In this month’s column, I present historic fires or significant events in the fire service from February 1916. A reminder: Readers are encouraged to share information from their departments.
February 3, 1916: Ottawa, Canada: Shortly before 9:00 p.m., a fire, believed to have been caused by careless smoking, broke out in the House of Commons reading room and began spreading within the huge Gothic stone and wood structure. The House, in session when the alarm was raised, was quickly evacuated. Two minutes after receiving the alarm, the first engine was on the scene, but flames had already broken through the roof. Senators and soldiers were able to remove some valuable paintings before the fire spread. Under the command of Chief Graham, firefighters battled the well-advanced fire despite freezing temperatures.
Two female guests of the House speaker returned to the building to retrieve their fur coats. Both women were later found dead in a corridor by searching firefighters. Several people were rescued over ladders with flames leaping around them, as 20 hose streams were directed at the fire. By 11:00 p.m., the Victoria Clock Tower ignited, burned, and collapsed. Sadly, collapsing walls also killed a police officer and two other men. The steel safety doors of the Library of Parliament held back the flames, saving that building and its contents.
February 4, 1916: Atlantic City, New Jersey: During the early morning hours, flames broke out in the Hotel Overbrook. A telephone operator working across the street from the building noticed the fire and phoned the fire department. Moments later, the street alarm box was also transmitted. Many guests sleeping within the frame portion of the hotel woke to find themselves trapped with flames blocking the hotel’s fire escapes.
Chief Black ordered lines stretched and ladders thrown to the numerous people showing at the smoke-filled windows above. Firefighters were able to rescue a mother and child and a family of four including two small children from fourth-floor windows. This fast-moving fire killed at least three people; several others jumped from upper floor windows and were injured.
February 6, 1916: New York, New York: Three alarms were transmitted for Manhattan Box 33-102 because of a spectacular fire at 438 Pearl Street near Park Row. The six-story loft building was filled with chemical and paint companies. During the fire, Barney Mills, a member of the fire patrol, became lost in dense smoke in the cellar and was barely able to find a window. Trapped behind iron bars, he shouted for help, but firefighters could do little to assist him. Gasping for air, he dropped unconscious, a victim of carbon monoxide. Moments later, members of the newly formed Rescue Company 1 arrived with a cutting torch. Within a matter of minutes, they cut and cleared the bars, pulled the man to safety, and revived him with a resuscitator.
February 13, 1916: Ithaca, New York: Flames destroyed Morse Hall, home of Cornell University’s chemical department, during the early morning hours. The fire, starting in the photography rooms on the third floor, was fanned by high winds and spread quickly. Hampered by low water pressure, the firefighters faced extreme hazards as explosion after explosion rocked the building. Hundreds of students pitched in, emptying 5,000 books from a library threatened by the flames. Firefighters and the school’s staff also removed valuable chemicals and apparatus from the doomed building.
February 16, 1916: Fall River, Massachusetts: An early morning fire in the Steiger Department Store on South Main Street began extending southward to other buildings on both sides of the street. Mutual aid was requested from Newport, Taunton, and New Bedford. At about 2:00 a.m., the wind shifted, driving the flames toward a section of tenement houses. Firefighters made a determined stand in the rear of a long line of burning buildings to keep flames from reaching the congested district of wooden tenements. More than 20 buildings were lost at a cost of $2 million.
February 16, 1916: Mexia, Texas: A large crowd was attending an art exhibit inside the ancient two-story brick Opera House Building when suddenly the upper floors gave way. The collapsing section plunged downward, crushing several people. The remaining crowd was thrown into a panic, racing for the street just as a gas explosion ripped through the damaged structure. The blast ignited a fierce fire that immediately spread next door to a restaurant, a bank, and a general store. The growing wall of flames endangered the entire town until hoselines could be positioned. Nine lives were lost in this tragic collapse and fire.
February 19, 1916: Kingsport, Tennessee: An exploding lantern inside the Federal Dyestuff & Chemical Company set fire to a chemical tank, threatening the destruction of the entire plant. Quick work prevented the flames from spreading, and only one building was damaged. The company manufactured picric acid, a base for high explosives.
February 21, 1916: Beauport, Quebec: The church La Nativite de Beauport, one of the most beautiful Gothic structures in the province, was destroyed by a devastating fire just after the 7:30 a.m. mass. The fire began in the sacristy room behind the altar but soon spread. Parishioners joined firefighters in saving some rare and valuable paintings and statues. Many other items were lost to the flames.
February 21, 1916: Brockton, Massachusetts: Three incendiary fires were discovered within the shoe factory of E.E. Taylor & Company. The first fire was found in a fourth-floor closet. A short while later, another fire was found among oil-soaked waste in a cutting room. Despite an increased police presence, a third fire was later found under a stairway outside the plant. The fires were believed to have been the work of German spies.
