SIX FIREMEN KILLED WHEN WALL COLLAPSES AT BALTIMORE FIRE
Roof Drops Into Ruins After Wall Falls; Baltimore’s Worst Tragedy
SIX Baltimore firemen, including a battalion chief, met death during a 9-alarm fire on Wednesday, February 16, 1955, that burned out two adjoining buildings at 507-509 E. Baltimore street. Some 22 other fire fighters received injuries, including Chief Engineer, Michael F. Lotz.
Stated as “the worst tragedy in the history of the Baltimore Fire Department,” the fire originated in the threestory brick joist building of the Tru-Fit Clothes Co., 507 E. Baltimore st. Its cause was undetermined.
The fire was discovered about 9:00 P.M. by the doorman of the Flamingo Club, next door to the clothing store, who saw smoke coming from the upper windows. He ran around the corner and pulled the “house box” on the quarters of Engine Co. 32, Gay street. The “Alert” went out over the department “intercom” at 9:02, followed by Box 12, Baltimore and Frederick sts.
The crew of Engine 32 encountered heavy smoke conditions and donned masks in an effort to penetrate the charged interior of the clothing store. To ventilate, they started to break some of the show windows but an explosion of accumulated gases in the building blew out the front windows, sending a shower of glass and knocking out most of the crew of Engine 6. Most of these men, however, picked themselves up and returned to the struggle.
Despite the heavy concentration of smoke, men worked into the premises dragging lines, while fellow firemen laddered the structure to open up.
Chief Michael Lotz, who arrived on the second alarm, ordered his men operating inside the premises to work in short shifts. Hose lines were taken up ladders and onto roofs and streams directed into the burning structure as the stubborn fire spread through walls and partitions. At its height, it broke out of concealment and flared up to light the “Block area” of Baltimore street. These flames, however, were quickly beaten down by a deluge of water and, as they receded, fire fighters pushed their way further into the building.
At about 10:45 P.M. the fire was considered under control, at which time the last of the blaze was apparently centered in the rear of the basement, and the first of the crew members that had responded on the six alarms sounded between 9:06 and 10:17 P.M. were drifting over to the coffee wagon of the Box 414 Association for well-earned refreshments.
One group of about a dozen fire fighters had mounted the roof of a one-story rear addition to the clothing building on which ladders had been placed, resting against the brick wall of the second and third story and from which hose streams were being directed into the rear of the structure.
Without warning, a 30-foot section of the wall of the building collapsed inward, tumbling firemen whose ladders rested against it into the structure. Only moments later, the roof of the one-story building gave way, and the rest of the fire fighters were hurled after their comrades. Completing the grim tragedy, the roof of the third story then fell with a roar, tearing its way through the second story, plunging downward and burying firemen who had been flung into the ruins.
Just before the building roof caved in, some warning was shouted by firemen, which enabled those operating in the front of the structures to flee through windows and down ladders. Only those in the rear apparently were trapped. Those who “rode the roof” were for the most part only cut and bruised.
Immediately following the collapse, Captain Walsh, aide to Chief Lotz, called for a third alarm on Box 1222, an adjacent box on Gay street, near Baltimore. This made a total of nine alarms and brought much-needed manpower to the scene.
Fire fighters, who rushed into the wreckage even before the flames were fully extinguished, were at first unable to determine how many victims were trapped. A number of those who were involved in the collapse but were not buried in the debris, were quickly removed to hospitals. Rollcalls indicated that from two to six men were missing and believed buried in the wreckage.
Working in imminent danger of further wall collapse, in areas that made it difficult to employ many men, or mechanical aides, firemen dug frantically for victims. The voice of one man was reportedly heard, and the hand of one victim was quickly located. Moving bricks and pieces of timber one at a time, one living and two dead victims were removed. The survivor was Lieutenant Leonard N. Wiles, 31, of Ladder 6, who was extricated four hours after the crash, and sent to Mercy Hospital.
The first two dead removed were Battalion Chief Francis O’Brien, 52, of the 4th Battalion, and William W. Barnes, 41, Acting Lieutenant of Engine 17. They were dug out shortly before day-light. It was not until the next afternoon that three others were found. The final victim was removed about 7:30 P.M. the next evening. The last four were fire fighters Rudolph Machovac, 52, Engine 17; Anthony Reinsfelter, 31, Ladder 16; Joseph Hanley, Jr., 33, Engine 13 and Richard Melzer, 28, of Engine 15.
Chief Lotz, who was himself injured, reported he was completely baffled by the wall collapse.
“That wall looked as rigid as any I’ve ever seen,” he is quoted as saying. We never heard a sound . . . Why it let go I’ll never know.”
The chief, a veteran of 33 years, directed operations at the fire until he was knocked out by falling timber and brick. He said there were several indications that the store building was substantial enough for firemen to mount to the roof, where they were buried by the sudden cave-in.
First of all, the chief said, there was no smoke seeping through rear walls of the building. Such smoke escaping is the usual warning of weakened mortar or brick. Secondly, the chief reported that fire shutters on the rear of the building looked substantial and well kept, an indication the store was in good repair.
The chief said, “I was standing on the roof near Chief George H. Redmon. Six or seven men were near by. Redmon was getting ready to call for a hose line. The roof broke away and dropped like an elevator. We didn’t have a chance to move a foot.”
The chief plunged 10 feet to the first floor, narrowly escaping death.
Chief Lotz described operations immediately before the cave-in as an attempt to get through the rear of the building to quell flames the firemen had driven back from the street front. He said more lines were to be jammed through windows at the second-floor level in the rear. The one-story structure where the tragedy occurred had no entrances.
A terrazzo floor with a mesh under it made it almost impossible for firemen to break through to the basement source of the flames.
After his plunge, Chief Lotz and Chief Redmon mounted to safety on a ladder that was pushed down into the smoking store ruin. He sustained head abrasion, cuts and bruises in addition to a severe ankle injury.
In addition to Chief Lotz and Chief Redmon (5th Batt.) the more seriously injured included the following: Acting Deputy Chief Carroll Hand; Lieut. Wiles, Ladder 6: Edmund N. Dalton, Eng. 17; Lieut. Martin Demek; Lieut. Russell Franklin, Ladder 6; Lieut. Robert McGinn, Eng. 23; and Fire fighters Eugene Fitzsimmons, Ladder 2; Edgar Scheydt, Eng. 26; Bernard Vane, Eng. 23; Frank Johnson, Eng. 2; George Wagner, Eng. 7; Fred Winterling, Eng. 9; John Reck, Eng. 29; Reese Gott, Eng. 29; Albert Urlahs, Engine 3 and Eugene Bolard, Eng. 2. Lieut. Russell King of Ladder I was injured later while digging for victims.
The tragedy brought out heavy complements of ambulances and medical aid, police and other emergency services.
The Box 414 Association of fire buffs dispensed a total of 1280 cups of coffee; 500 cups of hot chocolate; 300 cups of soup; 50 doz. buns; 185 sandwiches; 400 cigarettes and 6 qts. of seltzer during its 24 hours of service.
Following the fire, the Fire Board named Deputy Chief Charles Theiss to head an investigation into the disaster. Deputy Chief Frank J. Trenner and Battalion Chief John D. Knorlein played important parts in the investigation into the cause of the fire.
