1896 Fire Destroys Cortland Forging Company

A rebuilt Cortland Forging Co. factory as it appeared in 1912. 

Cortland Evening Standard, Wednesday, April 8, 1896.

DISASTROUS FIRE.

THE CORTLAND FORGING CO.’S PLANT DESTROYED.

Loss $80,000--Insurance $42,000 Many Men Out of Employment—Bad Night’s Work.

   Cortland last night received another bad blow in the almost total destruction by fire of the large plant of the Cortland Forging Co., situated in the eastern part of the village on the Lehigh Valley railroad. This concern formed one of the chief industries of the town. It was started six years ago as a partnership by David F. Wallace, J. Hub Wallace and Curtis L. Kinney. Its business was the manufacture of carriage rails, bow sockets and joints. It has grown steadily each year from the beginning. New buildings have been constructed, additional machinery put in and more men employed. Until now it was the largest factory of its kind in the United States. It had a capacity of one thousand complete sets of rails, sockets and joints per day.

   During the fall and winter it has regularly been necessary to run day and night, and it was only a few weeks ago that the night force was dispensed with for this year. About 120 men were employed yesterday though in the best season of the year the number was nearly 160.

   Last summer the concern was changed into a stock company with a capital of $100,000. More new machinery was put in and the prospects were never brighter for business than yesterday.

The officers of the company were:

   President—D. F. Wallace.

   Secretary—C. L. Kinney.

   Treasurer—J. H. Wallace.

   The company has never missed a pay day since it began operations six years ago and was recognized on all sides as one of the most substantial concerns in business,

   At 6 o'clock last night the employees left the works as usual. Night watchman J. D. Brown was on duty. Following his usual custom he went through the entire plant closing up and locking doors. He had been to the office and locked the front door and at 6:20 o'clock came into the forgingroom, which was the third room back from the front and was 75 by 45 feet in size.

   Near the extreme back or west end he was startled at seeing flames in the roof just over the oil pump. He dashed through this room at full speed to the engineroom and pulled the big whistle. The whistle of the Forging works has long been recognized as one of the heaviest in Cortland and has a peculiar gruff quality entirely different from any other of the score or more whistles that are daily heard from every quarter of the town. The terrible unearthly shriek of distress which this whistle gave last night was heard for miles.

   Coming as it did too at an unusual time and one always very quiet when people are at supper and all the factories still, it roused almost the entire population of the town. It sent the engineer of the works, Melvin Wright, who lives across the street, flying over to see what was the trouble. As he ran into forgingroom and saw the incipient blaze he called out to the watchman, "I can soon stop that.” He rushed to a standpipe close at hand which had hose all attached and coiled up, and turned on the city water and directed his hose toward the flame.

   There was one rush of water through the hose which lasted for fifteen seconds or so and then it stopped, and no effort on his part could get another drop. Throwing this down he ran into the engineroom and started the pumps and attached a hose to them. In from three to five minutes he had a stream here, but that delay was fatal. The roof was as dry as tinder and the flames spread with astonishing rapidity and in a very few minutes he and the small army of helpers who had arrived were driven from the room.

   The whistle was heard at the Engine House and at the same moment a telephone message came in there from some place locating the fire and F. A. Bickford rung a general alarm upon the fire bell. The department responded promptly and in a very few minutes all the companies were on their way to the fire. It was a long run, nearly a mile. The engine drawn by a big team struggled through the mud, but did not arrive until long after the hose companies were all at work attached to nearby hydrants.

   Hitchcock hose was the first on the scene and attached to a hydrant near the southwest corner of the works. The other companies all arrived at about the same time. Water Witch first attached to a hydrant on Elm St., but the hose wouldn't reach and it came and coupled to the same hydrant with Hitchcock. Orris and Emerald each ran lines of hose from the hydrant near the southeast corner of the japan room. The water works were only extended two years ago from Elm-st. over to the Forging company's plant and these two hydrants which are the last on the line in that direction were put in then.

   By the time the water was on the entire south end of the plant was in flames. The office was at the north end and before the fire reached that hands had cleared out all the desks and other furniture. The small safe was tumbled out and rolled away.

   Nearly all the valuable books and papers in the big vault had been taken out when there was a cry that the roof was all on fire over the office and was about to fall and the rescuing party was urged to come out at once. Then the big doors of the vault were shot together, the lock was turned and the rest of the valuables were left to their fate. It is believed that they will come out all right.

   Two cars, one loaded and one unloaded,  were standing on the two private switches of the Lehigh Valley in the yard, and a switch engine was sent hustling over from the station to remove them which was accomplished safely.

   An attempt was made at first to save the huge storehouse which stood at the northeast corner of the works, and a stream of water was turned on it, but the wind was blowing directly toward this, and in a very few minutes the entire building was wrapped in flames.

   The department then determined to try to save the japan building which stood at the extreme south end of the plant and which was separated by a narrow alley way from the burning forging room and welding rooms. Hitchcock hose sent their pipemen upon the roof of the japan building on the west side and the Emeralds took a similar position on the east tide, while Water Witch played from the ground on the west side, and Orris from the ground on the east side.

   A crowd of men was engaged in rolling out barrels of japan [possibly lacquer or enamel--ed.], naphtha and other inflammables from the japan building and saving other property stored there. The north side of that building was several times on fire, but the pipemen on the ground kept it wet down, while those on the roof keep the flames fought back in the adjacent burning building. [sic]

   The flames rolled high in the air lighting up the while sky. It was broad daylight when the fire began, but as the twilight and finally darkness came on, the scene was a grand but awful one. The smoke was terrific and the volume of sparks immense. Several times shingle roofs of dwelling houses on East Garfield-st were on fire, but bucket brigades passed water to men on the roofs and the flames were extinguished.

   The crowd of people that surrounded the fire on all sides was something wonderful. It was estimated to be in the thousands. They came from all over Cortland, from Homer and McGrawville, but the people had to keep far back, for it was a terribly hot fire. The pipemen of the two companies on the roof nearly blistered their faces, but every few minutes their associates on the ground would turn their hose for a momentary dash of water over them to cool them off.

   A tall pole of the long distance telephone company across the railroad track from the fire stood up in its lofty height blazing from ground to cap.

   The railroad trestle for the unloading of coal at the works was several times on fire, but the Water Witch boys who were working near it put out the blaze as often as it started.

   At last it became evident that the firemen were bound to succeed in their efforts to hold the fire back from the japan room. The hook and ladder boys began pulling down the timbers of the building nearest the japan building with their pike poles and hooks as soon as the fire was sufficiently subdued so that they could get near enough. And as each timber fell the heat diminished. Within two hours from the time the fire broke out the entire plant except the japan building and a little stable west of it was entirely burned down, though the fire continued to burn for many hours afterward and the firemen continued to play water upon the embers till long into the night.

   The loss is estimated by Mr. D. F. Wallace, the president of the company, at about $80,000. Of this nearly half is on the stock on hand, the balance being on buildings, machinery and patterns. Many of the machines are very intricate and were built especially for this plant.

   The entire insurance carried by the company was $42,000. It was all placed with local agents and in the following companies: North British and Mercantile $3,000; Northern $2,000; Philadelphia Underwriters $2,000; North America $1,000; New Hampshire $1,000; Aetna $2,000; Hartford $2,500; Phoenix $2,500; National $2,500; German American $2,500; London, Liverpool and Globe $2,500; Royal $2,500; Phoenix of London $3,000; West Chester $1,500; Gerard $1,500; Germania $2,000: Commercial Union $3,000; Pennsylvania $1,500; American New York $1,500; Commercial Union $1,000; Long Island $1,000.

   Of this $42,000 there was an insurance of $1,000 on the japan room and its contents which was not destroyed, consequently $41,000 is available.

   There was in addition an insurance of $500 held by James Higgins on some property which he had there and which the Forging company was manufacturing for him. The Thompson Electric Co. also had a policy of $400 on an armature [owned] by them which was stored there in the building ready for use by the company if they should ever have an accident to the armature in use.

   Many of the men lost valuable tools which were not insured. The loss will fall heavily on the men chiefly from being thrown out of work.

   The company have not yet decided whether or not they will rebuild, but they will probably do so, as all have their homes here. Still it is too early to tell positively. The Forging company is one of the most highly valued manufacturing concerns in Cortland and the owners have the sympathy of all in their loss.

   One question which created a great deal of wonder last night and which has caused much discussion to-day was why the water stopped in the hose in the hands of Engineer Wright last night. It also appeared that two of the hose companies found small gravel stones in their nozzles. At the outset last night Orris hose tried to use its ball nozzle so as to walk right up on the fire, but this clogged up so that they had to change it for the regular one. Twice after that they had to unscrew their nozzle and in each case they removed small gravel stones which had choked the flow of water. Emerald hose, which was attached to the same hydrant, had the same experience three times. Water Witch and Hitchcock had no trouble whatever.

   A STANDARD man to-day called upon Superintendent B. F. Taylor of the Water works company and inquired if he had any explanation to offer to the matter. Mr. Taylor said that he had not. He was completely puzzled. The hydrants are never permitted to be opened except by firemen at a fire or by the water works people to test them. Last fall the hydrants were used by the sewer people when the sewers were put down and he suspected that some boys might have thrown stones in them at the time, and still he could not see how the effect should have been felt at this time, as the hydrants had all been flushed since that time. It is the custom of the Water Works company to test and flush each hydrant every spring and fall. There is no chance for stones to get in the pipes at the springs as all water has to pass through two fine wire screens.

   In respect to the stoppage of the water in the building in the engineer's hose Mr. Taylor could not see how there could be any other explanation for this than that the water was shut off somewhere in the works, either at the stand pipe or at the meter. A stone could never get through the meter any way to get into the hose. Mr. Taylor thought that the water might have been shut out of the pipes to keep them from freezing and not have been turned on since. Pressure of air would cause such a squirt of water as was noted. If this was not true—and he did not charge that it was, because he didn't know—he was sure he could afford no other explanation for it.

   The STANDARD man then sought Mr. D. F. Wallace again. This gentleman was emphatic that the water was not shut off at the works. It had not been shut off for cold nights in several weeks. All the stand pipes had been tested within a week and all worked perfectly. He knew there was no difficulty of that kind, Be apprehended that the cause of the stoppage of the water was a stone in the pipe. He agreed with Mr. Taylor that no stone could get through the meter, but be thought it must be behind the meter. He said boys had been seen throwing stones into the tank on Prospect hill and he believes this was the explanation of it. He thought the stones bad been sucked into the pipes and had followed them along until they clogged last night in the hoses.

   The buildings occupied a very considerable amount of space on the grounds. Additions had been made to them from time to time. The machine room was 35 by 40 feet in size. The welding room was 35 by 40 feet; the forging room was 45 by 75 feet; the office was 25 by 30 feet; the shipping room was 30 by 35 feet; the finishing and shippingroom was 35 by 80 feet; the foundry was 50 by [  ] feet; the weldingroom was 50 by [  ] feet; the polishingroom was 25 by [  ] feet: the emeryroom was 15 by 30 feet; the storehouse was 20 by 60 feet. [All] these were on the first floor and all [of] this was burned. Part of the buildings were only one story high, but the [rest] of them were two stories.

   There were four large ovens in the japan room which was saved and which is not mentioned among the [rooms] burned. The large boiler which was put in new last summer and which was one of the finest in town it is believed will prove to be all right. The engineer with wise foresight when he saw that the building was to be burned filled his boiler with cold water so it would not be harmed.

References:

1) Cortland Carriage Goods Co.
2) Cycle and Automotive Trade Journal, Vol.8, page 92