VATICAN CITY - Flames broke out at 8:30 P.M. in a portion of the Vatican containing the Hall of Inscriptions, the place where the Pope gives his audiences. The hall is adjacent to the famous Pinacoteca, or Gallery of Pictures. The Swiss Guards, the personal bodyguards and protectors of the Pope, began to fight the blaze and ensure the safety of the Pope, who would have none of the bother and who raced to the forefront to help direct firefighting operations. Rome firemen arrived and immediately suffered serious water problems as the blaze in the heavy stone and brick structure spread quickly. The fire, which began in the apartment of an art restoration specialist, spread to several other staff apartments, causing the heavy timber ceilings to crash to the floor in flames. As the water pressure built up so did the rivalry between the Swiss Guards and the Rome firemen. Spectacular and daring displays of firefighting held the spread of the fire, until it was finally declared under control around 11 P.M.
PHILADELPHIA - A fierce fire destroyed the large plant of the Avril Printing Company at 45 Market St. and spread quickly to six adjoining dwellings. Among the valuable items lost in the blaze was a manuscript to a book about to be printed for colleges and libraries across the nation. As flames poured from the seven-story commercial building, the exposed structures - double-sized wood-frame private dwellings - burst into flames. Firemen split their forces and battled the fire on several fronts as fire took hold of a three-story brick building, sending fire from one block to the next. Firemen had several close calls as brick walls collapsed. In all, the printing plant and six houses were a total loss, and a dozen other buildings were damaged. Amazingly, there were only several minor injuries.
NEW YORK CITY - Fueled by a jealous arsonist, flames incinerated 14 blocks of Brooklyn's seaside community of Coney Island between 4 and 8 P.M. A 9-year-old girl was believed to have perished and more than 30 people were injured as a wall of fire began to march across the community's wooden structures. The first fire companies were on scene within two minutes, but the blaze was already beyond their capabilities. The battalion chief immediately called for help. Four alarms and numerous special calls were eventually transmitted as horsedrawn fire apparatus struggled to cover the great distances to reach the community. As the steam pumpers arrived they were faced with severely low water pressure, tremendous waves of heat and a storm of blazing embers. More than 70,000 people were drawn to the spectacle and only made the work of the firemen more difficult. More than 150 structures, including hotels, concessions, restaurants and homes, were destroyed during the eight-hour battle.
NEW YORK CITY - A fast-moving fire in a five-story tenement house in Manhattan took the lives of 25 people despite the super-human efforts of the fire department. Faced with flames shooting up the open interior stairway from the cellar and through the roof, firemen pushed into the blazing structure. Using ladders, they pressed into every area not filled with flames and dragged or carried unconscious men, women and children to safety. Life nets were then opened as person after person was forced to jump from the flames. Enginemen crashed through backyard fences and battled the flames from the rear as teams moved in from the front at the same time. The fire was brought under control only 20 minutes after the first alarm.
Time Capsule
NOV. 26, 1903: FOUR OMAHA FIREMEN KILLED IN FLOOR COLLAPSE
Four firemen battling a blaze in a wholesale grocery building on Ninth and Jones streets were lost as the floor collapsed beneath them. Operating about 40 feet inside the structure, the men plunged into an apparent inferno, leaving them with no possible escape and their comrades with no chance of rescuing them. The blaze inside the five-story brick building was believed to have started in the boiler room and spread rapidly to the flammable stock stored inside.
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.
