By Paul Hashagen
In this month’s column, I present historic fires or significant events in the fire service from May 1916. A reminder: Readers are encouraged to share information from their departments.
May 2, 1916: Yardville, New Jersey: A large chemical plant three miles outside of Trenton was the site of a massive explosion and fire that leveled the plant and also demolished the three-story brick building across the street. The Chandler Oilcloth Works had a large stock of chemicals and stored gasoline when 25 workers began the night shift. As the crew hurried to finish a rush order, a thin spiral of smoke was seen curling from the floor near the gasoline storage. Seconds later, a deafening explosion tore through the plant, ripping the entire front of the building away. The force of the blast was directed across the street, where it lifted the three-story brick dry-goods building off its foundation and scattered the building pieces across a vacant lot. Inside the oilcloth plant, sheets of flames rolled across the rubble. The Trenton Fire Department rushed to the scene with nearly its entire force as the fire continued spreading to other exposed buildings. It took two hours to control the flames. The blast and fire left three workers dead and three others in critical condition.
May 10, 1916: Wallaceton, Virginia: As a large group of women and children watched moving pictures, a gasoline tank supplying fuel to a generator inside a frame building exploded. The devastating blast ignited a fire that burned out of control, trapping many inside. One man and at least 22 women and children were burned to death, as the flaming roof collapsed. Scores of others were burned by the flames or injured by the frantic stampede of people trying to escape. The only doctor available was rushed to the scene but quickly exhausted his medical supplies. Private automobiles rushed many of the injured to the nearest hospital in Portsmouth, 12 miles away.
May 10, 1916: Bayonne, New Jersey: The majestic 300-foot-wide Hotel La Tourette sprawled among a grove of stately trees and boxwoods, fronting on the waters of the Kill Van Kull opposite Port Richmond, Staten Island. Portions of the hotel dated back to the Revolutionary War era. With a central building topped by a cupola and long wings on either side, the structure’s outline resembled the Capital Building in Washington, D.C. The hotel was only 35 minutes from downtown Manhattan by steamboat and was regarded as a fashionable watering stop for the rich and famous. At 1:00 p.m., most of the guests were enjoying a luncheon when a neighbor ran across the large lawn to the hotel’s office advising the proprietor, Charles Worman, that the cupola was on fire. Worman closed and locked the safe and gathered some valuable papers and books when flames burst through the walls on all five floors in that portion of the structure.
Worman was barely able to escape the flames. He quickly notified the guests in the dining room and called the fire department. Several guests ventured back into the hotel to retrieve valuables. One man, whose room was above the office on the third floor, got cut off by flames and narrowly escaped from the second floor.
Flames poured from the roof and cupola, sending a shower of flaming embers on the breeze. Some embers found their way to a hotel extension a half-block away, igniting this section. With a resounding crash, the cupola collapsed into the blazing room before the fire department arrived.
First in was Chief Davis, who immediately struck a third alarm on his arrival. This brought the entire department to the scene. Firefighters stretched lines and laddered the blazing wood building as guests and employees carried furniture and valuables from other sections of the huge building. For three long hours, the firefighters battled the fire. Their effective work held the flames to the central section of the hotel. Later that evening, guests ate their dinner by candlelight in the undamaged restaurant. It was believed defective wiring caused the fire.
May 18, 1916: Cadillac, Michigan: On the southeast shore of Lake Cadillac, the Cadillac Chemical Company Plant was busy manufacturing chemicals used to make explosives that were being shipped to Europe to be used in World War I. The large facility was located in the Cobbs and Mitchell complex. The fire broke out in the company’s yard and was spread quickly by gale force winds. Within minutes, the retort house, a 10-year-old, 1½-story brick and wood building, was ablaze. The fire department received the alarm at 11:50 a.m. and arrived to see the yard and building aflame in the 70 mph winds. Under the command of Chief J.T. Maxwell, the firefighters began their attack. Despite the advanced flames and high winds, they sprang into action. Lines were laid to protect stored lumber only 200 feet from the main body of fire. These 15,000 cords of wood were adjacent to a lumberyard and several other severely threatened exposures.
Twenty-five firefighters pulled 5,500 feet of hose from hose wagons. Then utilizing a direct pumping system that fed yard hydrants, they soon had 10 streams in operation. After five hours, the persistent efforts of firefighters paid off as the last of the flames were extinguished.
Although it was never proven, German agents may have ignited this fire. A rash of similar fires occurred in war supply establishments across the United States and Canada. There were working at this time teams of German spies known as “Destroying Agents”-agents trained to disrupt, damage, or destroy American warships, supply ships, munitions warehouses, and any and all materials and supplies heading to Europe. They apparently were quite successful.
Paul Hashagen is a 40-year veteran of the fire service. He retired from the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) after 25 years of service, with 20 of those years in Rescue Company 1. Hashagen is a former chief of the Freeport (NY) Fire Department and is still a member of Truck Company 1. He has written several books and numerous stories on the history of the fire service including Fire Department City of New York: The Bravest; An Illustrated History 1865-2002; and One Hundred Years of Valor: Rescue Company 1 New York City Fire Department Rescue 1915-2015. Visit his Facebook page at Paul Hashagen-author.
