Fall River, Massachusetts, 1928
In 1928 the city of Fall River was facing a severe downturn in the textiles industry, traditionally its leading employer. One of its mills, the Pocasset Mill, was in the process of dismantling. On February 2, workers in the plant involved in that process built a fire in an empty oil drum, trying to keep warm. When they left for the day the fire had not been properly extinguished and by 7.00 PM the fire had engulfed the entire old stone and wood plant.
Windows soon blew out from the heat, and the fire quickly spread to other buildings. The wind was cold, blustery, and in the process of veering and its frequent gusts sent flaming embers to ignite buildings in all directions. Neighboring towns were soon sending help, as were the National Guard and sailors from the nearby naval base. All of them had to face the growing fire in record low temperatures and blustering winds.
The fire was controlled in the early morning hours of the following day, meaning that the efforts of the firefighters had stopped its spread. It was not for another nearly 36 hours that the fire was declared to be out. Almost unbelievably there were no fatalities and relatively few injuries given the size of the fire and the hostile conditions caused by the weather. Five blocks in the area of the Pocasset Mill were completely destroyed, including the mill itself.
The area destroyed by the fire was largely commercial, with relatively few residential areas, although three hotels were completely destroyed as well as some boarding houses. Most of the buildings destroyed were built of stone or masonry, the collapse of interior walls and fixtures from the flames led to the building’s collapse.
Nearly all of the destroyed area was rebuilt within a few years, providing much-needed jobs during the early years of the Great Depression. The total damage, which was disputed for many years among the impacted businessmen and landowners, exceeded $280 million in 2017 dollars.