Around 11 p.m. on the night of Monday, February 23, 1880, fire of unknown cause broke out in the basement of the furniture repair room of Nathan Hancock on Main Street in Brewsters Station, Putnam County, New York. The fire spread east and west to adjoining buildings very rapidly. Brewsters Station had no fire department at the time. There once had been a fire department in the village, but the members quarreled and it was disbanded. The only efforts made to stop the flames were by an impromptu bucket brigade and a small chemical engine that was sent from Gail Borden's condensed milk factory, about three miles away. The entire block was consumed by the fire. It was the principal business portion of the village. Property worth over $100,000 was destroyed. The following businesses and homes were lost: Nathan Hancock's furniture and repair, Edward Stone's clothing store, The First National Bank, the Putnam County Standard (a weekly newspaper), A.J. Miller's law office, office of the Superintendent of the Putnam County Iron Mine, L.H. Ryder's dentist office, office of Dr. E.P. Strunk, home of Mrs. martha Dowen, home of Mr. Howard Wixon, Edward Stone's general country sore, home of Mr. L.H. Roberts, Mr. Lobdell's home, the Town Hall (town clerk, village clerk, police court, jail), office of superintendent of McCowen Mines, George W. Horton's law office, home of James Juliff and family, a large hall (at which a hop was being held at the time of the fire), John Little's tailor shop and home, Wellingtom Ketchum's hardware tin and furniture store, and a large barn filled with hay and grain.
Around 2 a.m. on the morning of February 23, 1943 a fire broke out in a basement laundry at St. Joseph's Orphanage in Cavan, Ireland. People living on Main Street saw smoke coming from the building. They went to the orphanage, but were unfamiliar with the layout of the convent and were unable to find the girls. By that time, the fire had been discovered and all of the girls had been moved into one Dormitory. The girls could not get out of the building through the main entrance or the fire escape. The local fire company had arrived, but didn't have enough equipment for the fire. The girls were encouraged to jump. Some survived by doing this, though with injuries, however most were too scared to attempt it. By the time a long ladder arrived, it was too late. A local man was able to go up to the dormitory window bring down five girls, but the fire completely engulfed the dormitory and the remaining girls died. Thirty-five children and one adult lay worker died.
A large fire occurred in the Russian Space station, Mir, on February 23, 1997. The fire broke out when a canister of lithium perchlorate, a device used to generate oxygen, leaked as one of the cosmonauts worked with it. The fire burned for about 90 seconds and heavy smoke poured from the device for almost seven minutes, filling the living and working quarters of the station. Four cosmonauts, American Jerry Linenger, and a German researcher were forced to don oxygen packs and filter masks while the station's environmental control system cleansed the air. The Mir crew used foam fire extinguishers to douse the fire.
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The section of calls we've responded to has been compiled from fire company records, newspapers, and other sources. Listings for years prior to 1981 might be incomplete.
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