel. “In that case, I wouldn’t be lion-faced any longer and would have to leave the circus and be just an ordinary citizen. I couldn’t run that risk, so I didn’t wait to alarm anybody else, but just got out as fast as I could.”
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.