1931 — July 24, Fire, Little Sisters Home for the Aged/Poor, Pittsburgh, PA — 48
— 48 National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996.
— 48 NFPA. “Multiple-Death Fires in Nursing Homes & Homes for the Aged.” US Congress.
— 48 National Fire Sprinkler Association. F.Y.I. 1999. p. 6.
— 47 Richardson. History of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, 2003.
— 40 Bolkosky. Harmony & Dissonance. 1991, p. 137.
— 30 San Antonio Express, “Fire Sweeps Home for Aged,” July 25, 1931, p. 1.
Narrative Information
Conway: “A long time ago – nearly 80 years ago, during the first years of the Great Depression – people in Pittsburgh were out of work, kids were going hungry, the elderly were being forgotten. It was a time when hope had almost disappeared, and men and women viewed their world with quiet desperation as all the old certainties were falling apart; the job at the mill, food on the table, a decent place to live, a plan for the future. All these good things that only a few years before had been the expectation when a person faced a new day were no longer there….
“And then came another tragedy in a Pittsburgh community that seemed to have no heart for any more tragedies. On July 24, 1931, just an hour after everyone had gone to sleep, fire broke out at a home for the needy elderly people operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor on Penn Avenue in
Lawrenceville. Forty-nine of the elderly poor would be killed by that fire, another 175 injured.
“The city was shocked by the horror of it all. In too many ways, it summed up the tragedy of the Depression itself. Innocent victims consumed by something that they didn’t understand, couldn’t control, hadn’t caused. The bodies of those who died were taken away for burial by relatives. All, that is, except for eight victims, who lay in the morgue, unknown and unclaimed. This had been a home for the aged poor, after all, and it shouldn’t be surprising that some were without anyone, not even someone to bury the dead. Homeless folks with nowhere else to go, they had been forgotten outside the walls of their last shelter. Bishop Hugh Boyle, the sixth Bishop of Pittsburgh, stepped in. He brought their bodies to Saint Paul Cathedral where he would preside at their funeral Mass. And then something amazing happened.
“At that Mass on August 3, in the midst of the Depression, eight homeless and poor folk, whose past was known only to God, were remembered by one of the largest crowds ever to gather at Saint Paul Cathedral. The people of the city filled every pew. They spilled out onto the sidewalks and streets. Catholics and Protestants, Christians and non-Christians, believers and non-believers, they had come together to pay what respects they could to the remains of eight human beings lying in donated caskets. It was as if the city itself was coming together to come to terms with its grief over the fire and, perhaps even more so, to come to terms with the Depression itself.” (Conway. “Staying Focused on Mission During Challenging Times.” April 2009.)
Richardson: “Although there are many tragic fires in the city’s history [Pittsburgh] one that stands out occurred on July 24, 1931. Spontaneous combustion caused a fire the home for the Aged of the Little Sisters of the Poor. The home had 231 residents, many who were blind or bedfast. Firefighters fought the blaze for four hours to get it under control. 47 of the residents lost their lives and the injured flooded the surrounding hospitals.” (Richardson 2003)
Newspaper
July 24: “Pittsburgh, Pa., July 24. — Thirty persons were known to be dead, 20 were missing, and more than 100 were in hospitals after a fire had destroyed the Home for the Aged of the Little Sisters of the Poor here.
“Most of the dead were aged inmates of the home, located in the East End district. Efforts to make a check on the number which might have been trapped in the home, which housed numerous cripples, was impossible because the rescued were at various hospitals and in a nearby school and private homes.
“A priest connected with the home said there were between 250 and 300 inmates in the structure, when the fire started and it was feared a considerable number had failed to escape, although extreme confusion prevailed at the scene.
“Many were taken from windows by firemen summoned by a general alarm. Several jumped from upper story windows and were caught in life nets.
“Roy Addlesburger, deputy coroner at the scene, said, it was his opinion “quite a few,” had perished in the burning building, which was an expansive four-story structure, of brick.
“The fire was not detected by persons at the home but first was sighted by neighbors who turned in an alarm. Six alarms were sounded in rapid succession as soon as the seriousness of the situation was discerned and firemen and policemen were called from all parts of the city.
“The flames quickly spread to all parts of the home and many aged persona could be seen standing at windows, screaming for help. The Mother Superior of the institution was among those most active in assisting the elderly men and women from the building. After the fire had spread so it was dangerous for anyone to enter she had to be forcibly detained from further attempts at rescue.
“Ambulances, taxicabs and private automobiles were utilized to take the victims to hospitals.
“The fire started in. the men’s infirmary and nuns and brothers of a religious order joined with firemen and policemen in entering the building to make rescue efforts.
“The victims admitted to hospitals were for the most part overcome by smoke, dense clouds of which filled the burning home. Some were injured in jumping from windows or in making their way through smoke-filled rooms to windows, where firemen carried them down ladders.
“Hundreds of rescuers battled desperately against the flames to bring out those believed remaining in the building and the wide lawn about the home was quickly scattered with physicians and nurses giving first aid as victims were brought out.
“Six of the missing were volunteer rescue workers who entered the building in search of bodies.
“Police battled an estimated crowd of 20,000 persons who gathered as the flames lighted up the skies.
“Eight dead were brought to the morgue from St. Francis Hospital, six from the West Penn Hospital, five from the Homeopathic Hospital, two from the Pittsburgh Hospital, while six dead were at the emergency hospital set up in the basement of the St. Lawrence school, across the street from the home of the aged.
“Firemen had the flames under control by 11:30 o’clock, though there still was fire burning in various portions of the institution.
“Most of the inmates of the home were all but helpless before the fire. All were old, and most of them were suffering with infirmities.
“Several women were trapped in a third floor room…
“Scores of neighbors who hurried to the home at the first cry of “fire” was” heard, said they were unable to enter the grounds because heavy iron gates to the sidewalk and driveway were closed. Many o£ the volunteer rescuers scaled the high stone wall about the institution and firemen, arriving a few minutes later, battered down the gates to get equipment inside.
“In some instances ladders placed against the walls of the building were burned away before firemen could mount them. Then the life nets were brought out and many of the aged occupants whom firemen could not reach jumped to safety.
“Despite the care given those rescued from the home, Dr. W. Howard Evans said he believed the shock of the tragedy would be fatal to many because of their extreme age….
“As soon as the ruins had cooled sufficiently, officials from the coroner’s office and the police planned to make a search for bodies.” (San Antonio Express, TX. “Fire Sweeps Home for Aged,” July 25, 1931, p. 1)
Sources
Bolkosky, Sidney M. Harmony & Dissonance: Voices of Jewish Identity in Detroit, 1814-1967. Wayne State University Press, 1991, 543 pages.
National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996. Accessed 2010 at: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1352&itemID=30955&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Key%20dates%20in%20fire%20history&cookie%5Ftest=1
National Fire Protection Association. “Multiple-Death Fires in Nursing Homes & Homes for the Aged, 1921-1978 (list)”. In: United States United States Congress, House of Representatives. Boarding Home Fires: The Tip of the Iceberg (Hearing before the Subcommittee on Health and Long Term Care, Select Committee on Aging, 96th Congress, First Session, April 25, 1979). Washington, DC, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979, pp. 312-314.
National Fire Sprinkler Association, Inc. F.Y.I. – Fire Sprinkler Facts. Patterson, NY: NFSA, November 1999, 8 pages. Accessed at: http://www.firemarshals.org/data/File/docs/College%20Dorm/Administrators/F1%20-%20FIRE%20SPRINKLER%20FACTS.pdf
Richardson, Rebecca. “History of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire.” Fire Fighters Forums. 2003. Accessed at: http://www.firefightersforums.com/articles/rrpitshistoryfd.shtml
San Antonio Express, TX. “Fire Sweeps Home for Aged, 30 Inmates Dead, 20 Missing, More Than 100 in Hospitals,” 7-25-1931, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=69114928