Union Church Fire 1897
On June 19, 1897 one of the most destructive fires in the town's history occured in East Braintree when the Union Church and twelve other buildings in Braintree and Weymouth were destroyed or damaged in a spectacular blaze near Weymouth Landing.
The church building, built by Bulfinch, had originally been the Hollis Street Church in Boston until it was purchased by the Union Religious Society of Braintree and Weymouth in 1810. It was taken down piece by piece, floated on a raft to Braintree and rebuilt on Quincy Ave near Commercial St. next to the railroad tracks.
The church design was slightly altered and a new bell, forged by Paul Revere, was placed in the clock tower. First services were held in the church in November 1810.
Just before 1 p.m. on Saturday June 19th, a young boy discovered a small fire on the roof of the church. He ran to the home of police officer John Kelly on Commercial St. who rang in fire box 23 located near his home.
The Church before the fire
The Braintree Fire Department in 1897 consisted of 63 men using 2 hose wagons, 2 hook and ladder trucks and 1 combination hose and ladder wagon. 12 men were assigned to each company. The Board of Engineers, chosen by the selectmen and consisting of a chief and 2 assistants, were in charge of the fire department. The town was divided into 3 precincts, with one fire house in each precinct. Hose Co #2 and Hook & Ladder #2 were located on Franklin Street near South Braintree Square, Hose Co #3 and Hook & Ladder #1 were on Hollis Ave near Braintree Square, and Hose Co #1 was located on Allen St near Front St in East Braintree.
When box 23 was pulled by Officer Kelly the fire alarm rang in South Braintree and Braintree but due to the lack of steam in the boiler at the light plant, the whistle did not blow in East Braintree. The Braintree and South Braintree fire companies were not assigned to respond on a first alarm on box 23, so they remained in quarters. Officer Kelly, assessing the situation and seeing that no fire apparatus was on the way and the flames spreading rapidly, pulled in a second alarm on the box. He then ran down into Weymouth Square and had someone pull in Weymouth box 38 to call out their fire department. Meanwhile, a few men ran into the church and rang the bell as a warning, until they were driven out by smoke and heat.
Weymouth Hose #3 was the first fire truck on the scene but could not use the Braintree hydrants because the wrenches were the wrong size. They went back over the town line and used a hydrant in Weymouth to stretch a hose line across the railroad tracks to the front of the church. At this time a train appeared, so the firemen had to unhook the hose to let it pass, losing precious time.
When Braintree Water Superintendant William Maybury arrived, the fire was confined to a small area on the roof of the church. He went up to the roof by way of the steeple but had nothing with which to extinguish the fire. Wondering where the firemen were, he climbed back down and headed towards the fire station on Allen St. Meeting the men of Hose Co. #1 on the way, he returned to the fire and assisted turning on the water.
Finally, when all the hose was in place, five streams were turned on at once reducing water pressure to a point where no stream could reach the roof.
Early in the fire...
Mr. Maybury and Officer Kelly took charge of the scene until Assistant Fire Chief Oliver Battles arrived with Hose Co #2 and Hook & Ladder #2 from South Braintree on the second alarm. By this time the fire had spread considerably on the roof and was getting worse. Chief Battles ordered a General Alarm, calling out the entire department. Within minutes the church was a mass of flames with fire spreading to two homes, two barns, a horseshed, the railroad freighthouse and storage sheds at the Fore River Engine Works, Rhines Lumberyard, Sanborn's Manufacturing, and J.B. Richards Coalyard. A general alarm was also sounded in Weymouth.
No one from the Weymouth fire department knew how to operate the steamer fire engines, as the usual operators were out of town, so Mr. Maybury took charge until Mr.Wellington of the Fore River Engine works took over. Both Chief Frank Whitmarsh of Braintree and Chief F.M. Drown of Weymouth were out of town at the time of the fire, both in Boston attending a meeting. The Quincy fire department stood in readiness to respond but their services were not required.
At 1:40 pm the excitment was intense; thirteen buildings were on fire. The roof and the steeple of the church had fallen in and all efforts were turned upon saving the houses and the lumber in the yards nearby. The heat was so intense that the firemen had to place wooden doors in front of themselves as they directed the streams on the fires. The bell could be heard ringing as the steeple collapsed into the center of the church with a tremendous crash. Members of the fire department and citizens were able to save a few things in the church including the Sunday school piano, hymn books, pew cushions and two communion services. Everything else together with the building was a total loss. It was estimated that over 5000 people watched the fire at it's height, with street cars bringing many from the surrounding towns.
Weymouth Steamer at the scene
By 2:30 the danger was over as firefighters had the flames under control. By this time the church was a pile of charred wood. It is thought that the fire was started by a spark from the locomotive of the 12:50 train landing on the roof as it passed. The all-out was sounded at 5:15pm with a total loss of over $27,000 to the church and surrounding buildings. Rains on Sunday failed to keep the curious from viewing the ruins and on Monday the melted and broken remains of the bell were removed so it could be reforged, preserving the Revere metal.
What should have been a small fire on the roof turned into a major conflagration due to an extraordinary set of circumstances. After the smoke had cleared, there were many calls to reorganize the fire department from the top on down. The fire alarm system was updated, another hook & ladder truck was purchased for East Braintree, and better plans were made for getting horses to the firehouses for quicker responses to incidents.
One strange event occured on the day of the fire; at 6 o'clock in the morning the clock on the church only rang once and then fell silent until the fire at 1 o'clock.
The Aftermath...
Map of the area - buildings highlighted in red were damaged or destroyed by fire.
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