If there was a significant fire or emergency that occurred 100 years ago in your department, or your department's 100th anniversary is coming up, please drop us a line for possible inclusion in "Rekindles" in an upcoming issue.
Aug. 1, 1898: CHICAGO - A fast-moving fire swept through the Berwyn Hotel on North State Street during the early morning. Many guests were trapped on the upper floors and were screaming for help or jumping as the firemen arrived. Several rescues were performed using ladders. Three people died and several were seriously injured after jumping.
Aug. 5, 1898: BUFFALO, NY - An incendiary fire tore through the Niagara University chapel at about 4 A.M. The fire had considerable headway and apparatus proved to be inadequate to control the blaze. The chapel was a complete loss.
Aug. 9, 1898: BISMARCK, ND - Flames broke out in the Northern Pacific Station and spread to nearly every building in the city. Major losses included the Western Union offices, U.S. Land Offices, First National Bank, merchants' block, Post Office block, all of the city's drug stores, most of its grocery stores, both newspaper offices, and warehouses and factories.
Aug. 10, 1898: BOSTON - A fire on Merchants' Row, a short distance from historic Fanueil Hall, caused major damage to the structure. Many firemen were overcome by sulphur fumes as they battled the fire in a drug store. Other firemen were injured by falling glass and slate.
Aug. 11, 1898: NEW ORLEANS - A nighttime fire that started in a Bourbon Street Turkish bath extended into a department store, a shoe store, a clothing store and a candy store.
Aug. 13, 1898: BROOKLYN, NY - A fire broke out on the fifth floor of a seven-story apartment house on the corner of Pineapple and Hicks Streets. A husband, wife, infant and their maid were all trapped by the advancing flames as firemen arrived. A wooden ladder was placed to their window and Fireman William Collins of Engine 5 climbed the steep ladder and first removed the baby, then its mother and as he carried down the maid, the father climbed down on his own.
Aug. 15, 1898: NEW YORK CITY - An alarm was transmitted for a fire in a four-story factory on Monroe Street on the Lower East Side. The first-arriving unit, the fireboat Robert A. Van Wyck, opened up its bow monitor and transmitted a third alarm upon arrival as fire had spread to two adjoining structures. Chief Bonner assumed command shortly after and transmitted a fourth alarm. Nineteen engines, five hook and ladders, a fireboat and a water tower were needed to bring the fire under control.
Aug. 16, 1898: NUZHNEE NOVGOROD, RUSSIA - A fire leaped from one building to the next in this Volga River navigation center. Forty people were reported injured and 80 homes and numerous factories and other structures were destroyed.
Aug. 20, 1898: HOT SPRINGS, AR - Six people died as fire spread from the National Hotel to the Windsor Hotel, then to a cottage and livery stable. Many guests escaped down the stairs, but many were cut off by flames and dense smoke. Clad in nightclothes, guest after guest jumped to escape the flames.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION: The Downers Grove, IL, Fire Department celebrates its 100th anniversary on Aug. 29, 1998, with a display of antique and modern apparatus and a flea market.
TIME CAPSULE
Aug. 30, 1928: Chemical Plant Fire
A fire broke out in the American Solvents and Chemical Co. in Algiers, LA, just across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. The Algiers Fire Company arrived and immediately called to New Orleans for help as the surrounding areas of the plant were a mass of flames and exploding drums and containers.
Firemen used ditches as foxholes, pulling their helmets over their faces and directing streams toward the walls of flames. Drums were skyrocketing from all over the yard, their contents adding more fuel to the fire as they streaked from the sky. A 10,000-gallon alcohol tank in the rear of a passageway was discovered to be buried beneath its cover and lines were directed on the tank to cool the contents and hopefully extinguish the flames. During the height of the battle, three firemen were overcome by the heat and had to be removed from the area.
The fireboats Deluge and Samson pumped lines from the river side over the levee. The battle continued all day. Windows in the buildings for blocks around were blown out by the initial explosion. New Orleans Fire Chief John Evans coordinated operations and lines were placed to protect outside tanks including a 396,000 gallon tank of alcohol. Other large tanks included ether, benzol and other high explosives.
At about 6 P.M., after the fire was believed to be contained and controlled, an exploding alcohol drum struck a New Orleans fire lieutenant in the head. A frantic effort was made to save his life including a police motorcycle escort to the hospital, but the officer later died.
Amazingly, the warehouse structure itself was not badly damaged. The alcohol in the plant was valued at more than $150,000.
Paul Hashagen
Compiled by Paul Hashagen
