Vol. 4, No. 4, April 2007
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Great Fire of 1902
Atlantic City’s first four-alarm fire
Mrs. O’Leary’s cow is famous for kicking over the lantern that started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Even if the cow wasn’t to blame (it’s rumored that an over-excited craps-shooter actually started the blaze), most schoolchildren learn the story. But few know the tale of how an Atlantic City dog—allegedly—started a 1902 blaze that destroyed a large swath of valuable Boardwalk real estate.
The exact cause of the terrible fire was never officially determined, though initial reports indicated that sometime before 9 a.m. on April 3 an unnamed black dog in Brady’s Bathhouse knocked over a lamp while playfully frolicking. The flames quickly engulfed the bathhouse’s combustible curtains and woodwork before spreading to the adjoining Tarlton Hotel.
Whipped by the wind, the fire raged along the beachfront from Illinois (today’s Martin Luther King Boulevard) to New York Avenues, destroying or damaging over 30 buildings, including 10 hotels, 18 stores, four bathhouses, the city’s largest theater, and two private residences.
Guests in the burning hotels fled them in panic, sometimes gathering their belongings, often not. Streaming onto the already-crowded Boardwalk, they turned what had been a bright spring morning into pandemonium.
The city’s volunteer fire departments fought tenaciously but were quickly overwhelmed by the blaze, and sent out a call for help. Three companies of Philadelphia firefighters gathered their equipment, crossed the Delaware via ferry and raced for the shore on special trains, getting there at about 12:30 p.m. Two companies from Camden joined them.
Seeing smoke billowing from the Mervine and Rio Grande hotels on New York Avenue, Philadelphia’s Engine Company 43 made their stand there, bravely remaining in the buildings until their upper floors began to collapse. Regrouping outside with the 21, they dug in and turned the tide.
Meanwhile, Company 48 faced the fire on a different front: the Boardwalk. The Wooden Way burned down to its iron pilings nearly to Captain John Young’s Ocean Pier at Tennessee Avenue. As firefighters doused the flames on the boards, the wind swept a burning ember onto the center of the pier and started a blaze that would engulf Marine Hall, cutting the pier in two.
Young and several others found themselves trapped on the pier, and were only saved by the energetic efforts of the 48 and quick work of volunteers manning rescue boats that saved them.
By 5:15, the combined forces of the Atlantic City, Camden, and Philadelphia firefighters had triumphed over the flames. Without their joint effort, it is likely that the fire would have been far worse, perhaps jumping Illinois Avenue and reaching the Traymore, Brighton, Shelburne and Dennis. Miraculously, no one was killed in the fire, though several police officers and firefighters were injured while battling the blaze.
The flames still caused chaos. Several hotel safes lay among the smoking ruins, packed with jewels, cash and other valuables. To prevent looting, city authorities called on Company L of the Third Regiment of the National Guard, which was supplemented by the Morris Guards. They formed a cordon around the area, allowing access to only firefighters and, later, construction workers. Thousands of dollars worth of valuables were thus saved.
The city bounced back quickly from the disaster. At 3 p.m. on April 5, City Council voted to replace and enlarge the burned section of Boardwalk, ordering lumber and hiring workers. By the following afternoon, the work was done, and thousands of visitors flocked to the newly laid boards, seeing for themselves the smoking 700-by-300-foot crater that had once been prime beachfront property.
Rebuilding the Boardwalk took only 10 hours, and all of the damaged buildings were either repaired, rebuilt or replaced in short order. Tellingly, no one was surprised by the speedy turnaround, attributing it to the “characteristic energy” of the city. This never-say-die attitude allowed the city to rebound from this tragedy, and provides a lesson from the past from which today’s leaders should learn.
Thanks to Pat Rothenberg of the Atlantic City Free Public Library for research assistance.
