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Newspaper
Boston Post
Location
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
Date
Mar 11, 1893
Page
2
Fire gutted a hotel as guests fled with bags while firemen battled flames fed by high winds and live wires. Chief Egan and a companion faced peril from dangerous cables, with ladders blocked by wires and heroic efforts by police, baggagemen, and EMS assisting in evacuations and containment.
Spectators watched as a six story blaze in Boston sent ladders, wires, and escaping flames through Lincoln street. Firemen, reporters, and insurers aided trapped workers while sparks filled the night sky. By 7 o clock the fire was under control as officials witnessed the scene.
Hoseman OConnor recounts saving about thirty girls from the burning Partridge building as Engine 7 first arrived and Captain Garrity called multiple alarms. Chief John F. Egan endured a 22 minute hang from a cable before being lowered to safety and taken to hospital. Fire spread to Ames Lincoln and Brown Durrell buildings. several injured and two killed restoring order.
A Fitchburg dry goods dealer named Breed survived the Horace Partridge & Co blaze thanks to Hoseman O Connor of Engine 7. Breed recounted a harrowing escape scene on Essex street noting many workers and girls trapped by flames and windows as the fire raged and rescuers worked to pull victims to safety.
Witness describes dense smoke obscuring occupants at a window with about thirty believed left inside the building. The scene depicts uncertainty over the gender of those visible while rescue efforts unfold.
District Chief Egan of East Boston narrowly escaped death at the Federal Street fire. Leading his corps toward the Partridge block, he reached the roof with Fireman Whiting and signaled for aid as flames blocked both rear and front routes. Ladders could not reach the roof, placing him in extreme danger amid collapsing structures.
District Chief Egan, uninjured an hour after his terrifying ordeal, resumed duty but kept distance from the blaze. He described a roof hydrant turn when flames burst upward with swift, lightning-like speed, enveloping the Essex street end in smoke.
George M. McCallar, cashier, says the first alert came from automatic fire alarm wires trembling. Fire started in a fifth floor toilet room and spread within five minutes, trapping first-floor workers who jumped to nets. He notes a slow-burning hardwood building and estimates stock losses at 150000 to 170000 dollars and building losses at 400000 to 500000 dollars as the season slows trade.
Firemen faced a dangerous maze of telephone telegraph and electric light lines during the blaze. The tangled cables hampered progress and hamstrung ladder work as crews fought the fire across the affected block. The hazardous setup slowed efforts and raised risks to responders amid the conflagration.
A deadly blaze near the Partridge building ended in a man roasting to death as he tried to escape down a street pole. Wires hindered linemen and endangered pedestrians, with life nets failing to prevent further injuries. The piece urges action against hazardous overhead lines and questions how many lives must be sacrificed.
One of the first spectators at the great fire, Governor Russell, joined Adjutant Locke at the scene on Kingston Street. He braved the blaze, received a shower from a fired man, and, after a rubber coat loan from an American Express employee, pressed on with his inspection. He offered aid to Mayor Matthews and later requisitioned militia support.
Post reporter asks Mayor Matthews at City Hall about the deadly conflagration. He recalls three hours at Essex and Kingston watching flames from Brown, Durrell & Co. and calls the blaze one of the hardest the city has faced. He praises the fire department as heroic and notes conflicting reports on lives lost.
The district faced a major blaze as alarms sounded from Box 52 and Mayor Matthews ordered gas and electric supplies cut off. State militia was mobilized, including the Ninth and First Regiments and Cadets, before orders to disperse were issued at 10:30 p.m. A special board meeting is planned at noon.
Two City Press Association reporters, E. G. Richardson and H. D. Kennedy, narrowly escaped death during the Ames building collapse on Essex street. A loud explosion preceded a ten minute blaze as bricks rained down, the pair racing to a stairway to safety while onlookers sheltered nearby. The incident followed the Hecht Bros fire scare and left them badly shaken though alive.
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