1935.....On This Day - The 1930’s was a decade of great struggle throughout America. Coal was an important and much needed fuel for many citizens and businesses. The loss or interruption of its supply or distribution could only have made things worse than they were. Just after 11PM, Chief Swartz received a phone call at his residence at 319 S. Front Street reporting a fire at the Wallis Coal Company on Tenth Street south of Mulberry Street. At the same time, Swartz’ driver looked out the front door of the Paxton firehouse where his red car was kept, saw the glow and also called city hall to report the fire. He immediately went after the chief. In rapid succession, Box 41 at Ninth and Market, Box 19 at Cameron and Kittatinny and Box 25 at Tenth and Mulberry came in over the alarm circuits. The three boxes alone would summon the entire fire department, however Swartz was unaware that three separate boxes were tapping in over the circuits, so he had his driver screech to a halt at Cameron and Paxton, open the box and he tapped out the 2-2 signal on the telegraph key, sending in a second alarm. Within two minutes, twenty four pieces of apparatus were on the street racing to a large orange glow in the sky. The entire department was about to work a most stubborn fire that caused many injuries. The spectacular and rapidly growing fire involved two very long heavy timbered sheds and a large railroad trestle affair with extensive bins for unloading coal into trucks underneath it. The timber was tinder dry and soaked in creosote creating a hot massive fire, throwing large sparks and embers into the cool autumn night. Both sheds were owned by the Reading Railroad and leased separately to the Wallis Coal Company and the J. B. Montgomery Coal Company. The Montgomery shed had not been used by that company for some time and was sublet to the Pennsylvania Supply Company who had a lot of lumber stored in it. All was nearly a total loss. A large amount of hose lines were laid in from Cameron and Tenth Streets and several engine companies were operated to capacity. Large blazing embers ignited everything from numerous automobiles, fell on buildings several blocks distant and grass in certain parts. These spot fires were generally extinguished by civilians using buckets of water or handheld extinguishers. Sparks also ignited the small wooden bridge over the Paxton Creek under the Mulberry Street Bridge. All other incidents were minor in nature with no damage listed. A dozen city firemen were injured to varying degrees. The most serious was Firemen Joe Schmidt of the Hope Engine No. 2 who received a broken wrist and lacerations to the face when he and two other members, Albert Tack and R. S. Reigle, of the Hope fell from the roof of a building while attempting to extend a hoseline. Schmidt was taken to the Harrisburg Hospital and Tack and Reigle treated at the HFD ambulance. Other firemen injured were Bill Herzog, who fractured his left wrist and John Gingher, who fractured his right index finger. Both firemen were from the Paxton No. 6. Also, Harry Stoner, Mt. Pleasant No. 8, right hand lacerated; Frank Vucenic, Susquehanna No. 9, right hand nail puncture; Captain William Kurtz, Royal No. 14, face lacerated; Harry McNear Allison No. 12 and Charles Wise, Reily No. 10 both sustained bruised right hands. One injury I never ran across in my research was the one sustained by Fireman Lawrence Faunce, Jr. of the Mt. Pleasant No. 8, who was overcome by carbon monoxide because he was working within close proximity of an engine working to capacity pumping water. Carlton Springer of the Allison Coffee Wagon received a severely lacerated finger trying to open a can of coffee. City Park Patrolman Harry Minnick was treated at the ambulance for cinders in the eyes. The most serious injury of the fire was sustained by a spectator, Lewis Herbert, 19, of Enhaut, who fell twenty feet from a coal trestle and sustained serious injuries including a dislocated left hip, fracture of the skull and severe laceration of the scalp. He was found late into the fire by a city patrolman and firemen from the Washington Hose 4 and transported to Harrisburg Hospital in serious condition. He recovered from his injuries and eventually released. As soon as the fire was discovered, a Reading Railroad crew backed an engine in and pulled several loaded stock cars from an adjoining siding to safety. It took firemen over two hours to wrestle this spectacular fire under control. Thousands of spectators ringed the area and grabbed vantage points on building roofs and the Mulberry Street Bridge although no reports of hampered operations by the crowds were reported. The heaviest loss was sustained by the Wallis Company but they still had enough coal to continue business the next day. Considering the photos and the detailed write-ups in the newspapers on the fire, the loss figures should have been far higher, however, official loss listed in the HFD records was only $3,565. Fire Chief Swartz and Fire (Parks) Commissioner J. Calvin “Haps” Frank both agreed that the three fires of the past week in this district were now the work of an arsonist. The headlines of the two evening papers of Friday, October 18th announced that a seventeen year old boy was arrested after he confessed to setting the two fires involving the coal yards on October 10th and the 16th as well as a fire in an unoccupied garage at 1129 Mulberry on August 25th. Chief Swartz had been working with the State Fire Marshal’s office since the big fire and through diligent work was given the name of George Willis, Jr. of 1309 N. Sixth Street as a prime suspect. Willis was arrested by HPD and eventually confessed. Willis had been on parole from the Harrisburg State Hospital. At first Willis would not admit to setting any fires however after an hour of intensive questioning he then confessed. As for a motive, his answer was simply he had “nothing else to do.” On October 28th the Telegraph reported that Willis would undergo a mental examination pending a trial.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 02:15:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015