BLACK MONDAY - 1984

They called it Black Monday.

On Aug. 27, 1984, a general alarm fire struck the old Kelsey-Hayes warehouse on West Columbia Street - belching clouds of black smoke and soot across Springfield.

All off-duty firefighters were recalled per general alarm protocol, and Clark County township fire departments sent mutual aid to fill city fire stations.

These photos from the Springfield Daily News are courtesy of retired Lt. Dave Aills of Rescue Company 1.

In the final frame, it appears an ice cream vendor provided refreshments for the spectators.

B&M FIBERGLASS - 1971

Photo: Springfield Fire Division

On Aug. 9, 1971, a fire at the B&M Fiberglass Co. forced Springfield firefighters to "leap for their lives" from the roof. 

"A series of explosions cut them off from their ladders," Captain Calvin Roberds wrote in the 1978 book "From Buckets to Diesels."

The fire at 350 South Fountain Avenue was fueled by resins and solvents and "caused a large number of injuries to firefighters," Roberds wrote.

The blaze also sent a huge plume of smoke over the city.

Firefighters extinguished the flames using master streams and ladder pipes.

WRONG NUMBER

A telephone call for help was wrongly routed to Springfield on March 22, 1952. The caller reported a fire on Massillon Road. That didn't make sense to the dispatcher who politely responded: "This is the Springfield Fire Division." The caller apologized, saying she wanted the Akron Fire Department - 160 miles away. - Associated Press story in St. Petersburg, Florida, Times, March 23, 1952

CROSS STREETS

An Associated Press story printed in newspapers, including the Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg, Virginia, suggests Springfield Fire Division dispatchers may have been among the first in the nation - if not the first - to routinely ask callers "What is your nearest cross street?" to pinpoint emergencies. The story was published Nov. 22, 1961.

LINK TO ARTICLE

RUNS & WORKERS - PART 4

Photo: Allen County Historical Society

- In 1945, fire struck the Milner Hotel in downtown Lima, claiming two lives and causing many injuries. Firefighters were hampered by poor water supply. Catastrophic hotel fires were all-too-common across the U.S. in the 1940s, prompting safety reforms. Maintenance had been neglected during the Great Depression and World Wat Two. Early 20th Century hotel designs also allowed for rapid fire spread with open stairwells.  

-On Jan. 10, 1982, a major fire "burned through the hospital wing" of the Ohio Masonic Home in Springfield, according to the Associated Press. Firefighters were hampered by intense flames inside and frozen equipment outside. The fire injured 30 people, including four firefighters. The facility has a long history. The cornerstone of Ohio Masonic Home’s original building was placed in 1892.

- On Oct. 13, 1946, a refrigerated railroad freight car smashed into the lobby of the Frances Hotel in downtown Springfield, Ohio. There were no serious injuries. The car was one of three that derailed from a New York Central train, according to an Associated Press report printed in the Telegraph newspaper of Nashua, New Hampshire. The accident caused damage estimated at $100,000 by William Wendl, manager of the hotel, according to an AP dispatch in the Baltimore Sun. A wrecking crane removed the car from the lobby.

- The Victoria Advocate, a newspaper in Texas, printed an Associated Press dispatch on May 7, 1960 from Springfield, Ohio: "The guest of honor, Raymond Beaty, was left by himself when a fire interrupted his retirement dinner. But Beaty understood. He was a city fireman for 17 years and his farewell dinner was being held in No.6 Engine House when it was interrupted by a general alarm factory fire."

- On the night of Oct. 21-22, 1958, a "fire bug menace" struck the southside of Springfield, according to an Associated Press dispatch published in the Youngstown Vindicator. Fire Chief Willard Compton said fires were set at Springfield South High School, an autobody shop and four garages. "All available policemen and firemen were called," AP said. 

- On June 2, 1873, the shops of the Springfield Agricultural Works went up in flames. The agricultural works - a plant that encompassed 80,000 feet of floor - ``were almost totally destroyed by fire, just when most needed to get out work for the fall trade,'' according to Beer's 1881 history of Clark County. The shops, which manufactured grain drills, cultivators and cider-mills were ``rebuilt at once.' 

- On April 1, 1905, a freight car from the Detroit Southern Railroad jumped the tracks and smashed into the boiler room at the Thomas Stationary Co., causing the Springfield plant's "huge smokestack to tumble to the ground," according to a dispatch printed in The Hudson Independent newspaper of Hudson, Ohio. There were no serious injuries, but some workers "were prevented with difficulty from jumping from the windows," the dispatch said.

- As crews battled a fire at The Peter A. Boggan Co. on Jan. 11, 1932, a floor collapsed ``endangering the lives of the firemen and the chief who were in the basement,'' The Springfield Daily News reported. They escaped without serious injury from the store, which was located at 34 East Main Street, Springfield.

TWIN GENERAL ALARMS - 1925

On May 12, 1925, Springfield was the scene of two general alarm fires - and when the flames were tamed the citizens of Springfield thanked their firefighters with sandwiches and cigars.

 The first blaze occurred at the Springfield Abattoir Co at Mill Run and Buck Creek. (An abattoir is a slaughterhouse.) The fire broke out at 2 p.m. and the flames destroyed the cowshed and barns, according to the Springfield Daily News. The fire also destroyed some livestock.

The second general alarm fire that day broke out at the Brain Lumber Co. at East and Harrison streets. The initial alarm was transmitted at 7:20 p.m. with the general alarm following 10 minutes later, according to the Daily News.

The newspaper reported the fire started when a thick coating of oil on the surface of Mill Run, paralleling the lumber yard, became ignited from an unknown cause.

Flames shot high into the air, and within a few minutes after the first fire company arrived on the scene, the fire had reached one of the buildings of the lumber company and then quickly spread to the others.

From the Mill Run, the flames first spread to a building in which shingles were stored, and numerous other buildings in which finished and rough lumber was stored, were quickly ignited in turn.

The newspaper estimated that the blaze, which was visible from across the city, attracted between 5,000 and 10,000 spectators.

The fire also destroyed three railroad boxcars loaded with lumber.

Firebrands from the lumber company ignited row house roofs along Harrison Street, and firefighters alternately played their hose lines on the lumber yard and the dwellings. Some of the residents turned their garden hoses on the flames.

The citizens of Springfield showed their appreciation to the firemen and ``baskets of sandwiches and kettles of steaming coffee were served to the men as they worked in the cold hours around midnight,'' the Daily News said.

``Boxes of cigars were also passed out to the firemen by the officials of the Brain Co,'' the newspaper said.