Engine 5 LODDs:
Captain David Walters, Engine 5, May 21. 1866, died from flashover burns, Academy of Music 3rd alarm fire
Firefighter Peter Walsh, Engine 5, May 21, 1866, 23 years old, died from flashover burns, Academy of Music 3rd alarm fire
May 21, 1866 Academy of Music Fire - first major multiple alarm fire fought by the new professional Metropolitan Fire Department (FDNY) - 2 Engine 5 firefighters lost
The Fire:
"On the evening of May 21, 1866, an Italian opera company hired by Academy manager J. Grau to perform Fromental Halevy?s ?La Juive.? This was to be their last performance at the Academy of Music; ballet promoters Henry C. Jarrett and Harry Palmer had just brought in a Parisian ballet troupe, which was scheduled to begin production of ?La biche au Bois.?
Just before midnight, shortly after the audience had departed and the artistes had left their dressing rooms, Emil Ruhlman, the janitor, and a gasman discovered wisps of smoke coming from under the left side of the parquette as they were making the evening rounds. A huge volume of smoke drove them out of the building, and upon exiting, they saw flames in the windows on 14th Street.
Emil rushed back inside to save his family, who lived in the building. He was able to get everyone out safely, including his wife, two children, and his 89-year-old mother.
One of the first arriving fire companies was Metropolitan Steam Engine Company No. 5, which was stationed at 186 East 14th Street and had been alerted to the fire by Officer O?Brien of the 17th Precinct. The company was led by Foreman David B. Waters and Assistant Foreman P. McKeever, and was manned by Engineer W. Hamilton, Stoker C.H. Riley, Driver Alonzo Smith, and Privates (firemen) J.F. Butler, P.H. Walsh, J. Corley, Michael Stapleton, F. Rielley, P.J. Burns, and W.H. Farrell.
Metropolitan Hook and Ladder Company No. 3, led by Foreman James Timmoney and stationed just around the block at 78 East 13th Street, also arrived within minutes of the first alarm.
When firefighters arrived, they could see smoke coming from the upper windows under the roof. They also noticed that the gas used for lighting the theater had not been extinguished. Numerous companies responded to the three-alarm blaze, including Engine Companies 3, 13, 14, and 16, and a few companies from the Brooklyn Fire Department.
Even Engine Company No. 36 of Harlem came down to help out?these men worked for more than two hours protecting Horatio Worcester?s piano factory at 117-121 Third Avenue. The men didn?t know it at the time, but the three-alarm blaze would go down in history as the first true test of the newly created paid fire department.
By 12:30 a.m. the flames had gained such headway that, according to The New York Times, ?all of the windows of Academy fronting on Fourteenth Street vomited great tongues of living fire?? The smoke was so dense and suffocating that District Engineer Eli Bates gave the order for all firemen inside to leave. His orders came just in time for all but two of the men: Half an hour later, the entire roof had collapsed ?beneath the force of the devouring element.?
Eli Bates, New York Fire Department
Eli Bates, a former bricklayer, began his long career with the fire department as a runner with a volunteer company when he was 15. In 1846 he joined Guardian Engine 29, stationed at the supposedly haunted 14 West 10th Street (then Amos Street), where he continued to move up the ranks. When the department converted to a paid force in 1865, he was hired as a District Engineer ? what now would be a Battalion Chief. In 1871 he was promoted to Assistant Chief and on May 1, 1873, he was appointed Chief of Department by Commissioner Joseph L. Perley. When he died of heart disease in 1912, Bates was the oldest ex-chief of the department.
As the fire intensified, Chief Engineer Elisha B. Kingsland shifted all of the firefighting resources from the Academy to adjoining buildings. Sparks from the inferno ignited numerous structures along the entire block from Irving Place to Third Avenue between 14th and 15th Street, and many buildings were damaged by smoke and water:
? The College of Physicians and Surgeons, 107 East 14th Street
? Grace Chapel, 132 East 14th Street
? The Dutch Reformed Church
? The St. James English Evangelical Church, 107 East 15th Street
? The Hippotheatron
? Col. James L. Frazer?s restaurant
? The residence of Mrs. Gleeson
? Ihne & Son?s 4-story piano factory, 109 East 14th Street
? Irving Hall
? The Arsenal bar room and Mrs. Romaine?s boarding house at 6 Irving Place
Third Avenue:
? No. 122, occupied by James Hundt (pork butcher)
? No. 122 ?, occupied by Charles Kreitz (a beer saloon)
? No. 124, occupied by Edward Holmes (butcher), and the McKerma, Luckenback, and Glynn families
? Rear of 124, occupied by Brander Robertson, Michael Dalton, Mrs. Fogarty, Mrs. Kennedy, and Mrs. Mack
? No. 124 1/2, occupied by J.H. Green (upholsterer), James Boyle, and Mr. Burns
? No. 126, occupied by Seaman Jones (wall paper and paint store), Mrs. Rooney
? No. 129, occupied by Mr. Mish (clothing store)
Lives Lost
When firefighters first arrived on the scene, the fire appeared to be fierce, but not spectacular. While the steam engines were working up enough pressure to start getting water on the building?this took about 10 minutes?Foreman James Timmoney of Ladder Company No. 3 entered the building and spotted flames shooting up from the basement near the stage.
John Dennin and Hugh Kitson of Engine Company No. 13 took a hose inside and were working the pipe, or nozzle, when they were relieved by Foreman Waters and firemen Walsh and Stapleton, all of Engine Company No. 5. Walsh, only 23 years old, was a rookie and had no volunteer experience, but Waters, 26, had been a volunteer for several years before quitting his job as an engraver to join the paid department.
Meanwhile, as other firemen and theater staff were hauling out furniture and other property, the gas that had been accumulating in the theater exploded, turning the building into an inferno. Kitson and Dennin were knocked down by the blast and burned; Kitson got out, but Dennin became trapped between the flames and the front entrance. He was severely burned but managed to escape by leaping through the flames.
Unfortunately, there was no escape for Waters and Walsh. The bodies of the two men were not discovered until 10 a.m., after hours of frantic searching. A team of firemen from Engine Company No. 5 and No. 3 Truck found Waters near the center of the stage. His arms and legs had burned away, but he was identified by a knife and a key in his pockets. Walsh?s remains were found near the 15th Street side of the stage, just a few feet from the wall that separated the theater from the dressing rooms. His upper torso had burned, and only his trunk could be recovered.
Both men were single; Waters lived with his parents on the corner of 10th Street and First Avenue and Walsh lived with his mother at 82 7th Street. Their families each received $1,000 in insurance from the fire department. Dennin, who was badly burned, received $5 a week while on disability.
Horses Were Saved
Directly across the street from the Academy was a large entertainment venue called the Hippotheatron, a domed building that opened in 1864 and was home to L.B. Lent?s New York Circus. This building was in imminent danger during the fire, and firefighters worked hard to prevent sparks from igniting the building. While the firemen directed streams of water on the structure, the employees of the Hippotheatron worked quickly to get all of the trained horses, performing ponies, and mules out of the building. The horses were led to Union Square, where they remained until it was determined the Hippotheatron was out of danger.
Unfortunately the animals would not be so lucky the next time fire struck, but that?s another story for a future post."
- From "1902 - The 'Ghost' of New York's Academy of Music" - the Hatching
Cathttp://frenchhatchingcat.com/2013/09/23/ghost-horse-academy-of-music/
Companies which possibly responded included: E 3, E 5, E 13, E 14, E 15, E 16, E 17, E 28, E 33, E 36, E 55, L 3, L 9, L, 11, L 12, L 18, L 20, Bn 6, plus Brooklyn units
Additional Engine 5 LODDs:
Firefighter Peter McKeon, Engine 5, February 13, 1895, killed while responding - collision with Engine 5 hose wagon
Firefighter Martin J. Oakley, Engine 5, December 21, 1897, killed from smoke suffocation while operating at 426 E 14th Street fire
Never forget.
