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N0KFQ > TODAY 30.06.15 15:57l 57 Lines 2606 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 59998_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jun 30
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<JM1YTR<JE7YGF<XE1FH<N0KFQ
Sent: 150630/1352Z 59998@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.63
1900
Fire breaks out at New Jersey pier
On this day in 1900, four German boats burn at the docks in
Hoboken, New Jersey, killing more than 300 people. The fire was
so large that it could be seen by nearly every person in the New
York City area.
William Northmaid was working as the afternoon watchman on Pier 3
in Hoboken when he spotted a fire just before 4 p.m. The old
wooden pier was at serious risk for fire and the combination of
strong winds and the presence of wooden fuel-filled cargo sheds
made it spread very rapidly. Before the Hoboken fire department
could respond, the ship Saale, which had been docked at the pier,
caught fire and drifted out into the Hudson River. Many of the
ship's workers did not know how to swim and drowned.
The ship Bremen was next to catch fire. Nettie Tice, one of the
tugboats sent to take the big ships off the fiery dock, was able
to pick up more than 100 survivors of the Bremen. Other tugs
assisted the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, the flagship of the North
German Lloyd shipping company. Although the big ship had weekend
tourists aboard, its captain kept the crew from panicking, got
everyone off safely and had tugboats take the ship to the
Manhattan side of the Hudson, away from the danger.
Meanwhile, workers futilely attempted to release another ship,
the Main, from the pier. Before they were able to, it too caught
fire. Forty-four crew members perished. Many died because
portholes were built so small that people could not escape
through them. Would-be rescuers could only watch as victims
perished in the smoke and flames. Eventually the Main broke loose
from the pier and both the Bremen and Main drifted to the
Weehawken flats, where they burned together in the river. Later,
15 crew members were rescued from the Main. They had managed to
save themselves by staying in an empty coal bunker on the ship
that protected them from the raging fire.
There was so much flaming debris in the Hudson that 27 boats in
all caught fire during the evening. The pier fire also spread to
the shore. The Hoboken Warehouse and Campbell's Store burned to
the ground. Three other piers also burned. By the time all the
fires had been put out, somewhere between 325 and 400 people had
died and property owners had suffered $4.5 million in insurable
damages, which is equivalent to nearly $100 million in today's
money. Many people were missing, so crews set off dynamite in
hopes that the explosions might help bodies stuck in the river
floor to surface.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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