Rekindles: May 2000
Fires also blazed in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Near Duluth, flames trapped trains as bridges burned and wires melted. Five thousand stored railroad ties burst into flames as the fire closed in.
Pennsylvania suffered from major area forest fires as well. Flames from burning forests and brush ignited stored lumber, lumber camps, homes, bridges and rail lines. Railroad employees joined farmers and firefighters in battling the fires.
May 4, 1900: VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The flourishing mining town of Sandon, in the heart of the Slocan silver and lead mining district, was destroyed as fire leaped from building to building. Situated in a gulch at the base of the mountains, the town was composed of closely spaced wooden structures. Only a few homes could be saved.
May 4, 1900: NEWARK, NJ – A dog was credited with saving the life of a bartender who was asleep in his room above the bar in Bower’s Boathouse on the Passaic River. The dog, a Newfoundland, first scratched furiously at the foot of the bed. When the men failed to awaken, the dog leaped on the bed and barked until the man woke up. The bartender and dog escaped out a window as flames filled the hallway.
May 6, 1900: BIRMINGHAM, AL – A weak spot in the wall of the Sloss-Sheffield city furnace caused the escape of molten metal for nearly an hour. The molten metal ignited everything it came in contact with and worked its way to another large furnace nearby that was also destroyed. Both furnaces were producing 200 tons of pig iron a day before the accident. Several nearby buildings were burned as well.
May 7, 1900: BAYONNE, NJ – A huge fire broke out in the New Jersey Storage Company of Standard Oil. The entire Bayonne Fire Department was summoned as the fire expanded from a pile driver to three barges, a ship and three lighters. Firemen from Brooklyn and Long Island City, NY, responded as flames ignited sheds and buildings along the piers. Oil company tugs joined fireboats and held the moving wall of fire.
May 8, 1900: GENESEO, NY – The American Hotel caught fire during the early-morning hours. The hotel, filled to capacity due to the Supreme Court’s being in session, quickly filled with smoke. When the fire was extinguished, three guests were found to have perished in the thick smoke.
May 15, 1900: PARIS – A fire started in the basement of the Chateau d’Eau on the Exposition grounds. Firemen were able to stop the flames to spreading to other areas of the Exposition that included the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Electricity.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS
Union Fire Company 1 of Leesport, an all-volunteer company in Pennsylvania, was established in February 1900. The company’s first engine was a hand-drawn piece purchased from The International Fire Company of New York City. Today, the company operates two engines, a rescue pumper and a tanker … The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office – billed as the oldest state fire marshal’s office in the country – celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding on April 8, 2000.
Time Capsule
HAVANA, CUBA – MAY 17, 1900: The 10th anniversary of the death of 27 firemen during a large fire in Havana in 1890 occurred on May 17. The fatalities occurred when gunpowder exploded during a fire. Every year, the city and its two fire departments – the municipal (volunteers) and the commercial (paid by merchants) – draped their quarters in black bunting and conducted solemn ceremonies. The rival fire departments participated in separate parades.
The entire city took part in numerous parades, ceremonies and memorials to the fallen men. Churches were filled with worshipers and were decorated with firefighting tools and insignia. Honor guards of uniformed firemen stood at the corners of the altars during Mass. After the services, each group took a separate route to the cemetery and placed flowers and ornaments on the graves of the fallen firemen.