In April 1919, a devastating fire tore through St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys in Baltimore, leaving behind wrecked buildings, injured men, and two dead firemen.
The blaze broke out late in the afternoon, while most of the school’s 850 boys were outside on the grounds.
That timing may have prevented a much greater tragedy. About fifty boys were still inside the buildings when the fire started, but firemen and school workers managed to get them out before the flames spread too far.
The fire began in the roof of the central building and quickly moved into the east wing. A workman’s torch, used during roof repairs, was believed to have sparked the disaster. Once the flames gained strength, firefighters faced another serious problem: low water pressure. For more than an hour, they struggled to get water above the second story as the fire raged through the school.
Two Baltimore fire lieutenants, Howard Davis and John Watson, were killed when a heavy iron beam fell from an upper floor. Fourteen other firemen were injured, along with two people connected with the school.
By the time the fire was brought under control, St. Mary’s Industrial School had suffered an estimated $500,000 in damage, but the loss of life made the disaster far heavier than any dollar amount could show.
$500,000 Baltimore School Fire Kills Two
In a fire that wrecked St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, Baltimore, late yesterday afternoon, two firemen were killed, fourteen others were injured, two persons connected with the school were hurt, and many of the boys in the institution narrowly escaped death or injury.
Damage to the buildings is estimated at $500,000, with insurance of about $500,000.
Of the 850 boys in the school, all but about fifty were playing about the grounds when the fire started at 5 o’clock yesterday afternoon. The boys in the buildings were rescued by firemen and persons connected with the school.
The fire started in the roof of the central building, spreading to the east wing. A winner’s torch used in making repairs to the roof is thought to have been responsible. Low water pressure handicapped the firemen, the flames having raged for more than an hour before it was possible to get a stream of water above the second story of the building.
The dead firemen were Lieut. Howard Davis and Lieut. John Watson, who were struck by a heavy iron beam falling from an upper story.
Source: Evening Star. Washington, D.C. April 25, 1919.
