RFD HISTORY: THE FIRST FATAL FIRE (continued from earlier postings) - Settlement in Racine began in the mid-1830s. While no one can say with certainty that deadly fires did not occur, the first recorded fatalities did not occur until the cold, pre-dawn hours of January 27, 1846. Though no one blamed the fire department directly for the loss of life, it was inevitable that such an occurance would bring about a call for change. The deadly blaze occurred in the home of Marshall M. Strong; ironically, a member of Fire Company No. 1. Mr. Strong, a county representative in the state legislature, was in Madison at the time of the fire. The familys dwelling was a two-story frame building with a rear shed for a kitchen. According to neighbors, flames were first seen issuing from this shed. A strong northeasterly wind had been blowing throughout the night and this gale was responsible for conveying the flames to the house. Mrs. Strong and her infant daughter were asleep in the upper front bedroom, while a servant girl and the Strongs little boy slept in the upper rear bedroom. According to one newspaper account, Mrs. Strong and the servant girl somehow found their way out of the building, but when Mrs. Strong realized the children were still inside she rushed back in to try and save them. Flames rapidly enveloped the structure, dooming all three to their fate. At the time of the blaze the Racine Fire Department consisted of a volunteer bucket brigade and a company in charge of several ladders and hooks. Ladders were procured, windows burst in, and efforts made to penetrate the inferno, but all failed. Later that morning the charred remains of the three victims were removed from the ruins. The loss of life cast a pall across the community. The Racine Advocate wrote: “The recent dreadful calamity that has fallen upon our community, has aroused our citizens to the necessity of a reorganization of the fire department of the village. A most fortunate exemption from any serious loss by fire for a year or two past, has lulled our people into a comparative apathy in that respect. Meloncholy experienced however, has now more strongly than ever impressed them with the imminent hazards to which their property and their lives are daily and nightly exposed, for the want of a systematic and organized means of extinguishing fires.” (to be continued)
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 23:01:51 +0000
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