FDNY 6 LODD'S - BRONX 4TH ALARM - 3RD AVENUE COLLAPSE- 4/4/1956

[3511]

Just before 9:00pm on the evening of April 4th, 1956, I sat in my living room in our apartment on Decatur Avenue watching TV (Channel 5, the Dumont Network, as I recall) with my Mom. Suddenly a news flash appeared on the screen…”6 firemen killed at a fire at 175th Street and 3rd Avenue in the Bronx…Details on the news at 10”.

“Mom”, I said, “Dad is at that fire”.

“How do you know?”, she replied.

I was 9 years old. Less than two months later I would watch Micky Mantle crush a homer almost over the center field scoreboard at the Stadium and fall in love with him and the Yankees. But at about age four I had observed a disturbance on my street, a minor building fire. Surprise when who arrived to calm the situation but my Dad, standing up in that cab of Engine 88’s big red fire engine. Not even The Mick could match that impression. By age 9 I understood that his fire companies had boundaries. I did not yet know all the Box #s, but I knew my Dad’s District. 175th and 3d Ave. was a third due box for Engine 88, a southwest limit of their response area. I explained this to my mom.

She believed me. Perhaps a seminal moment in my life, the first time a parent had take me seriously. She arose, went to the phone and called the firehouse. No answer, which meant the company was out. She then called Uncle Charles, his brother, the chauffeur at Ladder 37, who lived down the block. He said he would get back to her right away.

To be continued…

 

[tom113]

Just before 9:00pm on the evening of April 4th, 1956, I sat in my living room in our apartment on Decatur Avenue watching TV (Channel 5, the Dumont Network, as I recall) with my Mom. Suddenly a news flash appeared on the screen…”6 firemen killed at a fire at 175th Street and 3rd Avenue in the Bronx…Details on the news at 10”.

“Mom”, I said, “Dad is at that fire”.

“How do you know?”, she replied.

I was 9 years old. Less than two months later I would watch Micky Mantle crush a homer almost over the center field scoreboard at the Stadium and fall in love with him and the Yankees. But at about age four I had observed a disturbance on my street, a minor building fire. Surprise when who arrived to calm the situation but my Dad, standing up in that cab of Engine 88’s big red fire engine. Not even The Mick could match that impression. By age 9 I understood that his fire companies had boundaries. I did not yet know all the Box #s, but I knew my Dad’s District. 175th and 3d Ave. was a third due box for Engine 88, a southwest limit of their response area. I explained this to my mom.

She believed me. Perhaps a seminal moment in my life, the first time a parent had take me seriously. She arose, went to the phone and called the firehouse. No answer, which meant the company was out. She then called Uncle Charles, his brother, the chauffeur at Ladder 37, who lived down the block. He said he would get back to her right away.

To be continued…

It must have been a nerve wracking few hours.

 

[3511]

Just before 9:00pm on the evening of April 4th, 1956, I sat in my living room in our apartment on Decatur Avenue watching TV (Channel 5, the Dumont Network, as I recall) with my Mom. Suddenly a news flash appeared on the screen…”6 firemen killed at a fire at 175th Street and 3rd Avenue in the Bronx…Details on the news at 10”.

“Mom”, I said, “Dad is at that fire”.

“How do you know?”, she replied.

I was 9 years old. Less than two months later I would watch Micky Mantle crush a homer almost over the center field scoreboard at the Stadium and fall in love with him and the Yankees. But at about age four I had observed a disturbance on my street, a minor building fire. Surprise when who arrived to calm the situation but my Dad, standing up in that cab of Engine 88’s big red fire engine. Not even The Mick could match that impression. By age 9 I understood that his fire companies had boundaries. I did not yet know all the Box #s, but I knew my Dad’s District. 175th and 3d Ave. was a third due box for Engine 88, a southwest limit of their response area. I explained this to my mom.

She believed me. Perhaps a seminal moment in my life, the first time a parent had take me seriously. She arose, went to the phone and called the firehouse. No answer, which meant the company was out. She then called Uncle Charles, his brother, the chauffeur at Ladder 37, who lived down the block. He said he would get back to her right away.

To be continued…

As the clock ticked past 7:00pm on that Wednesday, April 4th, 1956 the Bronx Communications Office (BXCO) of the FDNY tapped out Box # 2773 on the bells. The location was Macombs Rd. at Inwood Ave, to the west of Jerome Ave. The following companies responded:

Engines 42 92 68 and H&Ls 44 49

The chief reported an electrical fire and that he was operating with 1&1, holding fast the remainder of units on scene.

A few minutes later, Box #2953, Belmont Avenue at East 176th Street, also rang out in Bronx firehouses. Responding here were

Engines 45 46 88 and H&Ls 27 38

Engine 45 arrived to find significant fire in an abandoned building, one soon to be razed for the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway. That new highway would ultimately slice, dice, and demolish neighborhoods and destroy the residences of over 60,00 people, literally cutting the borough in half. It became the “railroad” that divided the Bronx, whose citizens scrambled to move north to the correct side of the “tracks’”. Many of these now empty structures became the target of thieves and arsonists, practices that became commonplace in the coming decades. “The War Years” had already begun, but no one knew it at the time.

1st due at Box# 2953, L27 rolled out of quarters ahead of Engine 46. Proceeding south on 3d Avenue, they were flagged down for yet another fire. Smoke was pouring from a small factory right under the 3d Avenue EL.

In those days, when the telegraph system was still in service, the officer would be required to go to the nearest street box and tap the signal 2-2-2 on the telegraph key inside the box, meaning the companies had encountered another fire on the way to their original assignment. The officer would then radio the particulars to the BXCO. Box #2941 stood at this location, 3d Avenue at East 176th Street, and the the normally assigned companies were

Engines 46 42 88 and H&Ls 27 38

Three working fires within a mile and a half at the same time, an unusual occurrence in the mid-1950s. The BXCO had some work to do.

To be continued…

 

[3511]

As the clock ticked past 7:00pm on that Wednesday, April 4th, 1956 the Bronx Communications Office (BXCO) of the FDNY tapped out Box # 2773 on the bells. The location was Macombs Rd. at Inwood Ave, to the west of Jerome Ave. The following companies responded:

Engines 42 92 68 and H&Ls 44 49

The chief reported an electrical fire and that he was operating with 1&1, holding fast the remainder of units on scene.

A few minutes later, Box #2953, Belmont Avenue at East 176th Street, also rang out in Bronx firehouses. Responding here were

Engines 45 46 88 and H&Ls 27 38

Engine 45 arrived to find significant fire in an abandoned building, one soon to be razed for the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway. That new highway would ultimately slice, dice, and demolish neighborhoods and destroy the residences of over 60,00 people, literally cutting the borough in half. It became the “railroad” that divided the Bronx, whose citizens scrambled to move north to the correct side of the “tracks’”. Many of these now empty structures became the target of thieves and arsonists, practices that became commonplace in the coming decades. “The War Years” had already begun, but no one knew it at the time.

1st due at Box# 2953, L27 rolled out of quarters ahead of Engine 46. Proceeding south on 3d Avenue, they were flagged down for yet another fire. Smoke was pouring from a small factory right under the 3d Avenue EL.

In those days, when the telegraph system was still in service, the officer would be required to go to the nearest street box and tap the signal 2-2-2 on the telegraph key inside the box, meaning the companies had encountered another fire on the way to their original assignment. The officer would then radio the particulars to the BXCO. Box #2941 stood at this location, 3d Avenue at East 176th Street, and the the normally assigned companies were

Engines 46 42 88 and H&Ls 27 38

Three working fires within a mile and a half at the same time, an unusual occurrence in the mid-1950s. The BXCO had some work to do.

To be continued…

The BXCO’s first order was to special call Engine 82 and H&L 31 to Box #2953, the abandoned building fire (a circumstance those companies would become quite familiar with in the coming years). This incident kept All Hands working for several hours.

The size up at Box #2941 was reported by L27 as heavy fire in the basement and first floor. This building had served several purposes since its construction in the early years of the 20th Century. Initially it was a burlesque show/movie house, which accounted for the marquee over the entrance way. It later became a furniture showcase and repair store and, if memory serves me, was manufacturing artificial flowers at the time of this fire. Years of oils, glues, and wax used for these products had permeated its wooden floors allowing the flames, once ignited, to rapidly spread.

Reinforcements were now needed at Box #2941, but nearly all the 1st and 2d Alarm companies normally assigned to this location were working elsewhere. As always, the members of the BXCO were on top of things. They transmitted instead a Dispatchers 3d Alarm for Box #2904, located a quarter mile south at 173d Street at 3d Avenue. This would bring the full 3d Alarm assignment for that box to the scene without having to go through the rigmarole of pounding out on the telegraph bells numerous special call signals to Box #2941.

First to arrive were Engine 50 and H&L 19, who operated as the 1st alarm, 2d due companies. I believe they were assigned to open up and stretch a hose line into the rear of the fire building. Next in was Engine 48, normally 1st due on the 3d alarm; instead, E48 went to work as the 3d due engine on the 1st Alarm. (Make note of that.) They were assigned to operate a cellar pipe at the sidewalk entrance to the basement, just below the marquee. As fate would have it, H&L 44 was released from its incident on Macombs Rd. just moments before. They responded as the 2d Alarm ladder company, assigned to ventilate the second floor of the fire building, above the marquee. The Dispatchers 3d Alarm also brought a Deputy Chief and his Aides to this fire.

The stage was set for tragedy.


To be continued…

 

[3511]

The BXCO’s first order was to special call Engine 82 and H&L 31 to Box #2953, the abandoned building fire (a circumstance those companies would become quite familiar with in the coming years). This incident kept All Hands working for several hours.

The size up at Box #2941 was reported by L27 as heavy fire in the basement and first floor. This building had served several purposes since its construction in the early years of the 20th Century. Initially it was a burlesque show/movie house, which accounted for the marquee over the entrance way. It later became a furniture showcase and repair store and, if memory serves me, was manufacturing artificial flowers at the time of this fire. Years of oils, glues, and wax used for these products had permeated its wooden floors allowing the flames, once ignited, to rapidly spread.

Reinforcements were now needed at Box #2941, but nearly all the 1st and 2d Alarm companies normally assigned to this location were working elsewhere. As always, the members of the BXCO were on top of things. They transmitted instead a Dispatchers 3d Alarm for Box #2904, located a quarter mile south at 173d Street at 3d Avenue. This would bring the full 3d Alarm assignment for that box to the scene without having to go through the rigmarole of pounding out on the telegraph bells numerous special call signals to Box #2941.

First to arrive were Engine 50 and H&L 19, who operated as the 1st alarm, 2d due companies. I believe they were assigned to open up and stretch a hose line into the rear of the fire building. Next in was Engine 48, normally 1st due on the 3d alarm; instead, E48 went to work as the 3d due engine on the 1st Alarm. (Make note of that.) They were assigned to operate a cellar pipe at the sidewalk entrance to the basement, just below the marquee. As fate would have it, H&L 44 was released from its incident on Macombs Rd. just moments before. They responded as the 2d Alarm ladder company, assigned to ventilate the second floor of the fire building, above the marquee. The Dispatchers 3d Alarm also brought a Deputy Chief and his Aides to this fire.

The stage was set for tragedy.


To be continued…

We all know what happened next. The marquee, weakened by the intense flames, crashed to the street, bringing with it most of the front wall. Six firefighters perished, most of them in an instant. I will list their names again.

Lt. John F. Molloy E48

Fireman Edward J. Carroll E48

Fireman Frederick J. Hellauer E48

Fireman Arthur G. Hanson L44

Fireman William P. Hoolan L44

Fireman Charles J. Infosino Chiefs Aide



The details are in the accounts in WNYF and The New York Times, posted on this thread by our colleague Mack. All of the City newspapers (and there were many back in 1956) plastered the story across the front pages.

Following the TV news flash, Uncle Charles did call back to my mom. He had called the BXCO, identified himself, and was told that his brother was not at the collapse site. I was correct, that location was at the boundary of Engine 88s response area. They could, or should, have been there; but they were not in this instance. For this nine-year-old, some of life’s vagaries, such as timing, circumstance, fate, and even luck, began to come in focus.

How long had it taken H&L 27 to get out from quarters and roll those short blocks down 3d Avenue and be intercepted? A few minutes at most. If instead the young man that flagged them down had happened by the spot only those few minutes before he might have pulled street corner Box #2941. E88 would then have been headed there instead of to Box #2953. As the 3d due engine they likely would have been operating that cellar pipe, the one that wound up fatally in the hands of Engine 48.

Lt. John J. Molloy and my father were officers in adjacent companies within the same 18th Battalion. They had known and worked with each other for years, perhaps going back to their days fighting fires in Harlem. Both my family and the Molloy’s lived on East 199th Street, but on opposite sides of the Grand Concourse. And Danny Molloy was a nine-year-old third grader just like me. I did not know him as we attended neighboring parochial schools. Many of the kids on my block, his schoolmates, did and spoke well of him. In the days following the fire the New York Daily News published a poignant photo of his family (mother, older sisters, and Danny) that chilled me to the bone. It very well could have been my family in that photo, and I knew it. Why he and not me?

Fireman Eddie Carroll of E48 was also a neighborhood resident and family friend. He was also the son of an FDNY LODD, one of the few father/sons in Department history. The father was killed while a member of H&L 48. I suppose that the number forty-eight is not a favorite in that family.

Among the WNYF photos posted above in this thread is seen E48s entire crew operating the cellar pipe. Just moments after it was taken, Lt. Molloy relieved Firemen Hesse and Casario to take a blow. They were only a few steps into the street when the wall collapsed. Both were hit from behind with debris and hospitalized, but they survived. (Fireman Hesse’s son attended Power Memorial Academy in Manhattan with my older brother.)

E48s chauffeur (his name lost to me now) had driven to Box # 2941 in their classic Ahrens Fox pumper with an officer next to him in the cab and four firemen on the back step. After the collapse, he insisted he drive the rig back to quarters by himself. An old-timer, “it was to me to return the horse to the barn”, he supposedly said. God knows his thoughts as he returned alone. He then collected the shoes of all his fallen brothers, scattered about the apparatus floor, and placed them in their lockers.



To be continued…

 

[Captain784]

Sorry for the mistake you are right the Collapse that almost trapped my friend Rich Saccamano was the one, in the 1960s. But the concept is the same, girders heated by fire expand and lengthen. One source say that a 100 ft girder heated to 1000o F can lengthen 9 & half inches. Another source says at 1200o F. the steel girder can lengthen 12 inches often soon after the girder often fails. The failure temperature of structural steel was once stated to be 1180o F. The failure of a column or girder is often more serious than the failure of a beam or joist. Professor Frank Branigans old book, and FDNY Deputy Chief Vincent Dunn books are a must reads on Collapse During fires, for any serious firefighter, fire officer or Chief.
Captain Bob Rainey FDNY Engine 26 retired.

 

[entropychaser]

We all know what happened next. The marquee, weakened by the intense flames, crashed to the street, bringing with it most of the front wall. Six firefighters perished, most of them in an instant. I will list their names again.

Lt. John F. Molloy E48

Fireman Edward J. Carroll E48

Fireman Frederick J. Hellauer E48

Fireman Arthur G. Hanson L44

Fireman William P. Hoolan L44

Fireman Charles J. Infosino Chiefs Aide



The details are in the accounts in WNYF and The New York Times, posted on this thread by our colleague Mack. All of the City newspapers (and there were many back in 1956) plastered the story across the front pages.

Following the TV news flash, Uncle Charles did call back to my mom. He had called the BXCO, identified himself, and was told that his brother was not at the collapse site. I was correct, that location was at the boundary of Engine 88s response area. They could, or should, have been there; but they were not in this instance. For this nine-year-old, some of life’s vagaries, such as timing, circumstance, fate, and even luck, began to come in focus.

How long had it taken H&L 27 to get out from quarters and roll those short blocks down 3d Avenue and be intercepted? A few minutes at most. If instead the young man that flagged them down had happened by the spot only those few minutes before he might have pulled street corner Box #2941. E88 would then have been headed there instead of to Box #2953. As the 3d due engine they likely would have been operating that cellar pipe, the one that wound up fatally in the hands of Engine 48.

Lt. John J. Molloy and my father were officers in adjacent companies within the same 18th Battalion. They had known and worked with each other for years, perhaps going back to their days fighting fires in Harlem. Both my family and the Molloy’s lived on East 199th Street, but on opposite sides of the Grand Concourse. And Danny Molloy was a nine-year-old third grader just like me. I did not know him as we attended neighboring parochial schools. Many of the kids on my block, his schoolmates, did and spoke well of him. In the days following the fire the New York Daily News published a poignant photo of his family (mother, older sisters, and Danny) that chilled me to the bone. It very well could have been my family in that photo, and I knew it. Why he and not me?

Fireman Eddie Carroll of E48 was also a neighborhood resident and family friend. He was also the son of an FDNY LODD, one of the few father/sons in Department history. The father was killed while a member of H&L 48. I suppose that the number forty-eight is not a favorite in that family.

Among the WNYF photos posted above in this thread is seen E48s entire crew operating the cellar pipe. Just moments after it was taken, Lt. Molloy relieved Firemen Hesse and Casario to take a blow. They were only a few steps into the street when the wall collapsed. Both were hit from behind with debris and hospitalized, but they survived. (Fireman Hesse’s son attended Power Memorial Academy in Manhattan with my older brother.)

E48s chauffeur (his name lost to me now) had driven to Box # 2941 in their classic Ahrens Fox pumper with an officer next to him in the cab and four firemen on the back step. After the collapse, he insisted he drive the rig back to quarters by himself. An old-timer, “it was to me to return the horse to the barn”, he supposedly said. God knows his thoughts as he returned alone. He then collected the shoes of all his fallen brothers, scattered about the apparatus floor, and placed them in their lockers.



To be continued…

Thanks for relating your own story of this tragedy. It's always tough for kids to learn that bad things happen in their lives and even their loving parents can't always stop them from happening.

It is also a great demonstration of the Swiss cheese model of accident evaluation. This is often used by the National Transportation Safety Board showing that accidents are frequently the result of multiple factors or "missed" stop signs.

 

[3511]

To wrap this up….

As is usual for such tragic events, controversy swirled in the aftermath. Did the unpopular Fire Commissioner at the time, Edward F. Cavanaugh, interfere with fire ground operations? Did he order a hose stream directed at a glowing cantilever beam, causing it to snap and drop the marquee? Did water from hose lines fill up the marquee like a bath tub, causing the collapse? Why weren’t there more medical resources on the scene? I heard mention of these in the post incident chatter of the adults but I was then too young to process it.

Mostly, I was just scared. I pestered my dad with questions for weeks afterward. He was unusually helpful in answering, I guess sensing I was struggling to make sense of it all. Finally, as he sat at our kitchen table, sipping his Ballantine Ale, Pall Mall cigarette in hand, I hit him with my big need to know. How did he feel about all that had happened?

He looked at me, shrugged, and said, “It wasn’t my time.”



I have two lifelong friends who celebrate their birthdays on April 4th. Congratulating them every year brings to mind that date and rekindles thoughts of the 3d Avenue fire. In 2006, the 50th Anniversary of the tragedy, I delivered a Power Point presentation on the subject to the members of the Fire Bell Club of New York. While relying much on my own recollections, I also researched other references at the FDNY Mand Library. An article in Fire Engineering magazine from 1956 (that I had never seen before) was most enlightening. It provided the exact timeline of the three alarms of fire that occurred in the few moments after 7:00 pm that night, confirming what I had always suspected. Had the sequence of events been shuffled by just mere minutes, the lineup of companies at each incident would have been different. And so too the fate and lives of so many men and families.

Through a mutual friend I had also attempted to contact Danny Molloy for that presentation but he never responded. No doubt he did not wish to re-live that night. I understood, respectful, and pursued him no further. Several years later, however, I was privileged to write the history of Engine 92 and H&L 44 for their Centennial Anniversary. Present at the firehouse ceremony was a lady from western Pennsylvania, the daughter of Fireman Arthur G. Hanson. He perished that night (see WNYF photo) butting the ladder right below the marquee. She had lost her dad as a young girl. Almost sixty years later, I am not sure anyone present remembered him or her. But I did. Engaging her in conversation, I related how both of our lives had remotely intersected all those years before. My story fascinated her and she was grateful for the connection. We stayed in touch for some time afterwards.



On a sunny Sunday June morning a couple of months after the 3d Avenue fire, a blaze broke out in an old-fashioned ice cream parlor up the block from our home. It was particularly smokey, fueled by all the decorative wooden trim inside. Box #3511 went out on the telegraph bells, and Engine 88 soon arrived, assigned 3d due. From the opposite street corner, I watched my dad lead his men up the avenue and into the store. There were no masks or breathing cannisters in those days, and they stayed inside for a longer time than I was comfortable.

Then he emerged from the smoke, gathered his men on the street corner, chatted with the chief…and lit up a Pall Mall.

Tough man, still with us, and still in charge.

And so, I went on.

 

[JohnnyGage]

Thank you for that engrossing write up, being a former member of E 88 was particularly interesting for me. Vinny Dunn often writes about his time as a young Lt with E 33 at the 23rd St fire. He arrived at the command post with the Lt from E 18, the Chief randomly selected E 18 and not Vinny to stretch a line into the drug store where he met his fate. Many times we have said, wow that was a close one, and then there are times when we don't dodge the bullet. Is it fate or chance? Thanks for sharing 3511, good story.

 

[3511]

I appreciate the encouraging thumbs up, likes, and comments that were sent as I posted each installment. My fear was of boring you all but I marched on, good soldier that I am.

That I still recall so much of the specifics all these years later shows just how big an effect this event has had on me.

Thanks guys for hanging in there with me.

 

[Capttomo]

I appreciate the encouraging thumbs up, likes, and comments that were sent as I posted each installment. My fear was of boring you all but I marched on, good soldier that I am.

That I still recall so much of the specifics all these years later shows just how big an effect this event has had on me.

Thanks guys for hanging in there with me.

Thanks for sharing with us . Stay well

 

[Captain784]

Deputy Chief Dunn and also the late Professor Frank Branigan both talked about the effect of cooling a highly heated beam or girder and often it is better to cool a highly heated beam or girder to help prevent it from being heated to its failure temperature. One source say Structural Steel fails at
1180o F. So, keeping structural steel from reaching, that point can be a good idea. But cooling the steel can also lock it in a position that puts strain on other building components. In any case remove firefighters from the collapse zone and area before you apply a colling stream from a "safe distance.
As for the statement about water adding weight to a marquee or overhand sign is a valid statement. Fresh water weight 64 LBS per square foot and 8.34 LBS per gallon. HERE is a photo of the FDNY 1974 Jennings Street Fire in Collapse in the South Bronx, that was at least partially caused by water build up on the floor. Seven members were trapped but survived the collapse thanks to the brave work of their bother firefighters. Captain Bob Rainey FDNY Engine 26 retired.

 

[entropychaser]

I'm a little confused. Bronx Box # 2941 is at Third Avenue and 175 Street and would have been the nearest box. Two different histories list the incident signal as 44-2904....Third Avenue and 173 Street.

 

[3511]

Entro, you must have missed this...

"Reinforcements were now needed at Box #2941, but nearly all the 1st and 2d Alarm companies normally assigned to this location were working elsewhere. As always, the members of the BXCO were on top of things. They transmitted instead a Dispatchers 3d Alarm for Box #2904, located a quarter mile south at 173d Street at 3d Avenue. This would bring the full 3d Alarm assignment for that box to the scene without having to go through the rigmarole of pounding out on the telegraph bells numerous special call signals to Box #2941."

It later went to a 4th alarm at the replacement Box #2904.

 

[nfd2004]

Thank you "3511" for sharing your story with us.

I think every young kid has a story to tell if their father was/is a firefighter.

 

[entropychaser]

Entro, you must have missed this...

"Reinforcements were now needed at Box #2941, but nearly all the 1st and 2d Alarm companies normally assigned to this location were working elsewhere. As always, the members of the BXCO were on top of things. They transmitted instead a Dispatchers 3d Alarm for Box #2904, located a quarter mile south at 173d Street at 3d Avenue. This would bring the full 3d Alarm assignment for that box to the scene without having to go through the rigmarole of pounding out on the telegraph bells numerous special call signals to Box #2941."

It later went to a 4th alarm at the replacement Box #2904.

Thanks. What I was inartfully trying to express was that history records this disaster at Third and 173rd when it was actually Third and 175th.

 

[entropychaser]

It is interesting to note that there were two proposed routes of the Cross Bronx Expressway from Third Avenue to White Plains Road in East Tremont.

The first (from 1946) route was a jog to the north about two blocks. It would involve tearing down 159 buildings housing 1,530 families. The second route- proposed by the community and "backed" by two Mayors (Impellitteri and Wagner) was placed at the north end of Crotona Park and would require the loss of six buildings and nineteen families. Eviction notices went out in January, 1952.

It appears that if the southern (and much cheaper) route would have been used, 4605 Third Avenue would have been demolished by April 4, 1956 and thus the loss of six firemen averted.

Also, the Third Avenue El was being dismantled by then. The El wooden cars were hauled to the Bronx River at 174th St, and burned. The neighborhood was destroyed.

As noted, the seeds of the War Years were planted then. Over the next decade they would be in full bloom.

 

[Capttomo]

It is interesting to note that there were two proposed routes of the Cross Bronx Expressway from Third Avenue to White Plains Road in East Tremont.

The first (from 1946) route was a jog to the north about two blocks. It would involve tearing down 159 buildings housing 1,530 families. The second route- proposed by the community and "backed" by two Mayors (Impellitteri and Wagner) was placed at the north end of Crotona Park and would require the loss of six buildings and nineteen families. Eviction notices went out in January, 1952.

It appears that if the southern (and much cheaper) route would have been used, 4605 Third Avenue would have been demolished by April 4, 1956 and thus the loss of six firemen averted.

Also, the Third Avenue El was being dismantled by then. The El wooden cars were hauled to the Bronx River at 174th St, and burned. The neighborhood was destroyed.

As noted, the seeds of the War Years were planted then. Over the next decade they would be in full bloom.

As they finished up the dismantling of the third avenue el, they brought the pieces over to the harlem river alongside Sedgwick and Exterior Streets where they seemed to smolder forever.