Feb. 1, 1902: HOOSICK FALLS, NY - The old Anson Wood mansion was destroyed by an early-morning fire. Alvah Harrison Webster, the owner of the mansion, was walking through the kitchen carrying a gas lamp when he stepped on a kitten sleeping on the floor near the stove. Startled, he dropped the lamp, which exploded in flames that raced across the kitchen floor and soon engulfed the entire structure. Arriving firemen were then hampered by frozen hydrants.
Feb. 1, 1902: WATERBURY, CT - Flames burst through the third-floor windows of the Reid & Hughes Dry Goods Company at 108-112 Bank St. just after 6:30 P.M. As the fire department arrived, fire was pouring from every window and threatening nearby structures. As a wind-whipped rain changed over to snow, flames leaped to a Salvation Army building to the west, then extended to a block of stores to the east. The fire marched toward Main Street, defying every effort of the firemen. The main business section of the city was soon in flames. By 8:30 P.M., the Waterbury firemen were stretched too thin and mutual aid was requested from Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Torrington and Naugatuck. At about 10:30 P.M., the fire was somewhat under control and companies were released from the scene and trudged off exhausted. At about midnight, a second fire lit the sky and weary firemen returned to the fight. Damage was estimated at more than $2.5 million.
Feb. 4, 1902: ST. LOUIS - Flames tore through a 50-year-old, five-story building at 314 Chestnut St. Just after the main body of the fire was knocked down, crews moved in to overhaul the smoldering remains and extinguish hot spots. Without warning, the building collapsed. Chief Swingly directed his entire force in a massive rescue effort that took many hours. Found dead among the twisted wreckage were Assistant Chief August Thierry, Assistant Foreman Michael Kehoe, Foreman Daniel Steele and three unidentified pipemen.
Feb. 7, 1902: BROOKLYN, NY - Fierce winds drove flames through a four-story factory building at Cumberland Street and Flatbush Avenue occupied by a wheelwright shop and a truck factory. A collapse seriously injured six firemen who were pulled from the smoldering debris. Chief Croker transmitted four alarms before the blaze could be brought under control.
Feb. 9, 1902: ST. LOUIS - Eleven people lost their lives in an early-morning fire that destroyed the Empire Hotel, a three-story men's lodging house at 2700 Olive St. The fire erupted at around 3:30 A.M. and gained considerable headway before it was discovered. The entire front of the building was a mass of flames as the first engine rolled in. Firemen plunged into the blazing building and made a valiant attack, but the smoke and flames had already claimed their victims.
Feb. 10, 1902: SPRINGFIELD, OH - An explosion in the Champion Chemical Plant started a fire that raced through the 800-by-1,200-foot interconnected buildings. The city's two fire engines were greatly overmatched upon their arrival. The companies pushed a hoseline into a second-floor office, but were soon cut off by the advancing fire. One by one, they jumped from the windows to escape the flames. Within 90 minutes, 12 factories were smoldering ruins.
Feb. 18, 1902: BATTLE CREEK, MI - The Kellogg Sanitarium was the site of a fire that may have caused one fatality. The fire made its way to a shaft and spread quickly. For two hours, firemen battled the fire and poor water pressure, but amazingly only one person was reported missing from the 400 guests.
Time Capsule
FEB. 9, 1902: CONFLAGRATION IN PATERSON, NJ
Just after midnight, a fire started in the trolley car barns of the Hoboken and Paterson Street Railroad Company at Broadway and Van Houten Streets and began a relentless spread that consumed the principal business section and 100 dwellings. Sensing a conflagration, the first-arriving firemen immediately called for more help.
The first exposed structure to catch fire was the First Baptist Church. The steeple caught an airborne ember and was soon aflame. Ladders were positioned and a chemical engine started a hoseline until it was realized the ladders could not reach the top of the spire and the fire took hold. The blazing steeple toppled and the nearby high school was soon ablaze.
At 1:30 A.M., mutual aid was requested of Jersey City, Rutherford, Newark, Elizabeth, Hoboken and Passaic. When the call for help reached Passaic, that fire department was already engaged battling a major fire in that city. By 2 A.M., the entire business section of the city was burning. Heavy flames and dense smoke, driven by strong winds, filled the sky until sunrise as the fire jumped from building to building.
The unpredictable fire was moving steadily through the city demoralizing the exhausted firemen. Chief of the Department Stagg, who was seriously ill and confined to his bed, had to be physically restrained by his family as he watched the fire from his window. He watched helplessly as the fire took the First National Bank, then the Evening News building, the YMCA, the Odd Fellows Hall, and on and on.
Firemen made a memorable stand along one firefront as lines were positioned at the Hamilton Club at the corner of Church and Ellison streets. A torrent of water was directed on the structure and several nearby buildings were leveled using dynamite. The fire destroyed the interior of the building, but the progress of the flames in that direction was halted. Firemen struggled throughout the day until the fire was gradually brought under control. Hundreds of people arrived in the city by train to watch the huge blaze, and martial law was proclaimed to keep the peace.
Despite the incredible amount of fire and the speed of its spread, there were no deaths or serious injuries. A conservative estimate of the damage made the day after the fire was $8 million.
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 recently published history of the New York City Fire Department, and other fire service history books.
