Great Fires of Raleigh
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Great Fires of Raleigh Presented by the Raleigh Fire Museum Last updated April 17, 2017 Conflagrations ............................................................................................................................................. 2 June 11, 1816 .............................................................................................................................................. 2 December 15, 1851 ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Major Fires - 1830s to 1900s ...................................................................................................................... 5 Comparing Fires by Number of Lines - 1920s to 1950s ............................................................................. 5 Largest Fires by Number of Lines .............................................................................................................. 6 Comparing Fires by Alarm Levels - 1970s to 2010s .................................................................................. 6 Largest Fires by Alarm Level ..................................................................................................................... 8 Largest Fires by Square Footage – 1915 to 2017 ...................................................................................... 9 Tompkins Hall - March 25, 1914 .............................................................................................................. 10 Martin Street – November 6, 1915 ........................................................................................................... 11 Yarborough House - July 3, 1928 ............................................................................................................. 13 City Auditorium - October 24, 1930 ......................................................................................................... 19 Bellas-Hess Clothing Store - December 28, 1943 .................................................................................... 21 Edenton Street Methodist Church - July 28, 1956 .................................................................................... 24 Cameron Village - December 2, 1964 ...................................................................................................... 27 Peebles Hotel - June 24, 1970 ................................................................................................................... 30 Mangel Building - July 7, 1981 ................................................................................................................ 32 IGA Grocery - December 20, 1992........................................................................................................... 38 Pine Knoll Townes - February 22, 2007. .................................................................................................. 41 The Metropolitan - March 16, 2017 .......................................................................................................... 46 1 Conflagrations Five conflagrations occurred between 1816 and 1851: 1816 - Destroyed 51 buildings in first two blocks of Fayetteville Street. 1832 - Destroyed 30 buildings, starting on the east side of Fayetteville Street. 1832 - Destroyed several buildings on Fayetteville Street. 1833 - Destroyed several buildings on east side of Fayetteville Street. 1851 - Destroyed 17 buildings on Fayetteville, Hargett, and Wilmington streets. June 11, 1816 Fire started around midnight. Dozens of citizens formed a bucket brigade. The city didn’t have a fire engine or firefighters. Within two hours, 51 buildings were destroyed in the first two blocks of Fayetteville Street. The spreading fire was contained by blasting a building in its path. The State House in Union Square was saved, by men who climbed its roof and wet it down. As a result, the first fire engine was ordered for the city, and work on a city water system was hastened. The water system was completed in 1818, but abandoned within a year or two. The fire engine was delivered in 1819, and the first volunteer fire company was formed. 2 December 15, 1851 Fire started about 12:30 a.m. First flames in a “sleeping apartment” at a boot and shoe store. Nearby public water pump “wasn’t in good gear” and the building was soon “wrapt in flames.” Citizens helped the arriving fire company members. Public and private wells were the sole water source. Buckets were used, as the city’s two fire engines were either partially or entirely out of service. After two and a half hours, the conflagration was controlled. Seventeen buildings were destroyed on Fayetteville, Hargett, Wilmington streets. Most of their contents were saved, however. Losses estimated between $20,000 and $30,000. Insurance coverage between $10,000 and $15,000. Remaining wooden buildings on the block were ordered removed, by new city ordnance enacted the day after the fire. Comprehensive improvements to city’s fire protection capabilities resulted, including: o Better water supply, e.g. the first fire cisterns o Two new fire engines o First fire station building o First paid fire chief o Reorganized volunteer fire companies. 3 4 Major Fires - 1830s to 1900s 1831 - State House at Union Square 1839 - Methodist Church 1848 - Raleigh & Gaston Railroad engine house 1867 - Exchange Hotel 1868 - City Market, two other buildings 1883 - St. Augustine’s Normal School buildings 1890 - Raleigh & Gaston Railroad roundhouse 1892 - Caraleigh Phosphate and Fertilizer Warehouse 1900 - Fleming’s Warehouse, two homes, stable 1901 - Watauga Building at A&M College 1903 - Infirmary at St. Mary’s College 1909 - St. Paul’s A.M.E. Church. Comparing Fires by Number of Lines - 1920s to 1950s From the 1920s to the 1950s, records of fires included the number of hand hose lines: Date 12/17/31 Time 7:25 p.m. Box 261 Address 321 S. Blount St. Location Sanders Motor Co. Stories 3 Building brick garage Lines 9 Hose 3,800 feet Ladders 250 feet Engine 7.3 hours Loss $19,000 5 Largest Fires by Number of Lines 15 lines 1926 - Insane Asylum - Dix Hill 1928 - Yarborough Hotel - 300 block Fayetteville 9 lines 1926 - Commercial Printing Company - 227 S. Salisbury 1931 - Sanders Motor Company - 321 S. Blount 1939 - Ammon’s Clothing Store - 235 Fayetteville 1952 - K&W Motor Company - 118 E. Davie 8 lines 1925 - Almo Theatre - 215 Fayetteville 1927 - Store - 112 W. Hargett 1935 - Efird’s Department Store - 210 Fayetteville 1943 - Quinn Furniture - 108 E. Martin 1943 - Bellas-Hess Clothing Store - 239 S. Wilmington 1948 - Graphic Press International - 324 S. Wilmington 1952 - A&P grocery store - 416 Hillsboro Note: This list excludes fires earlier than the 1920s, where records are not available. There may also be fires missing from this list, due to research or record errors. Comparing Fires by Alarm Levels - 1970s to 2010s References to “number of alarms” begin appearing in newspaper accounts in the early 1970s. An “alarm” is a set of resources that responds to a fire, such as engines, ladder trucks, and chief officers. 1st alarm 2nd alarm 3rd alarm 4th alarm 5th alarm Additional alarms are requested in numeric order, as more resources are needed. 6 Comparison Chart Alarm 1977 1990 2007 2017 2017 Level High Rise (7+ stories) 1st 2 engines 2 engines 4 engines 4 engines 5 engines 1 ladder 1 ladder 1 ladder 2 ladders 2 ladders 1 rescue 1 rescue 1 rescue 1 rescue 1 rescue* 1 BC 1 BC 1 BC 2 BCs 2 BCs 2nd 2 engines 2 engines 3 engines 3 engines 5 engines 1 ladder 1 ladder 1 ladder 2 ladders 2 ladders 1 rescue 1 rescue 1 rescue 1 BC 1 BC 1 BC 1 BC 1 BC + AC, mobile air 3rd 2 engines 2 engines 3 engines 3 engines 5 engines 1 ladder 1 ladder 1 ladder 2 ladders 1 rescue 1 BC 4th 2 engines 2 engines 3 engines 3 engines 5 engines 1 ladder 1 ladder 2 ladders 1 bat chief 5th 2 engines 2 engines 3 engines 3 engines 5 engines 1 ladder 1 ladder Totals 10 engines 10 engines 16 engines 16 engines 25 engines w/ five 3 ladders 5 ladders 5 ladders 4 ladders 8 ladders alarms 2 rescues 2 rescues 3 rescues 1 rescue 1 rescue 2 BCs 2 BCs 3 BCs 3 BCs 3 BCs Plus on-call ACs DC DC DC DC on-call ACs on-call ACs on-call ACs on-call ACs mobile air mobile air deputy FM deputy FM investigator investigator mobile air mobile air * Squad (rescue pumper) is dispatched if rescue isn’t available. BC = Battalion Chief DC = Division Chief AC = Assistant Chief FM = Fire Marshal 7 Largest Fires by Alarm Level 6 alarms 4 alarms 2007 - Pine Knoll Townes 1990 - Wake County Courthouse 1993 - Shelton’s Used Furniture 5 alarms 1981 - Mangel Building 2017 - Metropolitan Apartments 1970 - Peebles Hotel 3 alarms 2010 - 2860 Armadale Lane - 1998 - 5045 Falls of Neuse - 1990 - Crab Orchard - Apts Houses Quail Corners Shopping Center 1990 - 3705 Edwards Mill - 2008 - 11705 Dellcain Court - 1996 - 4004 Twickenham - Apts House Village of Pickwick Apts 1989 - 3153 Kings - Apts 2008 - 1022 Hammel - 1994 - Crown Court - Crown 1988 - Fairview - Hayes Barton Warehouse Court Apts Cleaners 2007 - 6904 River Run - Apts 1994 - 1600 S. Saunders - 1988 - 2014 Fairview - Piggly 2007 - 4708 Fargo - House Caraleigh Furniture Warehouse Wiggly 2007 - 3833 Bonneville - Apts 1993 - 750 Bashford - Bashford 1986 - 1021 Raleigh - Apts 2007 - 1201 Trillium - Apts Place Apts 1984 - 112 W. Lane - Howard 2006 - 544 Rose - House 1993 - 435 Daniels - Bryan Bldg. 2006 - 2200 Banks Hill - Apts Bldg. 1980 -