Newark's Multiple Alarm Fires Of 1907

SERIOUS DOWNTOWN BLAZE AVERTED

February 12
At 19:05 hours, an alarm was received from Box 21, located at Broad and Market Streets. Arriving firefighters found a working fire in a brick commercial building, measuring 20-by-135 feet, at 153 Market Street, between Library Court and Wilbur Alley, which both sat between Broad and Halsey Streets. With the fire spreading to similar adjoining properties at #151 and #155, in the middle of the congested downtown district, a second alarm was struck to help contain the blaze. The property was owned by Mr. William Jackson.

NOVELTY WORKS GUTTED

PANIC AT DOWNTOWN CAFE FIRE

It was a full house and when the patrons became aware of the fire, there was a bit of a panic. In the rush to get to the exits, one woman fell and was trampled, but was not seriously injured. As other women made their way to the street and saw the flames, several fainted and fell on the sidewalk where firefighters were trying to stretch hose lines. Some of them sustained minor injuries.

The four-story brick, 40-by-100-foot fire building was fully occupied as a café and restaurant, and the dining room was full at the time of the blaze. The fire started in the basement and spread so rapidly that many of the patrons were forced to flee for their lives. The scope of the fire, and the life hazard, prompted the sounding of a second alarm. After a two-hour battle, the blaze was brought under control.

The flames had been confined to the building of origin, with some minor extension to the rear of the theatre, resulting in $15,000 ($354,505) damage to the café.

DOWNTOWN RAG & JUNK SHOP FIRE

April 12
Only eight hours after the fire at Market and Beaver Streets, at 04:50 hours, Newark’s Bravest answered an alarm from Box 24, at Market and Washington Streets, which is only three blocks west of the first fire, to find another working fire, this time involving Walsh’s Rag & Junk Shop. A second alarm was struck once again as the fire threatened to spread to nearby exposures.

MULBERRY STREET FACTORY BURNS

May 15
At 05:38 hours, firefighters answered an alarm from Box 32, at New Jersey Railroad Avenue and Chestnut Street. They were directed to Mulberry and Camp Streets, where they found a working fire in the brick, 100-by-75-foot factory of the C.T. Williamson Wire Novelty Co., at 355-59 Mulberry Street. A second alarm was needed to bring the blaze under control.

FOUR KILLED IN THREE-ALARM HALL FIRE

June 3
At 01:37 hours, four people died in a three-alarm fire that destroyed the Newark Turnverein Hall, at 182-84 William Street, near Springfield Avenue. The fire had started in the bowling alleys on the first floor of the four-story brick, 90-by-115-foot structure, and spread rapidly throughout the building before the arrival of firefighters.

An alarm from Box 61, at Springfield Avenue and Prince Street, brought firefighters racing to the scene. The janitor of the building, Henry Kueneke, 28, his wife Sophia, 25, and their six-month-old daughter Elise, occupied an apartment on the fourth floor, and were seen by neighbors on the roof of an extension calling for help. However, the building was too well involved to be able to save them. Their bodies were later found on the roof of the extension, with Kueneke holding the baby in his arms, and his wife’s arms wrapped around his neck. The couple had only been in the country a year, and living in the building for the last three months. The child was to be christened the next Sunday. A fourth victim was unidentified.

Captain Donohue, of Engine 18, sprained both ankles when he was forced to jump from the roof of a rear extension by the fire. Firefighter Brown, of Engine 4 suffered a smashed index finger on his right hand while handling hose.

Damages were estimated at $40,000 ($945,347).

SPECTACULAR BLAZE DESTROYs CHEMICAL PLANT

June 29
At 15:35 hours, an alarm from Box 538, at Albert Avenue and Esther Street, turned out Newark Blazebeaters to the Newark Meadows plant of the Consolidated Color & Chemical Co., located at Lister Avenue and Brown Street, where they found a good working fire. The entire department was called out to battle the spectacular three-alarm blaze, which also damaged the Sherwin-Williams Paint Co. plant. Losses to the chemical plant were placed at $300,000 ($7.1 million).

IVORY MANUFACTURER HEAVILY DAMAGED

August 28
At 19:03 hours, an alarm from Box 521, at New Jersey Railroad and New York Avenues, turned out Engines 5, 10 and 14, and Truck 4. On arrival, firefighters found a working fire in the Ivorite Specialty Co., which occupied the second floor of a three-story brick, 100-by-75-foot factory, at 166-70 New Jersey Railroad Avenue, at Cottage Street. Flames had gained great headway on the second floor, shot up an elevator shaft to the vacant third floor, and then burned through the roof.

Fearing the fire might spread to nearby exposures, Chief Engineer Kiersted struck a second alarm at 19:25 hours, bringing Engines 1, 2, 3, 8 and 20, and Truck 1 to the scene. Soon after the fire started, the men of the Salvage Corps had most of the goods and stock of Nicholas Zneimer’s Ivory Button Works covered, which occupied the first floor and basement. The reserve wagon was called to the scene on the second alarm for more covers, and the regular wagon was sent back to their Washington Street quarters.

The fire officers at the scene included Chief Engineer Kiersted, Assistant Chief Astley, and Battalion Chiefs Moore, Morgan, and Sloan. More than 30 policemen had to be called to the scene to hold back an estimated crowd of 15,000, who had gathered over a five-block area to watch the fire.

In roughly 45 minutes, the flames had been brought under control. It was about this time, at 20:15 hours, someone turned in an alarm from Box 32, at New Jersey Railroad Avenue and Chestnut Street. This brought Engines 12, 19 and 7, and Truck 3 on the run, only to find it was a false alarm. A half-hour later, an alarm was turned in from Box 35, at New Jersey Railroad Avenue and Elm Street, turning out Engines 6, 4, 16 and 17, and Truck 5. This, also, proved to be a false alarm. With both boxes being some distance from the fire, which had been brought under control by that time, it was clear the alarms were maliciously turned in. However, with the throngs of people that filled the streets of the area, it was impossible to find the culprits responsible. Firefighters were quite indignant over the false alarms, which summoned fire companies two and three miles away, leaving the city with hardly any fire protection. More than 75% of the department was tied up fighting the fire and answering the two false alarms.

Fire damages to the building and stock were estimated at about $9,500 ($224,520). The president of Ivorite, A. Hirsch, was anxious for the insurance companies to settle the damage claims so that the company could resume business within the week, if possible, due to a large number of orders that had come in. In addition, more than 30 employees were put out of work by the blaze. The building was owned by Nicholas Zneimer, whose goods suffered very little damage.

DELAY ED ALARM RESULTS IN HEAVY DAMAGE TO PLANT

October 3
Shortly before 05:00 hours, a bakery wagon driver who was delivering bread in the neighborhood, spotted flames at the Rossendale-Raddaway Belting & Hose Co., on Euclid Avenue, between Esther and Joseph Streets. However, rather than turning in an alarm from a fire box only three blocks away, he drove to the quarters of Engine 16, at Ferry and Vincent Streets, which was eight blocks distant. He notified the man on house watch of the fire, who immediately telephoned the alarm in to the Fire Alarm Operators.

It was at 05:00 hours when Box 538, at Albert Avenue and Esther Street, was struck for the fire. Engine 16 promptly turned out upon receipt of the verbal alarm, followed by Engines 8 and 5, and Truck 4. By this time, the flames had gained great headway in the two-story frame building, in which the sewing and weaving departments were located, and were threatening to spread to other buildings in the complex. Seeing the scope of the blaze, Battalion Chief Morgan transmitted a second alarm shortly after his arrival, bringing Engines 14, 1, 2 and 3, and Truck 1 to the scene.

The first alarm companies were hard at work when the second alarm assignment started to arrive. However, a lack of operating hydrants in the area proved frustrating to firefighters. Engine 3, responding with the self-propelled engine, “Mount Pelee,” made good time in getting to the blaze, but the hydrant they hooked up to was found to be entirely dry. Engine 14 suffered the same fate, but even as they attempted to draft water from the Morris Canal, which the plant backed onto, they could not lift water for some reason. Both companies were returned to quarters.

Meanwhile, Chief Morgan had entered the fire building in search of any doors that may have been left open that would allow the fire to spread into other areas of the plant. As he entered one of the rooms, it quickly filled with heavy smoke, lowering his visibility to zero. He felt along the walls and found a door that opened to a room was on fire. Shielding himself best he could, he made a mad dash through the flames and made his way to another door that led out to the yard. Suffering only a slight burn to the left side of his face, the old firefighter set right back to work, remaining on the scene until the fire was fully extinguished at 09:30 hours.

At the height of the blaze, burning embers threatened the homes of people living near the plant. They filled pails with water and sat on their rooftops, extinguishing the fiery brands as soon as they landed. The fire was regarded as one of the hardest with which firefighters had to cope with in some time.

Firefighters were commended for their hard work keeping the fire confined to the building of origin, even though they had a limited water supply. Local residents showed their appreciation for the efforts of the firefighters by serving them hot coffee and sandwiches. The most prevalent in those efforts were: Mrs. Thomas O’Malley, at Lister Avenue and Joseph Street; Mrs. Coogan, of 9 Esther Street, and Mrs. Doyle, of 11 Esther Street.

The cause of the fire came into dispute when the president of the company, W.M. Clark, stated his belief that the fire was caused by the spontaneous combustion of a lot of oily waste in tin cans, which was supposed to have been removed from the building during the night. He expressed his doubts very much that the cans were not removed, even though the employees responsible for that work claimed they did. Clark said he could not offer any other theory as to the cause as there were no stoves or heat in that part of the plant.

The firm did not have a night watchman for the interior of the plant, but did have one for the outside. However, it was not known if he was on duty because he had not reported to the office during the two weeks prior; not even to collect his pay. The officers of the company doubted he was on duty because they had not heard from him at all after the fire.

The fire put about 40 employees out of work, but Clark maintained they would rebuild as soon as possible, as they had plenty of orders to fill. Total damages were placed at $25,000 ($590,842).

HOT FIRE GUTS SOUTH 7TH STREET BOX AND LUMBER PLANT

October 14
John Zipfel, Jr., owned the Newark Box & Lumber Co., located at 379-89 South 7th Street, between 15th and 16th Avenues. The plant was comprised of a three-story brick factory, and a two-story frame warehouse. The firm fronted 147 feet along South 7th Street, and was 135 feet deep. Zipfel occupied the first floor of the brick factory, while the box company occupied all else. He also lived in a house adjoining his factory.

Shortly before 19:00 hours, Zipfel was reading a newspaper in his room when he noticed the factory was on fire. He telephoned Fire Headquarters, reported the fire, and then ran into the street shouting, “Fire!” His shouts drew the attention of John Kneller, of 363 South 7th Street, who then ran to Box 641, at 16th Avenue and South 8th Street, and turned in an alarm. He then returned to the scene, where he was met by John Gestemeyer, who ran a produce store at 118 16th Avenue, right in off the corner of South 7th Street.

It was found that there were six horses in a stable adjoining the blazing factory. Without regard for their own safety, both men ran into the stable and led the frightened animals to safety, both suffering minor burns in the process. In addition, Kneller’s hair and eyebrows were singed.

At 19:04 hours, Box 641 was transmitted. The flames had gained great headway before being discovered, and in the short time it took firefighters to arrive, a large part of the complex was involved in fire. Upon arriving at the scene, Battalion Chief McDermott quickly sized up the situation and immediately struck a second alarm.

Feeding quickly and fiercely on large quantities of dried wood used in making boxes, the heat from the blaze was intense. Firefighters covered nearby exposures, including Saint Ann’s Parochial School, directly opposite the blaze.

William Morris, the president of the firm, was in an office in an adjoining building with his staff, and wasn’t aware of the fire closing in on them until he heard Zipfel’s shouts. The flames were spreading so rapidly that they all barely made it to safety.

The drama was witnessed by hundreds who had been attracted to the scene by the huge glow in the night sky. Despite the intense radiant heat given off by the blaze, firefighters stuck to their posts and had the fire under control four hours later.

A large quantity of material that had already been cut and was ready to be assembled was saved from the flames early on in the fire. However, everything else was destroyed, at a loss of $10,000 ($236,377). As a result of the fire, 50 box and trunk makers were put out of work.

The cause of the fire was attributed to a lit cigarette being dropped in some shavings by a workman, where it slowly smoldered before bursting into active flame.

RUNAWAY TEAM AT DANGEROUS ICE HOUSE BLAZE

October 24
While passing by the Orange Mountain Ice Co., at North 14th Street and Hedden Place, a man saw flames shooting from the store room of the ice house. He ran to Orange Street and Warren Street (West Market Street) and turned in an alarm from Box 121, which the Fire Alarm Operators immediately transmitted at 16:19 hours.

Three engines and one truck turned out to answer the alarm, and on arrival, found the ice house burning fiercely, prompting the sounding of a second alarm, bringing four more engines and another truck to the scene. Also responding on the second alarm were Chief Engineer Kiersted, Deputy Chief William C. Astley, and Battalion Chiefs Sloan and M.P.A. McDermott.

Engine 4 responded on the second alarm, and upon arriving at the scene, the driver sprang from his seat to unhitch the horses as the engineer hooked up the hose from the engine’s boiler to a hydrant on north 13th Street. As they were doing this, a Lackawanna locomotive came puffing through on the below-grade rail lines, frightening the engine’s three horses. They suddenly reared and took off, with the driverless engine in tow.

They ran a block on North 13th Street to Orange Street, narrowly avoiding running over several pedestrians and colliding with several carriages and wagons. Many had narrow escapes on the street, others ran into stores and houses, and several women fainted. The screams of women with infants in their arms led some people to believe that someone had been crushed by the horses or heavy engine.

The runaway team then ran across Orange Street to Warren Street (West Market Street), where they jumped the sidewalk and went through the front plate glass window of William Henry Sayre’s drug store, at 596-98 Orange Street, at the point of Warren. The heavy engine getting stuck at the front of the store finally halted their mad dash. Before they were able to free themselves from the store, a score of firefighters that were chasing them, including Battalion Chief McDermott, caught up with the runaway engine.

The apparatus was badly damaged and the horses were cut about their faces, heads, and nostrils by glass. They were quieted by the firefighters, unhitched from the engine, and covered with blankets as one of the men dressed their wounds. Chief Engineer Kiersted and Battalion Chief Joseph E. Sloan arrived shortly after the horses had been subdued. Kiersted examined the horses and found they were not seriously injured. He then examined the store, and while some items had been knocked over and scattered, the only damage was to the window. The company had to return to quarters without going back to the fire.

While no one was injured during the horses’ mad dash, one patron had a very lucky escape. He was at standing at the two payphones in the drug store, which were located right behind the window where the horses ran through. When he realized he had nothing smaller than a quarter, he went to the cashier to get change. Seconds later, the horses plunged through the window right where he had been standing. It was certain he would’ve either been killed, or critically injured, had he not walked away.

By now, the fire had gained much headway and firefighters were working hard trying to bring the blaze under control. Being that the location of the plant was right at the East Orange City Line, the East Orange department also responded and joined in the battle, operating from the East Orange side.

At the height of the blaze, an explosion occurred. Four large pipes that carried ammonia throughout the ice manufacturing portion of the plant, exploded due to the heat of the blaze, sending waves of ammonia fumes at firefighters, knocking many of them to the street, including Chief Engineer Kiersted. Hundreds of gallons of ammonia flooded the street on either side of the blazing plant, with the toxic chemical flooding both gutters and preventing firefighters from getting near the fire again. Chief Kiersted finally gave an order for firefighters to aim their fire streams into the street and flush the ammonia down the gutters.

Captain Nicholas E. Sooy, of Engine 15, was overcome by ammonia fumes and had to be carried to safety away from the fire, where he was quickly revived. Lieutenant Alvin A. Bennett, of Truck 7, found an East Orange firefighter, who had been overcome by the fumes, lying unconscious on the street. The man was quickly revived and taken to his home.

By this time, the fire had full possession of the plant, resulting in a battle lasting nearly two hours to bring the fire under control. During the fire, traffic on the myriad of train and trolley lines in the area was halted, resulting in a massive tie-up.

By 18:00 hours, the situation was in hand, and Chief Kiersted left the scene, along with the other chief officers, leaving the building to the Salvage Corps. Lieutenant Bennett and two firefighters were left at the scene all night on fire watch. Several flare-ups during the night were quickly extinguished with buckets of water. The men were relieved from the scene at 06:00 hours.

The officers of the ice company were: Thomas H. Decker, president; Abram Day, vice-president; A. L. Hopkins, secretary, and George E. Heller, treasurer. They all met at the scene and placed losses at $15,000 ($354,505).

MULBERRY STREET PAINT SHOP DESTROYED

October 26
At 18:18 hours, firefighters answering an alarm from Box 34, at Mulberry and Walnut Streets, found a working fire in the paint shop of Samuel Rabinowitz, at 216 Mulberry Street, at Green Street. The fire started in the store on the first floor and rapidly spread upwards throughout the entire brick structure.

The fire spread so rapidly that Mrs. Rabinowitz, who was on the second floor with her baby, barely had time to grab the child and escape to safety. The cloak, with which she had wrapped the child, was singed by the flames during their escape.

The magnitude of the blaze, and the flames threatening to extend to neighboring structures, prompted the striking of a second alarm.

While the flames were kept from spreading, the interior of the building of origin was gutted. It was believed the fire was started by a match being carelessly discarded among the paint sand oils. Losses were estimated at $3,500 ($82,718).

SERIOUS FIRE IN CAMDEN STREET SHEAR FACTORY

October 31
Around 17:00 hours, a workman at the W.H. Compton Shear Co., 314-20 Camden Street, between 15th and 16th Avenues, discovered a fire and quietly called the attention of several others to it. Some of the employees formed a bucket brigade, while others threw buckets of sand onto the flames.

As their efforts to extinguish the fire were proving to be futile, the danger signal was given and all employees were quickly and quietly evacuated from the three-story brick building, some not even aware there was a fire.

Someone ran to Box 615, at 15th Avenue and Camden Street, and turned in an alarm at 17:14 hours, bringing firefighters on the run. A second alarm was sounded shortly after their arrival, bringing Chief Engineer Kiersted, Deputy Chief Astley, and Battalion Chiefs McDermott and Sloan to the scene.

The fire in the irregular-shaped building proved to be a stubborn one, necessitating the pouring of several streams of water into the windows of the burning factory for some time. During the fire, several lengths of hose burst, and on Fairmount Avenue, a rather large woman of about 200 pounds was rushing to the scene when she tripped over the hose near a hydrant. She fell flat on her face, suffering a bloody nose and scratched face.

That there wasn’t more damage done by the blaze was attributed too its early discovery. Even with that, owners William Storsberg, A.L. Meyers, and Max Hammerschlag, estimated the damage, which was mainly to machinery and finished stock by water, to be several thousand dollars.