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When I was younger, I lived in Boston for a year, and I remember someone telling me about The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. It sounded comical at first, but after researching it, I came to the realization that this was a very real and very devastating event in the city’s history. It seems that a giant vat of molasses…over two million gallons…gave way. This sent fast-moving waves of molasses down city streets (I believe it was on the North End). Twenty-one people died and over one hundred were injured. The event also resulted in one of the earliest class-action lawsuits in US history.
Here in Minneapolis, in 1878, there was a massive explosion in the flour milling district. It began in the Washburn A Mill, at the time the world’s largest. Flour dust had accumulated in the air and finally combusted. The Washburn A Mill was destroyed instantly, while numerous adjacent mills went down afterwards. Fire then spread throughout the district. Eighteen people died, and one third of the city’s milling capacity was gone. The disaster was instrumental in an overhaul of industrial ventilation systems across the country.
What are some of the industrial disasters which helped define the history of other cities (or states)?
When I was younger, I lived in Boston for a year, and I remember someone telling me about The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. It sounded comical at first, but after researching it, I came to the realization that this was a very real and very devastating event in the city’s history. It seems that a giant vat of molasses…over two million gallons…gave way. This sent fast-moving waves of molasses down city streets (I believe it was on the North End). Twenty-one people died and over one hundred were injured. The event also resulted in one of the earliest class-action lawsuits in US history.
Here in Minneapolis, in 1878, there was a massive explosion in the flour milling district. It began in the Washburn A Mill, at the time the world’s largest. Flour dust had accumulated in the air and finally combusted. The Washburn A Mill was destroyed instantly, while numerous adjacent mills went down afterwards. Fire then spread throughout the district. Eighteen people died, and one third of the city’s milling capacity was gone. The disaster was instrumental in an overhaul of industrial ventilation systems across the country.
What are some of the industrial disasters which helped define the history of other cities (or states)?
We read a novel about that in 3rd grade! The teacher even brought in Molasses so we could see what its like hands on and taste it if we wanted to. Haha I never thought it was based on a real event. But thanks to that book, I know a lot about that event. It was bizarre, thats for sure.
That's funny you bring up molasses...
A lot of NYC smelled a maple syrup scent in the air- They had no idea where it was coming from until they soon found out... It was a food flavoring facility in North Bergen (NJ)
People in NYC were panicking dialing 911 thinking it was some sort of terrorist attack, some people were wearing masks- Mayor Bloomberg was holding press conferences over the issue... It literally smelled like a stack of pancakes (You can sometimes smell that scent around Paterson)- I thought it was hilarious.
When I was younger, I lived in Boston for a year, and I remember someone telling me about The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. It sounded comical at first, but after researching it, I came to the realization that this was a very real and very devastating event in the city’s history. It seems that a giant vat of molasses…over two million gallons…gave way. This sent fast-moving waves of molasses down city streets (I believe it was on the North End). Twenty-one people died and over one hundred were injured. The event also resulted in one of the earliest class-action lawsuits in US history.
Here in Minneapolis, in 1878, there was a massive explosion in the flour milling district. It began in the Washburn A Mill, at the time the world’s largest. Flour dust had accumulated in the air and finally combusted. The Washburn A Mill was destroyed instantly, while numerous adjacent mills went down afterwards. Fire then spread throughout the district. Eighteen people died, and one third of the city’s milling capacity was gone. The disaster was instrumental in an overhaul of industrial ventilation systems across the country.
What are some of the industrial disasters which helped define the history of other cities (or states)?
The Triangle fire. This is probably New York City's most famous disaster before 1993. The 100th anniversary is next year. The event caused the formation of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, and they still hold a memorial near the site of the fire every year in Washington Square Park for the 146 who died. The fire also forced the creation of fire-safety and building codes for New York City. A local reporter near the scene wrote down his feelings of horror at watching the young women jump to their deaths to escape the fire. It is eerily similar to what it was like to watch the WTC jumpers 90 years later.
The EAST OHIO GAS CO. EXPLOSION AND FIRE took place on Friday, 20 Oct. 1944, when a tank containing liquid natural gas equivalent to 90 million cubic feet exploded, setting off the most disastrous fire in Cleveland's history. Homes and businesses were engulfed by a tidal wave of fire in more than 1 sq. mi. of Cleveland's east side, bounded by St. Clair Ave. NE, E. 55th St., E. 67th St., and the MEMORIAL SHOREWAY. At approx. 2:30 P.M., white vapor began leaking out of Storage Tank No. 4, which had been built by the East Ohio Gas Co. in 1942 to provide additional reserve gas for local war industries. The gas in the tank, located at the northern end of E. 61st St., became combustible when mixed with air and exploded at 2:40 P.M., followed by the explosion of a second tank about 20 minutes later. The fire spread through 20 blocks, engulfing rows of houses while missing others. The vaporizing gas also flowed along the curbs and gutters and into catch basins, through which it entered the underground sewers, exploding from time to time, ripping up pavement, damaging underground utility installations, and blowing out manhole covers. The immediate area surrounding the burning district was evacuated and refugees were sheltered in Willson Jr. High School on E. 55th St. where the Red Cross tried to care for approx. 680 homeless victims.
County Engineering employees search through the wreckage of the East Ohio Gas Co. explosion, 1944. Cleveland Press Collection, CSU Archives.
By late afternoon Saturday much of the fire had burned itself out, electricity was restored in some areas, and the next day a few residents began returning to their homes. The fire destroyed 79 homes, 2 factories, 217 cars, 7 trailers, and 1 tractor; the death toll reached 130. The fire and subsequent analysis of its cause led to new and safer methods for the low-temperature storage of natural gas.
Collinwood School Fire - 1908
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The COLLINWOOD SCHOOL FIRE occurred on 4 Mar. 1908, killing 172 children and 2 teachers at Lakeview Elementary School in the village of COLLINWOOD. The fire began shortly after 9 a.m when an overheated steam pipe came in contact with wooden joists under the front stairs, and only 194 of the 366 students enrolled escaped the blaze. The others were trapped inside the rear first-floor exit, and by the time volunteer firemen arrived, nothing could be done to save them. Nineteen bodies could not be identified and were buried in a common grave in LAKE VIEW CEMETERY, along with 150 students whose identity was known.
The smoldering remains of Lakeview Elementary School after the Collinwood school fire, 4 Mar. 1908. WRHS.
The initial report claimed that the rear doors of the school opened inward, and the children were unable to open them because they were jammed against the doors by the other panic-stricken children pushing from behind. Both the coroner's inquest, which included reports from witnesses and the architects who designed the building, and a physical examination of the building proved that the outer doors did open outward in accordance with the law at that time. The report on the fire concluded that the children's failure to escape resulted from their own panic. The fleeing children became wedged tightly on the stairs behind a set of inner vestibule doors which were narrower than the outer doors. The horror of the Collinwood fire caused numerous school inspections across the country, which resulted in stricter laws.
Neil, Henry. Complete Story of the Collinwood Disaster and How Such Horrors Can Be Prevented (1908).
[CENTER]Cleveland Clinic Foundation - Fire 1929
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Firefighters rescue workers at the Cleveland Clinic Disaster, 15 May 1929. Courtesy of the Archives of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the Plain Dealer.
The CLEVELAND CLINIC DISASTER (also known as the CLINIC FIRE) occurred on 15 May 1929 and cost the lives of 123 people, but stimulated the development and enforcement of safety regulations in U.S. hospitals. The fire began in the main building of the CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION, where it is believed that nitro-cellulose x-ray film, exposed to heat from an unguarded 100-watt incandescent light bulb, released smoke and poisonous gases (primarily phosgene). Although the CLEVELAND FIRE DEPARTMENT extinguished the fire and helped people escape the deadly yellow and brown vapor, 80 visitors and patients and 43 employees of the clinic died as a result of the disaster, and 92 were injured. Dr. JOHN PHILLIPS†, a founder of the Cleveland Clinic and head of the Medical Dept., died as a result of toxic gas inhalation.
Cleveland Clinic officials were absolved of responsibility for the fire and the $3 million in lawsuits, filed as a result of the disaster, were settled out of court for about $45,000. The City Manager's commission investigating the fire recommended that Cleveland's police and fire departments be supplied with gas masks and that a municipal ambulance service be established to provide suitable transportation for emergency cases needing hospital care. On the national level, the clinic fire resulted in the development of new standards for storage and labeling of hazardous materials, especially nitro-cellulose film. Fire insurance companies also began to revise and strictly enforce safety regulations regarding the storage of such materials.
Hartwell, Shattuck W. (ed.). ". . . to Act as a Unit": The Story of the Cleveland Clinic (1985).
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The Texas City Explosion in 1947
