52 "a perpetually higher co-operation": William F Channing, "The American Fire-Alarm Telegraph: A Lecture," Ninth Annual Report of the Smithsonian, March 1855, p. 6.
53 "The Electric Telegraph in its common use": William F Channing, "On the Municipal Electric Telegraph especially in its application to Fire Alarms," extracted from American Journal of Science (New Haven: B. L. Hanlen, 1852), p. 4.
53 Details on Moses Gerrish Farmer's life: obituary, Boston Transcript, May 25, 1898; Dictionary of American Biography Base Set; American National Biography, general eds. John A. Garraty and Mark C. Games (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999); National Cyclopedia of American Biography; Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed.
54 Their salutations changed: letters in William F. Channing Papers, 1851-1898, Massachusetts Historical Society.
54 extremely detailed presentation: "Communication from Dr. Wm. F Channing respecting a System of Fire Alarms, read and referred to Joint Standing Committee on Public Building ... in Common Council," March 27, 1851.
55 "like spider webs": "The Municipal Telegraph," The Commonwealth, December 30, 1851.
55 "The act is so simple": Channing, "On the Municipa Electric Telegraph," p. 14.
56 The log reads: Werner, History of the Boston Fire Department, p. 183.
56 "Its utility was disbelieved": In the Matter of the Application," p. 27
57 Channing "made every effort": Letter Patent application, p. 20.
58 "it is a higher system of municipal organization": Channing, "The American Fire-Alarm Telegraph," p. 19.
58 Details of Gamewell's life: obituary, Hackensack Republican, July 23, 1896; Paul Ditzel, The Fascinating Story Behind the Red Box on the Corner (New Albany Ind.: Fire Buff House Publishers, 1990).
59 Background on improvements in Boston's fire alarm system: Werner, History of the Boston Fire Department, pp. 177-195.
63 "I need all" and 7 will repeat": letters between Farmer and Channing, Channing Papers.
63 Watson described how Farmer dropped by: Thomas A. Watson, Exploring Life: The Autobiography of Thomas A. Watson (New York: D. Appleton, 1926), p. 97.
REFERENCES
64 ''He was deserving of more honor": Dictionary of American Biography, p. 280. 64 "invented not wisely, hut too well": Encyclopedia of World Biography [electronic version], 2nd ed. (Detroit: Gale Research, 1998). 64 "immanence of God": note dated December 20, 1900, in Channing Papers.
CHAPTER 5 THE GREAT FIRE OF 1872
Primary sources for accounts of the 1872 fire include Brayley, Complete History of the Boston Fire Department; W. F. Chandler and Co., Chandler d2 Co. 's Full Account of the Great Fire in Boston and the Ruins (Boston: W. H. Chandler & Co. , 1872); Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Investigate the Cause and Management of the Great Boston Fire (Boston: Rockwell &: Churchill, 1873); "Carleton" (Charles Carleton Coffin), The Story of the Great Fire, Boston, November 9-'^0, 1872 (Boston: Shepard and Gill, 1972); Conwell, History of the Great Fire in Boston; Charles Stanhope Damrell, A Half Century of Boston's Buildings (Boston: L.P. Hager, 1895); Haywood, General Alarm; Harold Murdoch, Gentleman in Boston: Letters Written by a Gentleman in Boston to His Friends in Paris: Describing the Great Fire (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1909); Michael J. Novack, Photography and the Great Fire of November 1872, monograph, 3rd rev. ed. (1992); Anthony Mitchell Sammarco, The Great Boston Fire of 1872 (Dover, N.H.: Arcadia Publishing, 1997); Robert Taylor, The Great Boston Fire, 1872: A Disaster with a Villain: Old-Style Politics (Boston: Boston Sunday Globe, 1972); John P. Vahey, monograms on "The Epizootic Fire" and "The Great Boston Fire," Boston Fire Department files; William Werner, "Boston's Fire Alarm Box 52 and Related Matter," document dated February 20, 1972, Boston Fire Department files.
69 "For God's sake, hold the corner": DamrelPs testimony. Report of the Commissioners, p. 86. Direct quotes from Damrell are from his testimony
69 Mrs. deary's cow: The Boston fire's contribution to song has been the virtually unknown tune by C. A. White, "Homeless Tonight: Boston in Ashes" published by White, Smith & Perry, 1872.
69 Background on Damrell: obituary, Boston Transcript, November 4, 1905; Vahey, "The Epizootic Fire"; interview with John P. Vahey, June 2002..
70 "Do not try to magnify": Damrell's testimony. Report of the Commissioners, p. 105.
70 "The hard-headed Yankee gentlemen": Harold Murdoch, "The Great Boston Fire and Some Contributing Causes," paper presented to the Bostonian Society, {November 19, 1912, published January 2, 1913, p. 53, in the collection of Boston Historical Society.
72 "what proved to be a serious blunder": Harold Murdoch, "How the Fire Became a Conflagration," Current Affairs, October 30, 1922, p. 14.
72 On November 9, many Bostonians strolled: Descriptions of life in Boston from Murdoch, Gentleman in Boston, pp. 20-29; Frank Wright Pratt, Virgil Drops His Cane: A Story of Boston in the Seventies and the Great Fire (Boston: Christopher Publishing House, 1938); Jane Holtz Kay, Lost Boston (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980).
73 "Some spark snapping outward": Conwell, p. 54.
75 But it was too late: Damrell's testimony. Report of the Commissioners, p. 124.
77 "a malignant recklessness": Harper's Weekly, November 30, 1872.
77 At about 8 P.M., Sarah Putnam: This and subsequent descriptions are from Sarah
Putnam's unpublished diary, entries for November 1872, 1860-1912, Vol. 11,
collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
REFERENCES
78 When Gilman joslin's lecture was interrupted: This and subsequent quotes are from Joslin's letter to his brother Will, November 13, 1872, vertical file, Bostonian Society.
78 ''war dance of the fire-fiends/ Conwell, p. 57. Other lurid descriptions include "Niagara of destruction/' Brayley, p. 275; "lurid light of a burning cauldron," Boston journal November 14, 1872 ; "v/eird, strange dance of the devourer," Chandler d2 Co. 's Full Account.
80 "perfect tinder boxes": Bird's testimony, Report of the Commissioners, p. 522.
80 7 don't understand it today": Damrell's testimony, Report of the Commissioners, p. 114.
82 "A building all dark": Murdoch, Gentleman in Boston, p. 75.
82 "I saw . . . the fire": letter from Oliver Wendell Holmes to John Lothrop Motley, November 16, 1872, cited in John T. Morse, Life and Letters of Oliver Wendell Holmes (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1896), vii, p. 197.
82 footnote on Phillips Brooks: Susan Wilson, Boston: Sites and Insights (Boston: Beacon Press, 1994), p. 81.
84 "I'm sorry to say they were from Cambridge": Eliot's testimony, Report of the Commissioners, p. 377.
84 "Never did a body of men work": Damrell's testimony. Report of the Commissioners, p. 111.
84 "What man could do": Conwell, p. 59.
85 "The fire is destmed to sweep the whole city": Burt's testimony. Report of the Commissioners, p. 387. This and subsequent quotes are from Burt's testimony.
86 General Burt. . . talked a great deal": Gaston's testimony. Report of the Commissioners, p. 562
87 "I was running for my own preservation": George O. Carpenter's testimony. Report of the Commissioners, p. 213.
88 Description of the confrontation between Woolley and Benham: Woolley's testimony, Report of the Commissioners, pp. 161-162. Benham's testimony is rather different; see Report of the Commissioners, pp. 639-641.
91 "She burnt majestically": Brooks, cited by Murdoch, Gentleman in Boston, p. 155.
91 The fire devastated Boston's leather goods . . . industry: F. E. Frothingham, The Boston Fire, Nov. 8th and 10th, 1872: Its History Together with the Losses in Detail of Both Real and Personal Estate (Boston, Lee & Shepard; New York, Lee, Shep-ard & Dillingham, 1873); Augustus Thorndike Perkins, Losses to Literature and Art by the Great Fire in Boston (Boston: David Clapp and Son, 1873).
91 "The ftre leaps": Coffin, p. 16
92 "Dear old church": Boston Journal, November 14, 1872; Murdoch, Gentleman in Boston, p. 91; Chandler cfe* Co.'s Full Account of the Great Fire.
93 "The gas has been shut off": "Letter of Eye-Witness Describes Boston Fire, 64th Anniversary of Which Occurs Next Monday," unidentified newspaper clipping about letter sent by Grace Revere to Lizzie Spooner, November 7, 1936, vertical file, Bostonian Society.
94 "It will be remembered": Coffin, p. 29.
94 "through the ghastly piles": Conwell, p. 104.
94 Sixteen other people . . . were reported killed or missing: Estimates of deaths went as high as thirty. Various newspapers published different lists of the dead or missing. The only firm accounts of deaths are of the firefighters.
95 "I got out my father's old revolver": Murdoch, Gentleman in Boston, p. 119.
96 "The number of tipsy men": Conwell, p. 303.
ZZ6
REFERENCES
96 ''What's the use of having": Murdoch, Gnetleman in Boston, p. 120.
96 "The sun went down": Henry Ward Beecher, cited in Chandler 62 Co.'s Full Account of the Great Fire.
97 "a very self-satisfied lot": Daily Patriot, Concord, New Hampshire, November 14, 1872.
97 "hardly had time to take a breath": J.W. Black, The Philadelf?hia Photographer, Vol. 9, No. 108, December 1872, cited by Novack, Photography and the Great Fire of November 1872., title page.
97 "Well, it's gone": Patrick Donahoe, Chandler 62 Co. 's Full Account of the Great Fire.
98 "True, there were numerous instances": Chandler 62 Co. 's Full Account of the Great Fire. 98 The mayor of Chicago: Frothingham, p. 14.
98 Harriet Beecher Stowe contributed: Conwell, p. 290.
98 "It would have been well": Chandler 62 Co.'s Full Account of the Great Fire, p. 46.
98 "There don't seem to be any sick horses around": Saturday Evening Express, November 16, 1872.
99 7 have been to oakum fires": Damrell's testimony, Report of the Commissioners, p. 114
100 "This danger had been foreseen": Report of the Commissioners, p. vi.
101 "brought into use many devices": Charles S. Damrell, "How the Fire Department Met the Crisis," Current Affairs, October 30, 1922, p. 32.
101 "Could it happen againl" Interview with John Vahey.
102 "John Damrell, though castigated": See resolutions passed by a convention of fire engineers on November 22, 1872, which stated "that the ability, coolness, indomitable courage and perseverance displayed by Chief Engineer John S. Damrell.. . merits our .. . earnest and unqualified approbation." The engineers also called the use of gunpowder ineffectual. Brayley, p. 283.
102 "He has been conceded": Boston Transcript, November 4, 1905.
CHAPTER 6 TWICE BURNED IN CHELSEA
103 "Notify Newton Control": Interview with Herbert C. Fothergill, December 2002.
104 Background on the 1908 fire: Lyons, Fire in America; Chelsea Fire Department 1908 fire report, April 12, 1908.
104 "as dead as Chelsea": Pratt, p. 15.
105 "The consequence was": The Underwriters' Bureau of New England, "Report No. 118 on the Chelsea Conflagration of April 12, 1908," p. 5.
106 One of the last companies to leave their post: Charles R Haywood tells this story of the Lynn fire department in General Alarm, pp. 63-65.
107 "It seemed as if everyone tried first:" Pratt, p. 44.
107 The parade of people and possessions: Ibid., pp. 55-58.
108 In the People's AME Church: Boston Advertiser, April 13, 1908, scrapbook in Drukman collection, Bostonian Society.
108 "The flames seemed determined": unidentified newspaper clipping, "Flames Cut Swath Through Chelsea, scrapbook, collection of Herbert Fothergill.
108 "The fire brooked no interferences": Ibid.
109 "The wails of hundreds of parents": Pratt, p. 64. 109 EU C Bliss: Ibid., pp. 58-59.
112 President Theodore Roosevelt telegraphed: Ibid, p. 104.
114 "The residents of Chelsea": Ibid., p. 148.
114 Fire Chief Herbert Fothergill: Interview with Fothergill.
REFERENCES
116 Eyewitness accounts of the i97^ fre: December 2002 interviews with former Chelsea chief Fothergill and retired firefighters William Coyne and Leo Graves. Background information fromf/>e Command!, December 1973; Henry T. Hanson, "Conflagration Rages Through Chelsea Mass/' Fire Engineering, December 1973; "The Great Chelsea Fire of 1973," special section, Chelsea Record, October 28, 1998; special section, Boston Herald, October 21, 1973; and Michael D. Drukman, Conflagration! A Report on the Chelsea, Massachusetts Fire of October 14, 1973 (self-published); Herbert C. Fothergill, "Chelsea Revisited," paper for the Department of Fire Services, October 24, 2000.
120 ''The flames seemed to have an unusual intensity": Drukman, p. 13.
124 'Tf they're going to kill you for a truck": interview with Fothergill; also reported in Chelsea Record, October 28, 1998.
CHAPTER 7 THE COCOANUT GROVE
Primary sources for this chapter include interviews with Charles Kenney (April and October 2002), Jack Deady (November 2002), Martin Sheridan (October 2002), John Ouinn (October 2002), Jane Alpert Bouvier Qanuary 2003), Faddy Noonan (October 2002), and Paul Christian (July and November 2002); also Benzaquin, Fire in Boston's Cocoanut Grove; Keyes, Cocoanut Grove,- Lyons, Fire in America; Austen Lake, Galley Slave (Boston: Burdette and Company, 1965); John Vahey's analysis of the Cocoanut Grove fire, "Design for Disaster" (Boston: Boston Sparks Association, 1982); Robert Moulton, "Looking Back at the Cocoanut Grove," NFPA Report, Fire Journal, November 1982.
127 Veteran firefighter Charles Kenney: Interview with son, retired Boston firefighter Charles C. Kenney.
128 In East Boston . . . John F. Crowley: Details on Crowley's experiences are from his letter to Charles Kenney, August 18, 1991, provided courtesy of Kenney and the Crowley family.
129 How did a club like the Cocoanut Grove: The history of the Cocoanut Grove is based on Keyes, pp. 174-188; Benzaquin; articles by Austen in the Boston Record and Boston American, December 14-31, 1941; and a memorial pictorial section on the fire, Boston Sunday Advertiser, December 6, 1942.
130 "Maybe he prints his own money": Lake, Galley Slave, p. 223.
130 Details on Charles "King" Solomon: Lake, Boston Record and Boston American articles.
131 "The dirty rats got me": Boston Post, May 12, 1934.
132 "the bland, monosyllabic young lawyer": Lake, Boston Evening American, December 17, 1942.
132 "typical American success story": "Barnett Welansky Unmoved by Verdict," Boston Globe, April 11, 1943.
133 "Mayor Tobin and I fit": Testimony by Henry Weene before Reilly commission, December 1942. Tobin promptly issued a statement of denial.
134 Everyone in Boston knew Marty Sheridan: Details of Sheridan's experience from interview with Sheridan, and from his manuscripts "I Am Living on Borrowed Time" and "I Survived the Cocoanut Grove Disaster."
135 Monogram Pictures: This company eventually evolved into Allied Artists.
137 Seventeen-year-old Dotty Myles: Details of Myles's life are from interview with Charles Kenney and from Dorothy Myles, "I Almost Burned to Death," True Experiences, October 1948.
ZZ8
REFERENCES
137 Twenty-one-year-old John Quinn: Details of his experience are based on interview with Quinn; Quinn's personal account in "Inferno at the Cocoanut Grove," Yankee, November 1998, pp. 125-126; letter to Bostonian Society, vertical file.
138 it felt curiously warm: Historians of the fire are puzzled by Sheridan's recollection; it does not seem to fit any known theory of how the fire started.
139 "No one leaves until they ^ay": Benzaquin, p. 34.
140 Behind the bar: Details of Daniel Weiss's experiences are from Benzaquin, p. 58, and from Judy Bass, "No Way Out," Boston Magazine, October 1992, p. 79.
143 Saxophonist At Willet: Bass, pp. 79, 108.
145 Details of the response of the Boston Fire Department: Accounts in Benzaquin and Keyes; Boston Fire Department records; interview with Charles C. Kenney.
148 Coast Guardsman Clifford Johnson: Johnson's story is told in great depth in Benzaquin, pp. 153-184, and in Keyes, pp. 247-277.
150 Cluh staffers even helped Lieutenant Murphy: For Murphy's recollections, see "30th Anniversary of the Cocoanut Grove," Boston Advertiser, November 23, 1972.
150 "Collins couldn't figure out": "Last Dance at the Cocoanut Grove," NFPA Journal, May/June 1991, p. 8. Firefighter George "Red" Graney also encountered bodies in strange death poses, as described in Bass, p. 105, and other accounts.
152 Descriptions of victims' appearance: Francis Moore, A Miracle and a Privilege: Recounting a Half Century of Surgical Advances (Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, 1995) pp. 62-63.
152 "But their flowers aren't even burned": Thomas H. Coleman, "A Hush on the Brick Corridor," Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin, Winter 1991/92, p. 15.
152 Dr. Francis Moore . . . saw a naval officer: Moore, p. 62.
152 a patient was arriving every eleven seconds: Moulton, NFPA Report, p. 7.
153 At MGH medical history was made: Oliver Cope, "End of the Tannic Acid Era," Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin, Winter 1991/92.
153 Dr Thomas Risley: "Infemo at the Cocoanut Grove," Yankee, p. 126.
154 While waiting for treatment: Joe Derrane recalls Myles talking about this incident.
155 Busboy Tony Marra: Benzaquin, pp. 59-60. 157 It was Ah Bass, p. 108.
157 A quirk saved Dr Joseph Dreyfus: Charles C. Kenney interview with Dreyfus. 157 "At his funeral": "Vinal Honors to Buck Jones," Boston American, December 8, 1942.
157 a hit of Hollywood hype: "Final Honors to Buck Jones," Boston American, December 8, 1942.
160 the six companies . . . paid out only $2Z,4Z0: Marty Sheridan, "Repercussions of Grove Fire Still Being Heard in Courts," Boston Globe, November 28, 1943.
160 Details on Philip Deady: Interview with Deady's son. Jack Deady.
160 "The fire has revealed a weakness": "Pastors Blast Officials in Fire" Boston Evening American, December 7, 1942.
160 John "Knocko" McCormack: interview with Jack Deady.
161 Ouotes from Callahan and Doyle: "Jury Will Debate Grove Case," Boston Record, April 10, 1943, and other contemporary newspaper accounts of the trial.
164 "suffered the tortures of the damned": Charles C. Kenney, "Cocoanut Grove Bus-boy's Legacy of Pain and Suffering," Middlesex News, December 3, 1995.
ZZ9
REFERENCES
164 "Much of the doth": William Arthur Reilly, fire commissioner, "Report concerning the Cocoanut Grove/' November 28, 1942, p. 43. 164 "This fire will he entered": Ihid, p. 48.
164 "After exhaustive study": Official finding by State Fire Marshal Stephen C. Garrity, November 8, 1943.
165 Nazi saboteurs: Lake, Galley Slave, p. 217.
166 Methyl chloride theory: Interview with Charles C. Kenney.
166 In 1996 Doug Beller: Doug BeUer and Jennifer Sapochetti, "Searching for Answers
to the Cocoanut Grove Fire of 1942/' NFPA Journal May/June 2000. 168 The classic example: Benzaquin, pp. 149-152; Keyes, p. 259. 168 "I vcant a mirror": Myles, "I Almost Burned to Death/' p. 56. 170 "There's nothing to vc^orry about": Void., p. 58.
172 "people must come out of had experiences": "After 18 Years Singer Recalls Cry of Tire' at Cocoanut Grove/' New York World Telegram and Sun, December 27, 1960.
173 After the fire Mickey Alpert: Interview with Alpert's daughter, Jane Alpert Bou-vier.
173 Timothy Leary: The medical examiner who examined Cocoanut Grove victims was also named Timothy Lear/.
174 Fifty years after the fire: Sandy Coleman, "Tragedy is commemorated: Ceremony at Cocoanut Grove site sees bittersweet reunion," Boston Globe, November 29, 1992; Joe Heaney, "Cocoanut Grove 50-year ceremony set," Boston Herald, November 27, 1992.
CHAPTER 8 DEATH IN THE VENDOME
176 Eyewitness accounts from interview with retired firefighter James McCabe, January 2003. Background information from an interview with Richard Magee, cited in "The Day Boston Cried," by Steve Buckley, Yankee, June 1997.
178 Background on the Vendome building and fire fighting response from "Without Warning: A Report on the Hotel Vendome Fire June 17, 1972," by John Vahey, district fire chief, from Boston Fire Department archives; "The Vendome Fire," NFPA Fire Record Department, September 1972.
180 One early arrival was Richard B. Magee: Interview with Magee's son, Richard B. Magee, district fire chief, January 2003.
181 Another early arriver: Buckley, p. 68.
181 "there were shouts of encouragement": Tom Berube, "Firefighter Never Doubted
Rescue," Record American, June 19, 1972. 184 A department chaplain: Buckley, p. 68.
184 Frances Dolan wept: "City Mourns Firefighters," Record American, June 19, 1972. 184 "He never got over the Trumbull Street fire": Ibid.
187 7 embrace this": John Damrell letter, courtesy of Commissioner Paul Christian.
188 Background on Luongo Restaurant and Trumbull Street fires: Boston Fire Department Web site, wrww.ci.boston.ma.us/bfd/.
188 "Depends on your point of view": Interview with Leo Stapleton, December 2002.
CHAPTER 9 MR. FLARE AND THE RING OF FIRE
192 As early as 16^2: Brayley, p. 6. 192 gang of "fire bugs": Ibid., p. 14.
REFERENCES
192 ''Ah Boston'': Cannon, p. 59.
192 his ears were lop>p>ed off: Ibid., p. 60.
192 "A Negro woman": Brayley, p. 21; Seaburg, p. 123.
193 "Red Roosters": various articles in Boston Herald and Boston Post, April 15, 1916.
193 Background on the Symphony Road fires: Harvey Schmidt, "'Boston's Neighborhood Arson Fighters," International Association of Fire Chiefs, April 1978, p. 6; Steve Slade, "Arson: Business by Other Means," The Nation, October 1977, p. 307; Joseph P. Blank, "They're Burning Our Neighborhood!" The Reader's Digest, October 1978, p. 131; James Brady, "Arson Urban Economy, and Organized Crime: The Case of Boston," Social Problems, October 1983, p. 1-27.
194 Mortgage-holding banks: Mark Zanger, "South Boston Saving Bank Fiddles While Boston Burns," Real Payer, April 22, 1978.
194 "Maybe an owner does hire a torch": Slade, p. 308; Brady, p. 18.
194 "initially most p>eop>le refused to believe": Cited by Brady, p. 18.
195 Background on First Security Services and subsequent legal action: Interview with Larry Curran (January 2003); James M. Connolly, "Busted in Boston," Firehouse, August 1982, p. 33.
196 Boston, a city with a long tradition: Michael Blanding, "Some Like It Fiot," Boston Magazine, March 2001; Flarry Belknap, "The Box 52 Association: A Unique Boston Organization," Fire and Water Engineering, December 3, 1924; Paul Ditzel, "USA's No. 1 Fire Fan," Firehouse, May 1983; interviews with Ted Ger-ber (July and November 2002), Frank W. Fitzgerald Jr. (March 2003), and Elliot Belin Qanuary 2003).
196 "that great fraternity": "I Discovered the Chelsea Fire," undated newpaper clipping from Herbert Fothergill collection.
197 "Suddenly a huge sheet of flame": "'Huge Flames' Belched 15 Feet to Street," Boston Globe, November 29, 1942.
197 "Fires are fascinating": Paul Benzaquin, "Fire Buff Ben Ellis Was at Scene," Boston Globe, Januar)^ 13, 1960; also Lawrence Dame, "'Spark' Working At Hobby Is Happy Citizen," Boston Herald, Octoberl7, 1948.
198 Details on Gregg Bemis's life: Christopher Whipple and Enrico Ferarelli, "Fire Starters: The Strange Tale of the Men Who Tried to Burn Down Boston," Life, April 1985; William E Doherty, "Man Accused of Arson Says Fires Helped Tregor Bill Pass," Boston Globe, November 15, 1984.
199 Details on the 1980s arson fires and background on the suspects: Interviews with Wayne Miller (February 2003), Stephen McLaughlin (February 2003), Elliot Belin Qanuary 2003), and Leo Stapleton (December 2002); "A Ring of Fire," Boston Magazine, November, 1984; "Who's Burning Boston^" Boston Magazine, December 1982; Paul Teague "Big Bust in Beantown," Firehouse, October, 1984; "Boston Fires an Omen for All Cities," US News and World Rcf^ort, February 7, 1983; contemporary news articles in the Boston Globe and Boston Herald.
201 "At first, it did notaf?pear": Stapleton, Commish, p. 10.
202 the work of vandals or thrill-seeking juveniles: Jahnke, "Who's Burning"; Frank Mahoney, "Comr. Paul Fears Major Arson Problem Developing," Boston Globe, August 22, 1982.
203 "We were going crazy": Interview with Wayne Miller.
205 fire destroyed the Fourth Street headquarters: Paul Ditzel. "Boston Sparks Burned
Out," Firehouse, May 1983, p. 56. 205 "the light came on slow": Interview with Stephen McLaughlin.
REFERENCES
208 the judge said he was puzzled: Andrea Estes, "Officer Gets 12 Yrs. in Hub Arson Spree," Boston Herald, July 7, 1984.
208 7 was naturally bitter": Paul Teague, "A Victim of the Torches," Firehouse, October, 1984, p. 2.
209 "Every little one": Interview with Stephen McLaughlin.
209 7r was a fantastic fire": Bemis's testimony, cited in Beverly Ford, "Accused Torch Bragged of $13.5 M Fire: Witness," Boston Herald, November 10, 1984.
210 Stackpole was found guilty: Two other men were charged in connection with the conspiracy: Mark Svendbye received three years in prison and Chris Damon received five years probation, according to law enforcement officials.
210 "These guys acted like fire was a football game": Interview with Elliot Belin.
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
Images in jacket montage: top, Chelsea in flames, from the collection of Herbert C. Fothergill, courtesy of Mr. Fothergill; lower right, rescue from the Cocoanut Grove, from the collection of Bill Noonan, courtesy of Mr. Noonan, the Boston Public Library, and the Boston Herald; lower left, firefighters at the Vendome Hotel fire, Kevin Cole photo, courtesy of the Boston Herald. Im.age on back of jacket: "Boston in Flames," Currier & Ives lithograph of the Great Fire of 1872, courtesy of The Bostonian Society/Old State House.
Endpapers illustration by Jeffrey M. Walsh; pp. vi, 11, courtesy of Boston Public Library; pp. 7, 31, 43, 73, 79, 88, 89, 90, 91, courtesy of The Bostonian Society/Old State House; pp. 8, 37, courtesy, CIGNA Museum and Art Collection; p. 14, courtesy of American Antiquarian Society; pp. 17, 22, 27, courtesy of Nancy Lusignan Schultz; p. 38, from the collection of Edward R. Tufts, courtesy of Mr. Tufts; p. 41, from the collection of J. Richard Hunneman, Jr., courtesy of Mr. Hunneman; pp. 49, 59, 63, The Fireman's Herald, 3 April 1902, courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society; pp. 65, 99, 172, 189, 190, photos by Stephanie Schorow; pp. 68, 76, 92, Russell Conwell, History of the Great Fire in Boston, 1873; p. 81, 95, "Carleton," The Story of the Great Fire, 1872; pp. Ill, 112, postcards from the collection of the Stephanie Schorow; p. 110, Walter Merriam Pratt, The Burning of Chelsea, 1908, image provided courtesy of the Somerville (Mass.) Public Library; p. 113, courtesy of the Boston Herald; pp. 118, 122, 124, from the collection of Herbert C. Fothergill, courtesy of Mr. Fothergill; p. 123, Stanley Samson photo, courtesy of the Boston Herald; p. 133, from the collection of Kathy Alpert, courtesy of Ms. Alpert; p. 133 inset, from the collection of Jack Deady, courtesy of Mr. Deady; p. 135, from the collection of Martin Sheridan, courtesy of Mr. Sheridan; p. 144, courtesy of the Boston Herald, Bill Noonan, and the Boston Public Library; pp. 145, 146, 149, 180, 183, 201, 206, from the collection of Bill Noonan, courtesy of Mr. Noonan; p. 156, copyright, 1942, the Globe Newspaper Co.; republished with permission of Globe Newspaper Company, Inc.; p. 158, illustration by Jeffrey M. Walsh; p. 162, courtesy of Bill Noonan and the Boston Public Library; p. 165, courtesy of APAVide World Photo; p. 171, from the collection of Charles Kenney, courtesy of Mr. Kenney; p. 185, Kevin Cole photo, courtesy of the Boston Herald; p. 204, Joanne Rath photo, courtesy of the Boston Herald; p. 209, Jim Mahoney photo, courtesy of the Boston Herald.
Italic page numbers refer to illustrations. Adams, Samuel, 11, 12, 92 Alarm(s). See Fire alarm(s); Fire alarm boxes
"All out" (code 22-22), 66, 124 Alpert, George, 129-30, 173 Alpert, Mickey (Milton Irving), 129,
134, 151, 157, 159, 173 American Fire Alarm Telegraph, 56-57,
61. See also Fire alarm system Amoskeag Manufacturing Company,
43, 46 Kearsarge No. 3, 80, 91 Amsterdam, Netherlands, 8 Animal Rescue League, and 1908
Chelsea fire, 114 Annexation, and fire alarm system, 59,
66
Anti-Catholic bias. See Catholicism
Anti-Irish sentiment, and Ursuline Convent fire of 1834, 13, 18, 23 Broad Street Riot and, 25-26 criminal convictions and, 26 fire department membership and, 40 See also Irish immigrants
Antismoking rules, 6
Arson
in 1916, 193
in 1970s and 1980s, 191-211 cause of 1679 fire, 6, 192 complaints of STOP, 194-95, 196 in early Boston, 6, 192-93 in Fenway neighborhood, 193-96 and firefighters injured, 200, 204-5,
208, 210 for-profit, 191, 193-96 increase in 1982, 200-2 investigation into, 195-96, 202-8 methods for, 196, 202 motives for, 193, 196
Proposition 2 V2 cutbacks and, 200 See also Arsonist(s); "Mr. Flare"
Arsonist(s)
Fraine, Francis ("Frankie Flame"),
195-96 Lincoln, George W., 195 photographers' rule for, 193, 196,
205-6 "Red Roosters," 193 See also "Mr. Flare"
Atkins, Thomas, 8
Auxiliary firefighters, 123, 198, 199
Bean and Scott, 43 Beck, Chelsea Mayor John E., 112 Beecher, Rev. Lyman, 15, 18, 89, 97 Belin, Elliot ("Captain Flame"), 198, 210-11
Bell, Alexander Graham, 62, 63, 64 Bellflower Street Fire (Dorchester), 215 Bellotti, Mass. Atty. Gen. Francis X.,
194, 195, 196 Bemis, Gregg, 198-200, 203, 205, 206,
208, ZO9, 210 Benham, Gen. Henry W., 86, 88-89 Benzaquin, Paul, 144 Berman, Jack, 129, 130 Bodenhorn, Reuben, 129, 157, 161 Boston's Common Council, 69 Boston Blacking Company, 105 Boston City Hospital (BCH), 144, 148,
152, 169, 170 Boston Common
fire of 1872 and, 77-78, 96
musters at, 39, 40 Boston Fire Department
Cocoanut Grove Fire and, 126, 160
established, 12
most devastating loss at Vendome, 84
233
Boston Fire Department (cont.) rapid response system of, 49 See also sjpecific fires and fire p^ersonnel Boston Fire Museum, 211 Boston Fire Society, 8, 9 Boston Globe, 155, 156, 168 Boston Herald, 155, 213 Bostonian Society, 62n Boston Pilot Building, 79 Boston Sparks Association, 197, 200,
205,2(7^,210-11 Boston Town Fiouse, 8 Brayley, Arthur W., 6, 25, 26, 192 Brazen Head, site of 1760 fire, 10 Broad Street Riot of 1837, 24-29, 39.
See also Ursuiine Convent Brooks, Rev. Phillips, 82n, 89, 90-91 Bucket brigades, 2, 12, 34, 36, 41 Building codes, 101, 166, 167, 216. See
also Rules and regulations Bulfinch, Charles, 12 Burning of Chelsea, The (Pratt), 107 Burning of the Convent, The (Whitney), 28 Burn treatment, 153, 163 Burt, William L., 85-86, 92, 94, 101 Bushnell, Mass. Atty. Gen. Robert, 159,
16,1, 162
Buzzell, John R., 16, 19, 20, 21, 23-24, 27
Callahan, Herbert F., 132, 161 Cannon, Dr. Bradford, 153 Capistran, Dep. Chief Bill "Cappy,"
119, 125 Cathedral of the Holy Cross, 28 Catholic archdiocese, 24 Catholic Cathedral (Boston), 23 Catholicism
biases against, 13-15, 18, 24
sermons against, 89 Charming, William Ellery, 51 Charming, William Francis, 48, 49
death of, 64
life ambitions of, 50-51, 60 See also Farmer, Moses Gerrish; Fire alarm system; Gamewell Charitable Fire Society, 32 Charlestown, Massachusetts, 15-23, 29 Chelsea Fire of 1908, 104-115, 120, 121, 125 Box 215, 105
buildings bumed during. 111, 112, 113
cause unknown, 114
deaths resulting from, 104, 112
estimated damages from, 104, 112
oil hazard, 105, 109-10
and out-of-town firefighters, 106-7
"rag district," fire risk, 105-6
railroad tracks, as fire break, 109, 111
Spencer, Fire Chief Henry A., 104,
105, 110,111 See also Pratt, Walter Merriam Chelsea Fire of 1973, 103-4, 116-25 Box 215, 116
Capistran, Dep. Chief Bill "Cappy,"
119, 125 cause unknown, 124 City Hall, 120, 121, 125 Coyne, Dep. Chief William, 116-17,
119, 120-23, 125 estimated damages from, 124-25 fire station, 121, 125 Fothergill, Fire Chief Herbert C,
103-4, 114-15, 117, 119-25, 122 Fothergill's car, 117, 120-21, 124 Graves, Fireman Leo, 119, 121, 122,
125
low water pressure in, 120-22 multiple alarms for, 116-17 oil hazard, 120
and out-of-town firefighters, 117,
121, 122-23 same path as 1908 fire, 120 Williams School in, 120, 124, 125 Chicago fire of 1871, 67, 69-70, 75, 80,
94, 97, 98, 102 Chimney fires, in early Boston, 4 Church bells, as fire alarms, 49, 54, 60 Cisterns, 12
Claflin, Gov. William, 63
Claflin Guards, 94
"Cocoanut Grove Law," 167
Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire, 126-75 alarms for, 128, 147 ball of flame, 141, 159 Box 1521, 146, 147 building layout, 133-34, 158 cause debated, 126, 139, 164-67 and combustible furnishings, 129, 133, 139, 140, 163-64
234
Crowley. Dist. Chief Daniel, 128,
145, 147 deaths resulting from, 143-44,
146-47, 150-52, 155, 157, 159, 168 faulty wiring and, 133, 164, 165, 166 and firefighters, 144-48, 150-51 and football game patrons, 127 hospitals involved in, 144, 148,
152- 53, 163, 167, 169, 170 indictments, 161 investigation into, 159-60 items not bumed, 149, 164-65 lights out during, 140, 141
and locked exit doors, 131, 139, 141,
143, 162, 166 Melody Lounge as origin of, 139,
140
memorial plaque for, 174 occupancy limit and, 134, 138 panic during, 142-43, 155, 161-62 Prohibition and, 127, 129, 130, 131, 134
pungent smoke odor in, 141, 143,
150, 163 remodeling prior to, 129-30 rescues, 144, 146-48, 151, 197 revolving doors and, 139-40, 141,
143, 166 rollback roof and, 130, 150 route of, 139, 144, 159 Solomon, Charles "King," 130-31 speed of, 139, 144, 165 streets abutting, 134, 141, 142, 143,
146-48, 150 survivor stories, 140-42, 153-54,
155, 156-57, 159 trial for, 160-63
underworld and, 131, 132, 160-61, 167 See also Alpert, Mickey; Cocoanut Grove survivors; Cocoanut Grove victims; Jones, Buck; Kenney, Charles; Myles, Dotty; Sheridan, Martin: Tomaszewski, Stanley; Welansky, Barnett Cocoanut Grove survivors, 140-42,
153- 54, 155, \56-57 Dreyfus, Joseph, 137, 157 Dunlap, Scott, 153-54, 172 Johnson, Clifford, 148, 170-71 KeUey Joseph E, 159
KeUey, Joseph R, 159, 166 Luby, Marion, 138, 140, 170 Marra, Tony, 155-56, 174 Quinn, John, 137-39, 140, 141-42, 170 Siegel, Henrietta, 157, 172 Vient, Dick, 137-38, 140, 170 Weiss, Daniel, 140, 150 Whitehead, Gerry, 137-38, 140,
141-42 Willet, Al, 156-57, 172 See also Kenney, Charles; Myles,
Dotty; Sheridan, Martin Cocoanut Grove victims Andrews, Lynn, 155 Balzarini, Frank, 155 Dreyfus, Adele, 161 Fazioli, Bemie, 155 Fitzgerald, four sons of Mary, 155 Gattuma, Francis, 168 Gebhard, Charles (Buck Jones), 13>^,
135-37, 153, 154, 157-58 Goodelle, Goody 138-39, 155 Johnson, Clifford, 148, 170-171 Jones, Buck, 135-37, 151, 153, 154,
157, 159
O'Neill, John and Claudia, 137, 155
servicemen, 155
Shea, Tiny, 138, 155
Sheridan, Connie (Mrs. Martin), 137, 141, 168
Swett, Katherine, 133, 150, 155
Viator, Stanley, 148
WAVES, 155 Coffin, Charles Carleton, 89, 93 Comtnish (Stapleton), 201 Competitions. See Musters Conflagration, 103, 105, 215, 216
definition of, 103
See also Chelsea Fire of 1908;
Chelsea Fire of 1973; Fire of 1760; Great Fire of 1872 Contests. See Musters Convent fire of 1834. See Ursuline
Convent Conwell, Russell H., 73 Cope, Dr. Oliver, 153, 163 Copley, John Singleton, 91 Comhill Row, 1-2, 10 Coyne, Dep. Chief William, 116-17, 119, 120-22, 125
235
CranC; Moses, 58
Crowley, Dist. Chief Daniel, 128, 145, 147
Crowley, Gerard, 214
Crowley, John E, 128, 129, 150-51,
174, 129, 214 Curran, Larry, 195, 196 Currier & Ives, 32, 79 Currier, Nathaniel, 3-/, 32 Cutter, Edward, 17, 22
Damrell, Charles, 101
Damrell, Chief Eng. John Stanhope
compared to Herbert Fothergill, 115
and decision to use explosives, Ib-ll, 85-90, 98, 102n
directing firefighting, 67-72, 74-75, 80, 82-88, 92
Engine Company No. 11, 43, 69
after the fire, 99-102
fire helmets of, 99, 102, 213
and note to fireman's widow, 187
testimony of, lYl-Y^ Dana, David D., 12, 39-40 De Furia, State Police Lt. James, 194, 196 Delano, William E., 84 Ditzel, Paul, 4, 5, 6, 41 Dolan, Fire Marshal Joseph, 194 Dover, Massachusetts, 102, 213 Downtown Crossing, 102 Doyle, Asst. D.A. Frederick T, 162 "Dressed up like a fire engine," 30 Drukman, Michael, 120 Dunbar, Capt. Joseph, 88
East Boston, fire in Luongo Restaurant,
128, 188 Electromagnetism, 53 Eliot, Charles, 82, 83 Eliot, Mayor Samuel, 26-27, 83 Ellery, William, 50 Ellis, Ben, 197 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 51 "Epizootic," and the Great Fire of 1872,
67, 71, 74, 98-99, 102 Explosives, and the Great Fire of 1872,
75, 77, 85-90, 98, 100, 102n
FAIR plan, 195
Faneuil Hall, 6, 23, 60, 85
Farmer, Moses Gerrish, 48, 4^/ 53-64 death of, 64
and electrical engineering, 63 inventions of, 53, 54-55, 63 as mechanical genius, 48, 53 See also Charming, William E; Fire alarm system; Gamewell
Fenwick, Bp. Benedict Joseph, 15
Fiedler, Arthur, 197, 198
Fire, "working," 176, 179
Fire alarm(s)
colonial methods, 49, 60 multiple, 60
See also Fire alarm boxes Fire alarm boxes, 59, 65, Box 52, 67, 100, 196-97 Box 215, 105, 116 Box 1521, 146, 147 in Chelsea conflagrations, 116 color of, 55, 60, 101 as heart of response system, 48-49 instructions inside, 55-56 keyless, 60, 101 locked, 56, 72, 74 mechanics of, 54-56, 60, 65 numbered, 49, 54, 59, 66 "phantom," 66 stolen, 203
telephoned reports and, 65 Fire alarm system, 48-66, 57 in Boston Fire Museum, 211 compensation for invention, 56, 61 computers and, 64-65 cost of original system, 55 first municipal, 48 installation of original system, 55 office, 60, 63>, 65 patent for, 56, 57, 58, 61 recent enhancements, 64-65 sales of, 58
See also Farmer, Moses Gerrish; Charming, William Francis; Gamewell Fire and Roses (Schultz), 18-19 Fire boxes. See Fire alarm boxes "Fire bugs," 6, 192. See also Arsonist(s) Fire clubs
Boston Sparks Assn., 197, 200, 205,
Z06, 211 Box 52 Assn., 196-97
ZS6
Tapper Club, 197,211
See also "Sparks" Fire codes, 167, 216. See also Rules and
regulations Fire districts, 11, 49
creation of, in early Boston, 11
as part of fire alarm system, 54, 59 "Fire engine red," 32 Fire engines
decoration of, 30-32, 36, 57, 43, 46
preservation of old, 47
response time and, 37-38
See also Hand pumpers; Hunneman fire engines Firefighters
auxiliar>', 123, 198, 199
first time paid, 8
and layoffs in 1981, 200
professional, 44, 60
See also Volunteer firefighting; sf^e-cific fires and firefighters Firefighting innovations
aversion to, 34, 41
harness preparation, 44
hoses, 41, 46-47
keyless alarm system, 101
red alarm boxes, 101
suction device, 36
telegraphy, 48
two-way radios, 60, 103-4
wagon for hoses, 36
See also Fire alarm boxes; Fire alarm system Fire horses. See Fiorses Fire of 1653, 5, 34 Fire of 1676, 6, 34 Fire of 1679, 6, 192 Fire of 1711, 2-3, 6, 8,9 Fire of 1760, 10-11 Fire of 1872. See Great Fire of 1872 Fire prevention, 9, 12. See also Building
codes; Rules and regulations Firestorms, in Chelsea, 106, 109, 119 Fire wards, in early Boston, 11,12 First Security Services, 195 Fothergill, Fire Capt. Herbert, Sr., 114-15 Fothergill, Fire Chief Herbert C,
103-4, 114-15, 117, 119-25, Ml Fraine, Francis ( "Frankie Flame"), 195-96
Franklin, Benjamin, 9 "Friday Firebug," 202, 203
Gamewell Company, 61, 65 Gamewell, Frank Asbury, 58 Gamewell, John Nelson, 57-59, 61 Gamewell, Kennard & Co., 58 Gardiner, James M., 59 Garrity, Fire Marshal Stephen, 165 Gaston, Mayor William, 68, 84-85, 86 Gebhard, Charles. See Jones, Buck Goddard, Louisa. See Whitney, Louisa Goddard
Graves, Fireman Leo, 119, 121, 122, 125 Great Fire of 1872, 67-102
advertisements after, 95, 97-98
alarms triggered for, 74
Boston Common in, 77-7Q, 96
Box 52, 67, 101
Brooks, Rev. Phillips, 82n, 89, 90-91 Burt, William L., 85-86, 92, 94, 101 business affected by, 72-73 cause unknown, 73, 99 and Chelsea blaze of 1908, 105 Claflin Guards in, 94 damage estimates for, 94 deaths caused by, 82, 94, 126 districts affected by, 72-73, 88, 94,
97, 102, 212 Eliot, Charles, 83
explosives used in, 75-77, 85-90, 98, 102n
final report on, 99-100 firefighter deaths in, 82 Franklin St., 76
gas supply and, 72, 78, 87, 91-92, 102
Gaston, Mayor William, 68, 84-85, 86 historical plaques for, 100 Holmes, Dr. Oliver Wendell, 81, 96 intoxication following, 96 Kearsarge No. 3 in, 80, 91 looting during, 82, 94 mansard roofs and, 73, 74, 77,
78-80, 79, 97, 100 Old South Meeting House, 90,
92-93, 96, 101 origin of, 73
out-of-town firefighters in, 80, 91 post office, 93, 101
237
Great Fire of 1872 (com.)
Putnam, Sarah, 72, 77, 78, 87. 94-95. 98
Savage, Police Chief E. H., 68, 95
steamers used in, 92-93
water system and, 70, 80, 99, 100, 101
See also Damrell, John Stanhope Greenberg, Amy S., 32 Green, Rev. John Singleton Copley, 89 Groblewski, Robert, 199, 200, 205, 207-8 Gunpowder. See Explosives
"Hallooing fire," 49
Hancock, John, 11
Hand pumpers Boston's last, 43 manufacturers of, 34 preservation of old, 47, 211 "running with the machine" and,
43- 44
transition to steam and, 44-46 See also Hunneman Fire Engine "Hand tub" fire engine, 7, 8, 34-35, 36-37, 41
Harrison, Elizabeth (Sister Mary John), 17-18, 19
Holmes, Dr. Oliver Wendell, 82-83, 96 Holmes, Oliver Wendell Sr., 51 Holzman, Robert S., 38 Hook and ladder companies, 46 Horse distemper. See Epizootic Horses, 44-46
steam engines and, 42, 44 trained for smoke and fire, 71 viewed as equals to firefighters,
44- 45
Hose companies, 46-47
Hotel Vendome. See Vendome Hotel
Howard-Davis, 34
Hunneman and Company, 45
Hunneman Company. See William C.
Hunneman Company Hunneman fire engines, 30-47
hand pumpers, 43, 45-46
names and numbers of, 36, 45-46
patent notice for, 33
prices for, 36-37
quality and design of, 33-34, 45, 46 "Somerville No. 1" (No. 678), 40, 45 steamers, 40, 45, 80
"St. Louis," No. 574, 37
Torrent," 36, 38 Hunneman, John C, 38, 45 Hunneman, Joseph, 45, 46 Hunneman, J. Richard Jr., 47 Hunneman, Samuel Hewes, 38, 45 Hunneman, William C, 32, 35, 45 Hunneman, William Jr., 36, 45
"Ingines," 2, 34
Intercity Mutual Aid radio, 117 Intercity Mutual Aid System, 103 International Association of Fire
Chiefs, 101, 125 Irish immigrants, 14-15 Iroquois Theater (Chicago), 126 Ives, James Merritt, 32
Jacobs, Capt. John, 84, 87 Jeffers Company, 34 John S. Damrell Engine company No. 11, 43, 69. See also Damrell, John Stanhope Johnson, Clifford, 148, 170 John W. McCormack Post Office and
Court House, 100 Jones, Buck (Charles Gebhard), 735/ 151, 153 Boston tour of, 136-37 death at MGH, 153, 154 funeral for, 157, 159 movie career of, 135-36
Kennard, John, 58, 59 Kenney, Charles (junior), 165-66, 172, 174
Kenney, Charles (senior), 127-28, 129, 145, 146-48, 165, 171 hospitalized, 148, 169 last fire call of, 129, 172 legacy of, 174, 214 mourning losses, 127-28
Ladder companies, 46
Lake, Austen, 130, 132, 161, 166
Lane Theological Seminary, 18
Leather buckets, 2
Leslie Company, 34
Lincoln, George W., 195
Linney, Fire Lt. Frank J., 134, 161
238
Lippi, Angelo, 130, 131,. 132, 138
Long Wharf, 4, 10
Looting
in early Boston fires, 3, 8, 9 in Great Fire of 1872, 82, 94
Luongo Restaurant fire (East Boston), 128, 188
Lynn, Massachusetts, 216
McLaughlin, Stephen E., 200, 202, 204, 205, 210
McManus, Dorothy. See Myles, Dotty Magee, Dist. Fire Chief Richard B., 214 Mahoney, Dist. Chief William ]., 155 Mansard roofs, 78-80
of Boston Pilot Building, 79 as contributor to 1872 Bre, 100 flammability of, 74, 77 material and character of, 97 origin of, 73
warnings about, 78-80, 100 Mary John, Sister (Elizabeth Fiarrison), 17-18, 19
Massachusetts Charitable Fire Society, 12
Massachusetts General Fiospital
(MGFl), and Cocoanut Grove fire, 152, 153, 163 Cocoanut Grove victim statistics, 152
medical history made, 153, 163 Mather, Cotton, 1, 3, 5, 6, 192 Mather, Rev. Increase 1, 3, 6 Memorial Hall, 187-88,211 Methyl chloride, and Cocoanut Grove fire, 166
Metzger, Dorothy. See Myles, Dotty Miles Greenv/ood (Boston's first steam
engine), 42 Miller, Wayne, 202, 203, 207 Moffatt, Mary Anne. See St. George,
Sister Mary Edmond Moore, Dr. Francis, 152, 153, 172 Morse, Mary, 1, 2, 3 Morse, Samuel, 48, 52, 53, 55 Mother Superior. See St. George, Sister
Mary Edmond Mount Benedict, 15, 16, 19, 27, 28, 217 "Mr. Flare," and arson in 1970s and
1980s, 191-211
Bemis, Gregg, 198-200, 203, 205,
206, 208, 209, 210 and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms, 202, 203, 207 "Friday Firebug," 202, 203 and gang, 206-7, 209, 210 Gomian, Joseph M., 199, 208, 209, 210 Groblewski, Robert, 199, 200, 205,
207-8
investigator for, 204, 205, 210 Kendall, Leonard A., 208, 210 locations hit by, 200, 203-5, 210 Norton, Ray J., Jr. ("Crazy Ray"),
199-200, 205, 210 note from arsonist, 203, 210 Sanden, Wayne S., 199-200, 205-10,
209
Stackpole, Donald R, 199-200, 206-11 Mullen, John A., 40 Musters, 39, 40, 42, 47 Myles, Dotty (Dorothy Metzger), 137,
Kenney family and, 169, 172
at onset of Cocoanut Grove fire, 142
recovery of, 154, 169-70
rescue of, 147-8
and singing career, 137, 169-70, 172, 213
Mugar, David, 197
National Association of Fire Engineers, 101
National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA), 115, 164, 166, 186 Naumkeag Stream Cotton Company
(Salem, Mass.), 216 New England States Veteran Fireman's
League, 47 New York Fire Department, 214 North Meeting Fiouse, 3, 6 • Norton, Ray J., Jr. ("Crazy Ray"),
199-200, 205, 210 "Nunnery." See Ursuline Convent
Oakum, 2, 98
Old Meeting House, 3
Old Soutii Meeting House, 89, 90, 91,
94, 96, 101, 218 O'Mara, Dep. Chief John, 182
239
Peabody, Elizabeth Palmer, 51
Perkins, Jacob, 35
"phantom boxes," 66
"plug ugly," origin of expression, 38
Post Office Square, 100
Potato Famine, 15
Pratt, Walter Merriam, 107, 109-12, 114 Prohibition, 127, 129, 130, 131, 134 Prudential Tower fire, 215-16 Putnam, J. Pickering, 97 Putnam, Sarah, 72, 77, 78, 87, 94-95, 98
Quincy, Mayor Josiah, 12, 53 Quirk, Bobbie, 128
"Rattle Watch," 9 Red Lion Tavern, 6 "Red Roosters," 193 Reed, Rebecca, 16, 24, 27 Reilly, Commr. William Arthur, 157, 160, 166
Relays, for delivering water, 39, 122 Renard, Jacques, 129 Revere, Paul, 12, 32, 35 Risley, Dr. Thomas, 153 Roach, Dep. Chief William, 121 Rogers, Edwin, 58
Romance of Firefighting, The (Holzman), 38
Roosevelt, Pres. Theodore, 112 Rosin Storage, 106 Roxbury Fire Department, 58 Rules and regulations
in early Bsoton, 5-6
for pyrotechnics, 175
See also Building codes Running cards, 60, 128, 211 "Running with the machine," 30-32, 36, 43-44, 71
Safety codes, 167. See also Rules and
regulations Salem, Mass., 216 Saltonstall, Gov. Leverett, 160 Sanden, Wayne S., 199-200, 205-10,
209
Savage, E. H., 68, 95
Scanlon, Fire Chief Joseph, 216
Schultz, Nancy Lusignan, 18
Scondras, David, 194, 196 Seventeenth-century fire, 7 Sheridan, Gen. Philip Henry, 70, 75 Sheridan, Martin ("Marty"), 134-35,
135, 136-37, 138, 140, 148,
151,160, U2 career return of, 168-69, 173 hospitalization of, 154, 167-68 Shreve, Crump and Low, 83n, 91 Signal box, 59, 65. See also Fire alarm
boxes
"Smoke-eaters," 40, 42 Solomon, Charles "King," 130-31 Somerville, Mass., 27, 28, 217 Sotherden, Howard E., 148, 168-69 South End, 189, 218 "Sparks," 197-99, 205, 210-11, 212, 218 Belin, Elliot ("Captain Flame"), 198, 210-11
comparison to"tuna fleet", 198
Ellis, Ben, 197
famous, 197-98, 211
firefighters' attitudes toward, 197
origin of term, 196
See also Fire clubs; "Mr. Flare" Speaking trumpets, 49 Spelman, Chelsea Mayor Phil, 121 Spencer, Chelsea Fire Chief Henry A.,
104, 105-6, HO, 111 Spero Toy Company, 200, 210 Sprinkler systems, 119-20, 216 Stackpole, Donald R, 199-200, 206-11 Stapleton, Capt. John V., 188 Stapleton, Fire Cmsr. Leo, 188, 201, 214 State House, 6 State Street, 1797 fire, 11 Station, The (rock club), 2003 fire at,
174-75 Steam engines, 41-47
fire of 1872 and, 92-93
development of, 41
first in Boston, 42
horses and, 42, 43, 44
Hunneman, 41, 45, 80
Kearsarge No. 3, 80, 91
opposition to, 41
riot at introduction of, 34
transition from hand-pumpers, 44-46
transition to gasoline-powered, 46
240
St. George. Sister Mary Edmond (Mary Anne Moffatt). 16, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 27
Stickel, Dep. Chief Louis, 147 Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 15, 98 Stuyvesant, Peter, 9
Telegraph, 50, 52-53, 55n, 62. See also Fire alarm system; Morse, Samuel Thaxter, Lucy, 16, 19, 20, 22 Thayer Company, 34, 39, 45 Tobin, Boston Mayor Maurice, 163 Tomaszewski, Stanley
lit match at Cocoanut Grove, 139
stigmatized, 163
testimony of, 164, "Torrent Six," 38 Town House, 6 Tregor Bill, 205 Trmity Church, 96, 101 Trumbull Street fire (South End),
184-85, 188-90 Trumpets, 49 Tufts, Edward R.. 33, 45
Underwriter's Bureau of New England,
105, 114 Union Fire Company, 9 Ursuline Convent, 13, 15-24, 17, 27 ''escaping" nun story, 16-18, 20 fire at, 20-24, 22 rioters at, 19-24 rumors about, 16-20 See also Broad Street Riot; St. George, Sister Mary Edmond; Whimey, Louisa Goddard
Vahey, Dist. Fire Chief John, 101, 179,
186, 190 Vendome Hotel, 1973 fire at Box 1571, 179
building collapse, 181-82, 183 cause unknown, 185 faulty remodeling of hotel. 185-86 fireBghters at, 179-84, 185), 214 firefighters killed at, 184, 214
funeral service after, 184, 185 Keating, Msgr. James, 182-83 McCabe, Lt. James ("Midget"),
176-78, 182-83 Magee, Richard B., 177-78, 180-181,
184
memorial, 178, 189, 190 O'Mara, Dep. Chief John, 182 origin of, 177, 179, 180 Volunteer firefighting
American origins of, 7-9, 49 salaried, transition to, 27, 44, 60 as spirit of America, 31-32
Walsh, John, 151 "Washed engine." 39 Water
in Great Fire of 1872, 70, 80, 99, 100, 101
low pressure in Chelsea fire. 119-20 relays, 39, 122
sprinkler systems. 119-20. 216
See also Cistems Watson, Thomas, 62 Welansky, Bamett, 130-131, 132, 138, 162
owner of Cocoanut Grove, 132-33, 160
sentencing and pardon of, 163 tnal of, 161, 162-63, 217
Welansky, James, 132, 143, 161, 162
Weld, U.S. Atty. WiUiam, 208
Wemer, William, 44
West Warwick, R.I., 174
Whimey, Josiah D., 28
Whitney, Louisa Goddard, 13, 16, 18, 19,21,23, 28,218
William C. Hunneman Company, 32, 45, 46. 47. See also Hunneman fire engine
Wilson, Susan, 82n
Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Company, 216-17
Wooden chinmeys, 4
Wooden rattles, 49
Woolley, Alderman William, 87-88
241
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the expertise and generosit>^ of Boston's firefighters and fire historians. My deepest gratitude goes to my upstairs neighbor Joseph Donnelly, a former Medford deputy fire chief, who opened doors for me into the fire-fighting community. Former firefighter Charles Kenney, an expert on the Cocoanut Grove fire, has been extraordinarily gracious in sharing his research and providing unstinting encouragement; Jack Deady, another Cocoanut Grove expert, has also provided invaluable background and information. Boston Fire Commissioner Paul Christian, an impressive fire historian himself, gave me much-needed guidance; I'll always remember his lecture on the meaning of the word conflagration. Former fire commissioner Leo Stapleton, author of numerous fire books, was an inspiration, as was former district chief John Vahey.
Special thanks go to Boston's Sparks Association and the volunteers at Boston's Fire Museum who donate time and energy to ensure that fire history is preserved. With deepest gratitude I thank Martin Sheridan and John Quinn, who shared their stories of surviving the Cocoanut Grove inferno. When Chelsea firefighters Herb Fothergill, William Coyne, and Leo Graves graciously talked with me about the 1973 fire, I could almost feel the air crackle with heat and sparks. Special thanks go to the extraordinary librarians at the Bostonian Society, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Massachusetts Historical Society. Among the firefighters, fire buffs, and other experts who deserve my thanks are Richard Powers, Ronald Caron, Patrick O'Rourke, James J. McCabe, Richard B. Magee, Bill Noonan, Elliot Belin, Gerard Crowley, Stephen E. McLaughlin, Wayne Miller, Larry Curran, Erik Anderson, Frank W. Fitzgerald Jr., John Esposito, Jay Hughes, Nancy Lusignan Schultz, and Edward R. Tufts. Special mention should go to J. Richard Hunne-man Jr., Earl Doliber, Andy Swift, and all those trying to keep the old "masheens" running. Thanks also to Jane Bouvier Alpert, Kathy Alpert, and Nina Ricci of Gamewell. Special kudos go to Mary Prince for copyediting and cheerleading, to Renee DeKona for her excellent photography and to my editors and fellow scribes at the Boston Herald for their encouragement. Lastly, I must thank Commonwealth Editions publisher Webster Bull and managing editor Penny Stratton for their guidance and expertise, and Peter Cassidy for bringing this project to my attention.
Z4Z
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
