Shortly before one o’clock in the afternoon, emergency calls rang out from Western Penitentiary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The first reports were alarming enough: prisoners had revolted, buildings were burning, and the prison was in chaos.
Within moments, police reserves were racing toward the scene in automobiles and on motorcycles. Nine fire companies answered the call. A cordon was thrown around the penitentiary, cutting the prison off from the surrounding streets as smoke began pouring into the sky.
Inside, the situation appeared terrifying. Western Penitentiary held somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 inmates, and as the fire spread, prisoners trapped behind bars shouted and screamed for help. Some broke the glass from their cell windows, desperate for air, escape, or rescue.
People standing outside the prison gates could hear the shrieks and groans of men trapped within.
For those outside the walls, only fragments of information came through, carried by motorcycle policemen moving between the prison and headquarters. For those inside, the danger was immediate: flames, smoke, locked cells, and the fear that no one would reach them in time.
5 Riot Alarms Sent Out From Penitentiary
PITTSBURG, Pennsylvania. — Five riot alarms were turned into the police and fire department headquarters from the Western Penitentiary shortly before 1 o’clock this afternoon.
The first reports received were that the prisoners had revolted and had fired the buildings.
Nine fire companies responded to the riot calls.
Police reserves were hurried to the scene in automobiles and by motorcycles.
Telephonic communication between the penitentiary and. The city was cut off shortly after the riot calls were received.
Smoke Pours From Prison
PITTSBURGH. — According to motorcycle policemen, who are bringing messages from the Western Penitentiary, a cordon of police was immediately thrown about the prison when they arrived.
Great volumes of smoke are arising from the penitentiary.
It is said there are between 1,200 and 1,500 prisoners in the penitentiary.
A peep through the prison gates revealed a party of Pittsburgh prisoners who appear to be in great terror of the flames.
Many prisoners have shattered the glass windows and are calling for help as the fire apparently creeps close to their cells.
Persons in the streets distinctly hear shrieks and groans from imprisoned men.
Source: The Alaska Daily Empire. Juneau, Alaska. July 18, 1921.
