Chicago firefighters remove the bodies of their comrades from the burning rubble of the Nelson-Morris Meatpacking Co. plant. Twenty-one firefighters were killed in the Dec. 23, 1910, blaze.
Firefighters remove the bodies of their comrades from atop the still-burning canopy of the meatpacking plant.
Fund-raising efforts are underway to erect a monument to the 21 Chicago firefighters who were killed in a fire at a meatpacking plant on Dec. 22, 1910. The tragedy represents the largest loss of firefighters' lives in the history of the Chicago Fire Department.
At 4 A.M. on that bitterly cold day, a night watchman at the Nelson-Morris Meatpacking Co. sounded the alarm for a fire in a warehouse. Within minutes, Engine Companies 39, 49, 52, 53 and 59, several hook-and-ladders were on the scene. Assistant Fire Marshal William J. Burroughs, a veteran of many stockyards fires, immediately called for a second alarm.
Twenty-one firefighters, aided by three plant workers trained to assist the fire department in emergencies, began attacking the fire from a long loading dock that abutted the burning warehouse. Facing the burning warehouse and with their backs to a line of boxcars and covered by a canopy, the two dozen men were sandwiched in with no quick means of retreat.
Suddenly, the great wall of the warehouse came crashing down on the trapped men, who were buried in rubble as hot as molten lava. It would be hours before firefighters could begin the gruesome task of recovering the bodies of their comrades and the civilians. Among the dead were Burroughs, Brigade Chief "Big Jim" Moran, and Captain James Doyle and his son, Firefighter Nick Doyle. Other victims included a firefighter who died on his birthday, another who was to be married on Christmas Eve, and one who had just moved into a new home with his large family.
The deadly fire shocked the city and the nation.
Plans call for a bronze memorial, 125% of life size and created by artist Joseph Luiz Ramirez, to be placed in a landscaped setting near the Chicago Stockyard Industrial Park.
The non-profit Chicago Stockyards Fire Memorial Committee, comprised of firefighters and civilians, is raising the money needed to create and erect the monument through private donations.
Contributions may be sent to:
The 1910 Chicago Stockyards Fire Monument Fund Inc.
117 N. Jefferson St. - Suite 204
Chicago, IL 60661
Photo Courtesy of Sean Culver/Blue Box Studios The memorial by Joseph Luiz Ramirez will depict a grieving firefighter in front of a wall containing 21 molded crystals fused with gold and bearing the names of the fallen firefighters.
