Chapter VIII: The Firemen

No set of men ever worked harder than the firemen. They put up as gallant a fight as was ever fought on a battlefield. Old men, who had spent their lives fighting the flames, admitted that it was the hottest fire that they had ever seen. No amount of apparatus could have stopped it after the second fire had got started. The way the gale swept the flames along was beyond comprehension.

The Chelsea firemen had been kept constantly on the jump for two years previous to the fire in the performance of their duties, and when this fire started they, like other citizens, thought it would be extinguished, as many others had been in that district, without much loss, but the second fire changed everything.

At the meeting of the Fire Chiefs’ Club of Massachusetts, held at the Hotel Cecil, Boston, on April 15, the sentiment expressed was that no fire-fighter in the country could have done any better than Chief Spencer, with such odds against him, and as a token of their sympathy and esteem they elected him their president. They agreed, however, that the fire was not handled systematically, but that this was through no fault of Chief Spencer. If he had had a corps of deputies, there would have been some one in authority to meet the out-of-town firemen when they arrived. As it was, these companies had to rely on their own judgment and get to work without making a report.

COURTESY OF UTICA SATURDAY GLOBE

CHIEF SPENCER DURING THE FIRE]

And speaking of Chief Spencer, a good story is told at his expense. During the fire a bundle of woman’s wearing apparel was left at the Central Fire Station for safety. Shortly after Chief Spencer entered the building and threw his hat down upon the bundle, and when he left, hurriedly grabbed up a different hat. Later in the day the Central Fire Station burned, and one of the firemen, assuming that the chief had packed up his uniform in the bundle from the fact that his hat was on top of it, with much difficulty carried the bundle to a place of safety. The next day the man proudly went to his chief and notified him that he had saved his uniform. The chief was greatly surprised, but naturally pleased, and thanked him cordially, at which the blushing fireman replied he was glad to have been of service to him. The chief sent for the things, and notified his wife that he had sent his uniform home and asked her to open the bundle and hang it up. But it was up to the chief to explain, when his wife met him in the front hall with indescribable articles of female wearing apparel and demanded to know if they were a part of his uniform.

Many firemen were injured or burned during the day; all suffered terribly with their eyes, and men like Dr. W. S. Walkley (and there were a lot of them), who went about among the firemen bathing their eyes and putting cold cream on their burns, were a godsend and did much good.

A great many Chelsea firemen lost their homes, but even when it became apparent that they were to be destroyed, they did not waver, but stuck to their duty. They would enter a burning building with their hose and stay there in an attempt to save it until their clothes were on fire, enduring suffocating smoke and intense heat, and many times did not leave their positions until their lines commenced to burn. In many cases they stuck to their posts, playing streams of water on burning oil tanks and buildings containing explosives, when at any moment they were liable to be blown into eternity. Their courage and their loyalty to their superior officers will always be a lesson to follow to those who were among them. No criticisms have been made of their work; it has been universally acknowledged that no human agency could have won out against such odds on that day.

The following letter, sent by Mayor Hibbard of Boston to Fire Commissioner Parker, would apply to the firemen from any of the many cities that gave aid to Chelsea. Each department was responsible for checking the fire and saving some portion of the city.

“April 15, 1908.

“Samuel D. Parker, Esq.,

“Fire Commissioner:

“My Dear Mr. Parker,--I congratulate you and the officers
and men of the Fire Department on behalf of the city for the
magnificent work done in the Chelsea and East Boston fires on
Sunday last.

“The latter district owes its preservation to the courage and
ability of the Fire Department of the city of Boston.

“Only those familiar with the conditions can appreciate how
magnificently the work was handled.

“Let me add my personal thanks and congratulations to you and
your men.

“Yours very truly,

“G. A. HIBBARD, Mayor.”

COPYRIGHT, JUDGE CO., 1908

THE EIGHTH COMPANY, COAST ARTILLERY, KEEPING BACK THE CROWD IN WINNISIMMET SQUARE]