21 PERISH IN FIRE AT A COLLEGE.
AT LEAST 11 OTHERS HURT ESCAPING FROM FLAMES AT CANADIAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL.
ONLY ONE VICTIM IDENTIFIED SO FAR.
STUDENTS AND BROTHERS TRAPPED BY FLAMES AS THEY SLEPT.

St. Hyacinthe, Quebec – Twenty-one persons were feared to have died early today in a fire that trapped more than 100 asleep in The College of The Sacred Heart here. The only victim identified was Brother JEAN BAPTISTE, 64, who leaped from one of the school's upper windows and died as he reached a hospital. Police Chief A. BOURGEOIS said six bodies had been reported taken from the still-blazing building and "about 25, maybe 30" persons still were missing.

The editor of the local newspaper said about 20 persons perished inside the school besides the brother.

21 In Hospital

Five brothers and 16 students were in St. Charles hospital. Four of them were reported in dangerous condition from injuries suffered in jumping from the four-story building or from exposure. The fire's origin was not determined. Apparently it had been burning at least 30 minutes when a passerby saw the flames.

The occupants were warned immediately and an alarm spread.

At noon firemen still were pouring water from 15 hose lines into the blazing wreckage, but made little progress in extinguishing it. They had not been able to get into the building to begin the search for bodies and said it "might be hours" before they could.

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Montreal, Canada – Seven persons were known dead after a fire swept the College of the Sacred Heart, a boarding school for boys at St. Hyacinthe, Que., and the town's chief of police said "about 25, or maybe 30" still were missing hours after the building had collapsed.

Police Chief A. BOURGEOIS said six bodies had been taken from the ruins of the school, operated by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, and doctors reported another died later in a hospital. About 22 others were taken to the hospital, most of them in night clothes, through sub-zero weather.

The ruins of the school, on the outskirts of St. Hyacinthe, 35 miles east of Montreal, were being searched for more bodies. About 160 students attended the institution, which had a faculty of approximately 50.

Fought Fire 3 Hours

The fire chief said the blaze broke out about 2 a.m. and that his men had fought the flames for more than three hours before searchers could get near enough to look for bodies. Volunteer firemen aided the regular force. Some of the students were taken to nearby farm houses and police said on this account it was difficult to check quickly the number of dead.

As word of the fire spread through the town of 14,000 population, private cars began appearing at the scene and their occupants started digging through the debris, seeking to recover the dead. Every member of the hospital staff was called into emergency duty shortly after the first ambulance arrived with loads of injured. Travel over the snow and ice-coated roads was difficult for the ambulances.

Four Brothers Missing

Col. P. A. PULZE, head of the Quebec Provincial Police, said police at St. Hyacinthe had reported four members of the Order of the Sacred Heart, brothers in charge of the institution, were among those known dead. One was killed when he jumped from an upper story.

Col. PULZE said his reports were that "about 24" were missing. He added definite count of the dead was impossible until a thorough check could be made at the school and at St. Charles Hospital, in St. Hyacinthe, where most of the injured were taken.

BUFFALO, NY – The company is located at the corner of Tonawanda and Martin Streets. (now Progressive Ave.) It is surrounded by several large lumber yards. Outside the danger from the lumber yards along the riverfront, the district is entirely free from inflammable material. The section is purely residential.  The firehouse itself is a brick structure, two and one-half stories high, with a large tower in the rear for the purpose of drying hose after returning from fires.  The building was built in 1894 and went into service in 1895. It is one of the best firehouses in the city and also one of the newest. 

In the house are stationed two wagons, one the heavy engine and the other the hose cart. The former is of the Sibly pattern, and has a pumping capacity of 700 gallons of water a minute. This engine is an old one. It has seen some heavy service in the department and is about to be replaced by a new one. The fire commissioners have had the matter under consideration for some time, and have reported that they will replace the old engine by a new inside of a month. This good news was received by the firemen with many manifestations of joy. The hose wagon is also an old one. It is a neat cart and somewhat lighter than the average hose wagon.   The engine is drawn by three large horses, two blacks and a sorrel. Their names are "Tom", "Dick" and "Harry." The hose cart is drawn by two splendid grey horses. The names of these are "Gaston" and Alphonse." 

Captain John H. Mack has charge of Engine Company No. 26. Captain Mack has been connected with the Buffalo Fire Department for the past 19 years. He has seen service with almost all the houses in the city and has a reputation in the fire business that any man could be proud of. Mr. Mack became a fireman in 1883. He was appointed to the position of fireman with hose company No. 1, when the latter company was headquartered on High Street. In April of 1892 he was promoted to captain of Engine No. 7, transferred to Engine No. 13, then transferred to Engine No. 26 in 1900.  The lieutenant is Peter J. Donovan, who has been 20 years in service with the Department.

The names of the other eight men employed in the house are as follows: Engineer, Hugh J. Dowd; assistant engineer, Michael McNamara; Engine Driver, William Smith; Hose Driver, Daniel Quinn; Firemen, Thomas Carroll, Michael Mulcahy, Timothy J. Blewett and Joseph Shear.

O'FALLON, IL – Fireman Henry P. Schwarz was born on September 19, 1887 in Kansas City, Missouri. His father died before he was born and his mother died shortly after. He was adopted by Matthias and Caroline Schwarz of O'Fallon, Illinois. The Schwarz family owned a furniture business that had a sideline in funeral undertaking. At the age of 13, Henry became licensed as an embalmer, the youngest in the State of Illinois. He practiced his profession for 45 years at the Schwarz Furniture and Undertaking Company. From his obituary: "He once operated the old Taylor Opera House where early motion pictures such as "The Birth of a Nation" were shown during World War I. Mr. Schwarz retired from the O'Fallon Fire Department after 40 years service in May 1946.

BOSTON, MA – Died during the collapse of floors at 347-357 Cambridge Street, 3 alarms Box 1356, (Cambridge & Charles Streets) which was sounded at 0257 hours, 0300 hours and 0322 hours. They both died of multiple injuries, Hoseman Willett was dead on arrival at Massachusetts General Hospital and Hoseman Walsh was dead when he was found several hours later. Hoseman McCarthy was severely injured. Hoseman Willett had 9 years and Hoseman Walsh had 6 years of service.

CHICAGO, IL –Chicago was nothing more than a little frontier village during its beginning days with roughly six frame buildings and a population estimated at one hundred and fifty. The first building erected in 1831 was a tavern. Mark Beaubien was the proprietor and he named his establishment the “Sauganash Tavern”. Most dwellers lived along the south bank of the Chicago River on South Water Street. The city boundaries were Ohio Street on the north, Jefferson on the west, Jackson on the south and on the east it was State Street south of the river; Lake Michigan north of the river. The Sauganash Tavern remained the social center of Chicago until March of 1851, at which time a fire caused its closure.

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The history of Louisville’s Fire Department begins in 1780; only two years after the city came into existence. Having begun with a mere handful of settlers Louisville soon recognized its need for fire protection. Accordingly, the first fire brigade was initiated in 1780 in order to meet the demands of a growing population. Records provide no evidence of major blazes at this time; indeed, the city had scarcely developed past the possibility of minor fires involving little damage of property. Nevertheless, our ever-practical ancestors realized that threat of fires goes hand in hand with a City’s development, and these same practical people were ever prepared to meet the challenge.

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NEW YORK, NY – The alarm came in at Box-598 at 2136 hrs and before the shift was over, 12 Firefighters would be dead in the deadliest building collapse in the history of the FDNY aside from the 9-11 Tragedy. The fire started innocently enough in a four story Brown Stone at #7 East 22nd Street. The rear and side walls butted up to a 3-story white brick commercial building to the West at 3940-948 Broadway and to a 5-story brown brick building to the North at 6 East 23rd Street.

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LACONIA, NH – The photo was taken in front of the quarters of H&L Company 1 on November 14th, 1910. The eclectic mix of facial expressions lends an aura of assuredness and experience to the photo. These guys certainly have seen their fair share of work and are proud of their experience. This is one “page” of the Book on Brotherhood that we all know and hold true.