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.
Sept. 3, 1897: BROOKLYN, NY A fire that started in the machine shop of the Nassau Electric Train Co. on 36th Street was soon burning so fiercely that radiant heat started structure fires across both Church and 13th avenues. Extraordinary efforts of firefighters contained the blaze.
Sept. 4, 1897: BROAD RIPPLE, IN A natural gas explosion in a drug store touched off a fire that soon expanded as a second gas explosion rocked a store across the street and the two fires combined. Seven men were killed while attempting to salvage goods; within seconds, five structures in the middle of the village's business district were ablaze. Indianapolis fire engines were sent by train and they joined the volunteers already operating on the scene before the fire was under control.
Sept. 7, 1897: MAGOG, QUEBEC A fierce fire broke out during the early-morning hours. Local firemen were outmatched by flames that leapt across Main Street and destroyed buildings there as well.
Sept. 7, 1897: MORRISTOWN, NJ The new schoolhouse built to take the place of the old one shared the same fate, as it too burned down. Evidence of arson and threats against the builder, not the low bidder, fueled local controversy.
Sept. 21, 1897: PASSAIC, NJ Eight families were trapped by a fire on the upper floors of a three-story brick building at the corner of Main and Passaic streets. Firemen raised a portable ladder up and rested it on their shoulders to rescue a woman and her daughter who were trapped at a top-floor window.
Sept. 25, 1897: CHICAGO Three women boarders were taking baths when the cook began shouting fire. A pet parrot took up the cry and alerted the women. Firefighters arrived in time to rescue the towel-clad women and the bird.
Sept. 29, 1897: WASHINGTON, D.C. A six-story structure that took up an entire city block and housed a power station quickly filled with flames and began spreading across the streets. The entire fire department was on scene but firefighters were driven back time and again by the fierce radiant heat. The loss topped a million dollars.
Sept. 29, 1897: IRONTON, OH A fire in a saw mill spread to adjoining lumberyards and 20 neighboring homes, and was soon out of control and threatening the city waterworks. Mutual aid from Ashland arrived with several thousand feet of hose and was able to cut the flames off. A special boat from Cattlettsburg arrived with an additional engine that was quickly put to work. With the arrival of fresh men and equipment, the town was saved.
MILESTONES: Two hundred years ago, the settlement of Newburgh, NY, was without fire protection, so an act by the State Legislature provided for the formation of a fire department. The act was passed on March 24, 1797, specifying two classes of firemen one group to operate and maintain the engine, the other to be a bucket brigade. The legislation also called for the election of five trustees to appoint firemen and manage the fire department. The trustees held their first meeting on Sept. 11, 1797; the Newburgh Fire Department dates its organization from that meeting. Members will celebrate the bicentennial with a parade and other events on Oct. 4, 1997…The Pomeroy Volunteer Fire Department, in southeastern Ohio, marks its 150th anniversary in part by hosting the annual regional fire school in September 1997.
TIME CAPSULE
September 1936: Forest Fires Sweep Southwestern Oregon
High winds drove dangerous forest fires toward coastal towns in southwestern Oregon, destroying property and taking lives. Some 15,000 people were left homeless as the blaze roared through Bandon. People fleeing the fire were taken by boats across the Coquille River to relative safety. The local telephone operator, Evelyn Manciet, stuck by her switchboard until flames were licking at her building.
When the flames had passed, weary searchers combed the rubble that had been their town. Damage was extensive and the death toll would reach 11. Fire wardens estimated that 15,000 to 20,000 acres of brush and virgin forest were burning. Larger fires had been experienced in the area but the locations, close to populated areas, were cause for grave concern.
The coastal towns of Marshfield and North Bend and inland Coquille, Myrtle Point and Langois were threatened as buildings on their outskirts caught fire. Citizens fled the flames' path amid a hail of burning embers. These people and their homes were spared when Mother Nature did what exhausted firefighters could not the wind changed direction and a dense fog rolled into the area.
Four hundred homes and virtually the entire business section of Bandon were lost to the blaze. Damage estimates were placed at $1.5 million. Efforts to rebuild the devastated town began while the ruins were still smoldering.
Paul Hashagen
Compiled by Paul Hashagen
