January 1916 Fires: Historic fires that occurred 100 years ago

摘要

Shortly after joining the Fire Department of New York in 1978, I began researching and writing about the history of the fire service, and my work soon began appearing in magazines and books. This column will carry on in this tradition. In each issue, I will present historic fires or significant events in the fire service from 100 years ago. Readers are encouraged to share information from their departments (please remember there is a three-month lead time in printing a magazine). January 3, 1916: Worcester, Massachusetts: Forty guests wearing only their night clothes were driven into a raging hailstorm as smoke and flames filled their hotel. Many fled down the stairs as others negotiated a dangerous jump from their fifth-floor windows to the roof of the adjoining four-story building. Firefighters carried seven people down ladders from the smoke-filled fifth floor at the height of the blaze. Amazingly, all escaped without injury.