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| Photo: patersonfirehistory.com |
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| Photo: lambertcastle.org |
UPDATED NOVEMBER 2019
On Jan. 6, 1914, a general alarm fire gutted the Paterson Opera House, spread to the adjacent Donahue Building and triggered a backdraft that scorched firefighters .
On Jan. 6, 1914, a general alarm fire gutted the Paterson Opera House, spread to the adjacent Donahue Building and triggered a backdraft that scorched firefighters .
Trouble with the municipal fire alarm telegraph lines sent engines to the wrong address, allowing flames time to gain headway at the rear of the opera house.
At its height, the blaze threatened an entire block along Main Street between Market and Ward, including the Lockwood Brothers furniture business and the McBride Building, according to the Morning Call newspaper.
"There was a panic among the Italians living in the neighboring tenements, and many were rescued scantily clad,'' The New York Times said.
Firefighters advanced a hose line through the front of the opera house and under the stage and positioned another from a adjacent saloon owned by Joseph Donahue. Others attacked the blaze from the rear of the building.
On Main Street street, crews raised tower pipes to cascade water onto the flames.
"They jumped in and fought like tigers," said Fire Chief Thomas Coyle, quoted by the Paterson Press.
The backdraft sent men "stumbling out of the lobby,'' the Morning Call said. "When the great cloud of hot air and smoke shot through (sic) the men on the lines had the instinct to hold fast to their water," the newspaper said.
Six firefighters were injured at the blaze. Newspapers identified them as Captain Frank Boyle of Truck 3, Louis Shauger and Andrew "Andy" Green of Company 6, Dennis Toomey of Engine 7 and Lieutenant Martin Gleason and Edward Hepp of Engine 9.
Box 52 served as the fire alarm station for block. But the bells initially tapped out Box 512, sending apparatus to Ellison and Mill streets, the Morning Call said. It was suspected that "wires burned by the heat" scrambled a signal from an auxiliary alarm station in the opera house, Box 522.
The Opera House was considered a ``vanity house,'' according to the Passaic County Historical Society, "owned, supported, managed and patronized by the rising business and managerial classes of Paterson."
Citing its influence in the community, the historical society said: "The theatre reviewer of the Daily Press concerned himself more with a description of the audience than with the presentation on stage'' when attending a performance.
The backdraft sent men "stumbling out of the lobby,'' the Morning Call said. "When the great cloud of hot air and smoke shot through (sic) the men on the lines had the instinct to hold fast to their water," the newspaper said.
Six firefighters were injured at the blaze. Newspapers identified them as Captain Frank Boyle of Truck 3, Louis Shauger and Andrew "Andy" Green of Company 6, Dennis Toomey of Engine 7 and Lieutenant Martin Gleason and Edward Hepp of Engine 9.
Box 52 served as the fire alarm station for block. But the bells initially tapped out Box 512, sending apparatus to Ellison and Mill streets, the Morning Call said. It was suspected that "wires burned by the heat" scrambled a signal from an auxiliary alarm station in the opera house, Box 522.
Citing its influence in the community, the historical society said: "The theatre reviewer of the Daily Press concerned himself more with a description of the audience than with the presentation on stage'' when attending a performance.
In 1916, a movie house - the United States Theatre - opened on the site.
