THE  LAST  ALARM

FIREMAN JOHN W. BROWN

ENGINE CO. 4

BADGE #104

MARCH 18, 1900

At about 18:30 hours, on February 27, shortly after the Snyder Dry Goods Emporium had closed for the day, the night watchman smelled smoke. Upon searching the building, located at 697-703 Broad Street, for the source, he discovered flames eating along the ceiling beams in the cellar near a front elevator shaft. He called out to the building's engineer and they began to attack the fire with fire extinguishers. After emptying two extinguishers on the growing blaze, they left the cellar to get more, but by the time they got back, they could not re-enter the cellar due to the growing inferno.

Seeing that the fire was out of control, they yelled a warning to the owner's son to call the fire department, and then left the Cedar Street side of the building. As the alarm was being called in, First Precinct Patrolman John Welch, who was walking his beat on Broad Street, saw the fire and pulled Box 17, which was located in front of the Park House on Broad Street, opposite the Snyder store. However, someone had already turned in an alarm from Box 213, at Academy and Halsey Streets, and Newark's Bravest were on their way to what would become the largest fire in the city's history up to that point in time.

As firemen were racing to the scene, two female employees suddenly appeared at the first floor windows along Cedar Street, enveloped in smoke. The night watchman and building engineer assisted them in dropping from the windows to safety. After calling in the alarm, the owner's son jumped from a first floor window.

The scene of the near-conflagration the next morning. The view is looking west on Cedar Street, from
Broad Street. The remains of the wall that collapsed on the members of Engine 4 can be seen leaning
along the right side of Cedar Street.

In the short time it took firemen to reach the scene, the fire had extended to all floors of the sprawling, four-story brick and stone structure, via an elevator shaft. Upon the arrival of Chemical 1 and Truck 1, they observed the 60-year-old building superintendent standing on a third-floor window ledge, with heavy fire and smoke coming out of the window behind him. As two members of Truck 1 began to climb a ladder that had been raised to him, his clothes ignited. They got him onto the ladder and started to beat out the flames, but halfway down, the man fell from the ladder. He was carried to a waiting ambulance and was rushed to Saint Michael's Hospital, where he died the next day. Firemen Joseph McCree and Andrew Newton, both of Truck 1, suffered burns to their arms, hands and faces, and were taken to their homes.

Meanwhile, the entire building quickly became engulfed in flames, and seeing that the fire was threatening to spread throughout the entire block, Chief Engineer Kiersted ordered a second alarm. This brought Assistant Chief Astley, and Battalion Chiefs Morgan and Sloan to the scene. Fire apparatus was placed on all sides of the inferno and Newark's Bravest worked furiously to control it. However, their attempts to stem the growing blaze seemed futile, and a third-alarm was sounded. The fire was quickly spreading from building to building along Broad Street, and along Cedar Street. It then jumped to several buildings on West Park Street. Hampered by several frozen hydrants in the immediate vicinity of the blaze, firemen still managed to get at least a score of streams into operation in an effort to control the blaze.

Much of the block along Broad Street was in flames and the extreme radiant heat kept forcing the throngs of onlookers further and further away from the scene. Chief Kiersted took command of the Broad Street side of the fire and he ordered Assistant Chief Astley to take control of the Cedar Street side. Battalion Chief Sloan commanded fire forces on the Halsey Street side and Battalion Chief Morgan was in charge on West Park Street. At the height of the blaze, fifty-foot tongues of flame shot across Cedar Street, igniting several houses on the south side. Hose lines were quickly trained on the burning houses and the advance of the fire was halted in that direction. Shortly after this, tragedy struck.

This Newark Atlas illustration shows the extent of the blaze. The crosses indicate the
buildings involved, with the large red cross on Cedar Street showing the location of
the wall collapse. the two flame symbols indicate the building of origin.

The entire wall of the doomed Snyder store on the Cedar Street side suddenly collapsed, burying three members of Engine 4 who were operating a line there. A dozen firemen and several police officers ran to the spot where the men were standing. They found Fireman Elmer E. Gardner, 45, still standing, buried up to his waist in hot bricks. He had cuts about his head and face and was yelling about the other men. After rescuers dug him out, he was carried to a nearby stable and a doctor was called for. As the doctor tended to his wounds, he shouted, "Never mind me; get Brown and Harrison out! Brown's done for, I'm afraid. He was under me, covered with bricks, and I had to stand on his crushed leg until they got me out."

Gardner had suffered cuts and bruises, and a sprain of his left leg. After being treated, he was taken to his home via a police ambulance. About a half-hour later, rescuers uncovered Fireman John W. Brown, 44, and he was removed to Saint Michael's Hospital with a crushed leg and several other injuries about his body. The removal of Lieutenant Walter Harrison still remained to be done. Several large beams and girders had fallen in such a way that prevented him from being crushed by a majority of the bricks. However, he was pinned under them. Once they heard his voice, firemen worked with renewed vigor using axes, saws and picks to free him. After about an hour, he was finally freed and rushed to City Hospital. Firemen then went back to the work of stopping the further spread of the flames.

After a tough and lengthy battle, the department got the upper hand on the blaze brought it under control, but not before the buildings in the entire block were either destroyed or damaged. The buildings that were destroyed were as follows:

Broad Street - 685-87, 689, 691, 693, 695, 697-703, 705, 707-09
Cedar Street - 10, 12-14, 16, 19
West Park Street - 17

A total of 13 buildings were destroyed and 17 others suffered varying degrees of fire, smoke and/or water damage. Losses were set at over $1 million.

Two other mishaps occurred to apparatus as they were responding to the fire: at Belleville Avenue (Broadway) and Bloomfield Avenue, a nut on the front wheel of Engine 13 worked loose, causing the wheel to fall off. Luckily, the steamer was not moving very quickly and the firemen were shaken, but uninjured. After a brief search, the nut was found, the wheel was reattached, and they continued on to the fire.

The other mishap involved Supply Wagon 1. They had responded back to quarters to get more coal for the steamers and were returning to the fire, when the front axle suddenly snapped at Ferry and Market Streets. The driver clung to the seat, thereby escaping injury.

Fireman Brown remained in the hospital for a few days with a badly crushed left foot, and was then discharged to his home, at 178 Orange Street, where he lived with his wife and 12 children. After a few days passed, he contracted blood poisoning as a result of his wounds, and he was forced to return to the hospital. His condition worsened as the infection spread throughout his body, and the 10-year veteran succumbed a week later.