A serious fire in Toronto in 1899 when buildings were made of combustible materials.
Toronto. In the column, “Image of the Month Series” by Robert Wilson, Bob chose a photo purported to have been taken by Alexander Galbraith. The photo is accompanied by a lengthy article titled, “Alexander Galbraith Began Long Career at Fire Scene”, which begins, “At 11:35 am on Friday, 10 February 1899, fire was noticed in the rear of the Gowans, Kent & Co’s Warehouse at 10-16 Front Street East in Toronto.
“Within a short time, the fire had spread to the top floor and then to the front of the building. The first fire crew to arrive quickly determined that the fire was out of control and sounded the general alarm, bringing the rest of the fire brigade.
“The fire was brought under control in about two hours, but it took the firemen over six hours to finally extinguish it. In their efforts, they used hoses at both the front and rear of the building as well as a water tower erected in the centre of Front Street as seen in the photograph.
“The firemen were hampered in their efforts by dense black smoke, and by sub zero temperatures which froze the water onto everything in the area. The fire destroyed the building, and all the stock held by Gowans, Kent & Co. with estimates of the damage placed at $150,000 to $175,000 for the contents and $20,000 for the buildings.
“Gowans, Kent & Co. immediately moved into 27 Wellington Street West as a temporary location and restocked with ‘a very large quantity of new English goods’ which had been in customs and in their outside warehouses.” …
Bob Wilson’s column in full, plus other articles appear in the issue 23-3 pdf on the free members only DVD/thumb drive. Non-members can join now (see MEMBERSHIP above and at right). Any membership questions? Email our membership secretary Lilianne at member@phsc.ca.
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NB. The title of this post is that of a 1957 song “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis. An ancient song to the smart phone folk but close to home for old geezers like me.
