Oct. 4, 1902: HONG KONG - London newspaper reports indicate a major fire swept through the native quarter of the city and may have included some foreign houses as well. The fire was believed to have started in some bamboo structures and spread rapidly.
Oct. 7, 1902: BEAUMONT, TX - A fire of unknown origin took the lives of at least a dozen people as fire leaped from derrick to derrick in a large oil field. Many large storage tanks were threatened as the wall of fire spread across the field. As many as 100 derricks were reported ablaze.
Oct. 11, 1902: JACKSON, MI - One man was killed and four were injured when a hotel under construction collapsed. The four-story-high west wall of the Ostego Hotel gave way as several workers scrambled to safety. Rescuers were able to quickly dig out the five trapped men, all of whom were rushed to the hospital.
Oct. 11, 1902: NEW YORK CITY - Ladder Company 18, responding to a reported fire at 104 Orchard St., struck a curb while making a tight turn. The rear tiller wheel hit the curb, throwing the tillerman, Fireman Patrick J. Quail, to the sidewalk. Battalion Chief Guerin, following closely behind, ordered the company to continue to the fire. Another man jumped up into the tiller seat and the response resumed. The chief, with the help of several policemen, brought the injured man to a nearby police station. Doctors found his injuries included a fractured skull. The 28-year-old fireman died eight hours later in Bellevue Hospital.
Oct. 13, 1902: JERSEY CITY, NJ - Engine Company 8's mascot, a cat named Tom, received a line-of-duty injury when he was accidentally kicked in the head by a horse in quarters. The 12-year veteran of the company received medical attention, had his wound dressed and never missed a run.
Oct. 18, 1902: NEWARK, NJ - The cries of a baby woke several members of a household at 73 Leslie St. The mother went to attend the baby and was overcome by gas leaking from the stove; she fell to the floor unconscious. Her husband followed, and was also knocked out by the gas. The grandmother awoke, aroused the rest of the house and dragged the parents to safety. The baby was unharmed.
Oct. 18, 1902: URBANA, OH - A fire broke out in the Tucker Wood Rim Works during the night. The watchman and his two sons, who were visiting him at the time of the blaze, were caught unaware as the flames closed in around them. They were forced to jump from a second-story window to escape the flames and were seriously injured. The father and one son were badly burned and injured by the fall. The second son perished in the flames.
Oct. 22, 1902: NEW YORK CITY - Smoke poured from the third floor windows of the five-story structure at 167 Washington St. just before midnight. Chief Croker quickly transmitted second and third alarms. Hose teams and truckmen pushed into the thick smoke, seeking the base of the fire. With water pressure inadequate the men were pushed back and had to leave the building. As they were driven down the ladders one fireman was overcome and dangled unconscious over a railing. Fireman Murtha re-entered the thick smoke and rescued his comrade to the cheers of the growing crowd of spectators. For two hours, the dense smoke slowed the extinguishment of the fire.
Oct. 30, 1902: MINNEAPOLIS - A group of firemen led by Captain George Smith of Engine 16 were bringing a hoseline up a ladder to an adjoining building to battle a heavy fire in a six-story paper company building. During the operation, the ladder broke, hurtling Smith and five others to the ground. The captain and Firemen Cheney and Hessick were badly injured and were rushed to a hospital. Three other firemen walked to the hospital under their own power. The entire department went to work and gained control of the spreading fire.
Time Capsule
ALBANY FIREMAN KILLED WHILE BATTLING BLAZE
Oct. 18, 1902: ALBANY, NY - Fire destroyed the Tower & Brooks Company's store in the heart of the business district. Determined firemen struggled as the flames threatened to spread to nearby buildings.
As the fire began a dance was underway on the top floor of the fire building. People escaped the flames by being lifted out the front windows. They were then placed on the roof of an adjoining building. One fireman, Thomas Ward, pipeman of Engine Company 1, was killed when he slipped from a ladder and broke his neck.
The building, once the residence of Governor William L. Marcy, was considered a historic structure.
Paul Hashagen, a Firehouse® contributing editor, is an FDNY firefighter 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.
