Mass at St. John honors valor amid flames
By Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T
PHILADELPHIA — The first of seven alarms sounded at 9:07 p.m. on
Feb. 16, 1899. The Warner Building, 1224-1228 Market Street, was burning.
The fire had started in an adjoining building, which was occupied by the
laundry and upholstering shop of the nearby John Wanamaker Store.
Flames quickly spread to the six-story building occupied by Emerson Shoes
and Dr. Wilson’s Painless Dental Company, while horse-drawn fire
engines clattered to the conflagration. Engine 32, stationed at 13th and
Race streets, was among the first to arrive.
Very quickly, several other Market St. buildings were burning. Then the
fire leaped across narrow Ludlow Street and virtually destroyed the rectory
of St. John the Evangelist Church. Early the next morning, hidden embers
that were nestled under the roof flared up and severely damaged the church,
itself.
This year, on Feb. 16, St. John the Evangelist Church instituted an annual
memorial Mass — not because the beautiful edifice was destroyed
long ago, but because four Philadelphia firemen lost their lives as result
of the blaze.
The Mass honors them, and all firefighters who put their lives on the
line for others.
William Chance, 33; Hugh Duffy, 42, and George Steinle, 38, all hose men
of Engine 32, were fighting the blaze in the Warner building when a wall
collapsed, killing Duffy and Steinle instantly and Chance before he could
be rescued. Two weeks later, James J. Shea of Chemical Engine 1 died of
pneumonia he’d contracted while fighting the flames in the bitter
cold.
Before the rectory burned, Father Hubert McPhilomy and his assistant pastors
were able to remove most items of value. Then, when the church caught
fire, Father Francis Wastl removed the sacred Host. Many other valuables
were rescued by the priests and firemen.
Afterwards, as Capuchin Father Frank Yacobi noted at the Mass last week,
a literal ray of hope — sunshine beaming through the ruined church
roof — streamed down on a statue of Mary.
During repairs, St. John’s Masses were held at the Horticultural
Hall near Broad and Spruce streets.
Fathers McPhilomy and Wastl assisted at the funerals of Duffy and Chance
at St. Philip Neri Church, and at Shea’s funeral at St. Paul Church.
Steinle was buried from St. Johanne German Lutheran Church. They were
all family men who left dependents to mourn them.
In time, the fire faded from parish memory. It was rediscovered during
research on St. John’s history, according to parishioner Kathy Howley.
“This helps us remember,” Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd
Ayers commented at the memorial Mass. “We all come together, we
work together, we are in the service of the Lord, trying to help folks
in peril. God gives us our courage, our strength, our ability to be brave.”
Msgr. Daniel J. Sullivan, vicar for Philadelphia-South, a concelebrant
of the Mass, had a personal reason to honor firefighters. His brothers
Jim and Michael are 30-year members of the fire department, as are several
of his cousins.
“It’s so important that we remember what it cost for us to
be here today,” he said.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.