1910 Union Stockyards
On Dec. 22, 1910, a fire that started in the basement of a Morris & Co. meat storehouse would end with the worst loss of life by a big-city fire department until the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Twenty-four men were killed: 21 firefighters, including the fire chief, and three civilians. The first alarm rang out at 4 a.m. and the response was heavy because of the nature of the stockyards. As the Tribune reported the next day, "Every fireman knows what a stockyard fire means. The men knew of the treachery of the ancient shells of grease soaked wood and shaky brick walls. ... Chicago firemen cherish no illusions when they go in to strangle a big fire at the yards with their hands."
The firefighters were forced to battle the blaze from a narrow railroad platform, boxed in behind by train cars, with a "rotten ancient wooden canopy" above them. Access to the building was limited by adjacent structures and fire walls that forced the flames, heat and smoke in one direction. Into this inferno rushed the firemen. They had no chance.
"There was no warning to the men pent up in the narrow gallery," the Tribune reported Dec. 23. "There was a dull roar and simultaneously the great front wall, six stories of solid brick, moved outward about ten feet, and dropped."
The Tribune's front page was remarkable, a visual presentation that was at least 50 years ahead of its time. Page 1 carried no stories but was dominated by a photograph and a list of the deceased. Inside, the coverage filled most of seven pages, carrying numerous striking photos from the scene, illustrative graphics and mug shots of the deceased.
