Sheriff Joseph Mertz, at the jail and seeing the danger of the blaze, immediately unlocked all of the cells, bringing all of the inmates out and telling them to scream as loud as they could for boats.
It was not a great plan -most were women and children who would have been unequal to the physical effort of going across by means of the rope. But it was the only thing they could do.
Around this time a 18 year old Dudley Turner came around the corner in a canoe. He attempted to take the rope across the street, but was swept down the street. He was able to make it to the Moore building, where he picked up a man and woman in a window over the Moore Restaurant. Turner then "managed to paddle single handed over to L.L. Stearns Store."
The sheriff then asked for a volunteer from among the prisoners, to risk his life and swim to fourth street to signal a boat. Harvey Aungst, a husky fellow, promptly volunteered and was about to jump into the current when Thomas Lynn Jr appeared with his motor boat. A National guardsman, Lynn had been working all night, but he immediately set out on half a dozen trips from the apartments to the jail.
Lynn would pull his boat up alongside the building and hold it steady for the residents to climb into the boat. He'd then cross the raging waters to the jail, where inmates and employees stood waist deep in water, waiting to pull in the boat, and help everyone into the jail building.
The four prisoners who helped Lynn handle the boat were :
The families rescued in this manner were:
- Mr & Mrs H.M Coleton,
- Mrs Charles Smith,
- Mrs Mary Phlegor,
- Mr & Mrs Millard Moore,
- Mrs Eleanor Carroll & three children,
- Mrs Ed Appleman and her daughter,
- Mrs & Mrs G.L. Mahaffey,
- Miss Emma Harmon,
- Mike Lucous,
- Mike Harris,
- Mr Snook
- Mr V. J. Kauffeld.
Mr. Snook was one of the first out of the apartments, and he remained in the boat with Lynn to help with rescue all of the others.
After making 6 trips, all of the persons from Meckler building were transferred to the jail. As Lynn arrived back at the jail that last time, the motor on his boat died.
"To Wallie Kauffeld, who was in the Wakenhut building at the time of the explosion, also goes considerable praise for his courage. He hurried to the Moore Apartments and from there to the other apartments, aiding stranded persons into the boats.
He was the last one to leave the buildings, and it was not until he was taken into the jail that it was found he had been burned in the explosion. He was given first aid treatment and kept at the jail overnight. Thursday he was taken to the waters edge by boat, and from there to Williamsport Hospital."
Paul Childs, "first runner", at the county jail was the man who had tended to Kauffields burns and took care of him through the night until he could be delivered to the hospital. Once examined , Dr Grieco complimented the "person responsible for the first aid treatment" telling Sherifff Mertz that Childs had undoubtedly saved Kauffeld's life.
While Lynn had been rescuing the 18 closest to the fire, there were still 13 trapped in the Hunt and Neyhart buildings. The Faries building had become a "raging furnace", and the buildings on 3rd street were smoldering.
And Turner was now having trouble controlling his canoe in the swirling waters.
Wakenhut to the right, Washington school to the right of Wakenhut
Mrs. Emmanuel Andrews, who lived above Neyhart's store, later said that when the explosion occurred it knocked all the windows out of her apartment and caused the chandelier in her living room fell to her feet.
"I thought the D.S. Andrus building had fallen down" she said.
Her and her husband ran to the rear window, where they saw the Wakenhut and Faries buildings in flames, only a few feet away from their back porch. A dozen persons were screaming from the Hunt building, on the east side that faced their apartment.
Mrs. Andrews ran for a ladder, and carried it across the roof of Neyharts store, while Mr. Andrews poured buckets of water onto the sparks as they fell on the Neyhart building.
Clarence Roush and James Wallis came down the ladder from the third floor of the Hunt building. The windows of the second floor were barricaded. The men then put up a runway to the third floor window, to help the 8 others get down to the store roof.
Three of the 8 were "invalid women more than 70 years old." The Grit listed:
- Miss Annie L. Plummer, invalid
- Miss Bartha K. Barner, Bedridden
- Miss Barners Sister, "Also ill"
All three could barely walk, and Miss Barner's sister was taken from her bed and carried to the Neyhart roof clothed only in a nightgown and coat.
The others who climbed down were:
- Mrs Lacy Flowers
- Mr Roush's 12 year old daughter
- Mrs Wallis, a sister of rs Wallis.
- Andrew Kepler
- "and another woman"
The women all went into the Andrews apartment, where Mrs. Andrews mother, Mrs. Helen Franciscus, was also staying. Several of the women became quite frantic, with one so terrified of the fire and flood that she fell to the floor in hysterics.
Meanwhile, Mr. Andrews and all of the other men had formed a bucket brigade, in an attempt to save the Hunt building. Soon, they realized there was no hope.
The men then went into the Andrews apartment, smashed out a front window, climbed onto a ledge of the second story of the D.S. Andrus building, smashing a window for entrance there.
"By means of a rope they managed to get all of the women and girls into the Andrus building."
By this time Turner returned with his canoe, apparently having gone for help. Police Officers Clifford Pfleegor and Archie Velottt were along, with a row boat.
"By means of ropes, the men in the Andrus building lowered Mrs. Franciscus, the Roush girl, and another woman into the canoe. Turner and Pfleegor paddled over to the Stearns store, but had difficulty in finding a way of unloading the passengers. "
With the fire raging, and the flood waters rising, Pfleegor transferred into the row boat with Velott and they went back to the Andrus building where they loaded three more women in to their boat, including Mrs. Flowers and her sister.
"But the current was too strong for this boat, and it had not gone far before it capsized within sight of the women waiting to be rescued in the Andrus building.
"All five persons clung desperately to the boat and were carried down to the street to Market Square. At the square they clung to the traffic pagoda until a boat manned by William Major and Thomas Casson soon happened by in row boats arrived and rescued the group from there.
All of this was occurring at the same time as Lynn and the prisoners were rescuing others from the Meckler building, which was now "blazing furiously".
This was when the motor on Lynn's boat quit. Those in the Andrus building would have to wait for rescue.
The prisoners at the jail worked for two hours to repair the motor, then immediately went to the aid of those still waiting for rescue from the Andrus building. When the boat got to the Andrus store, the motor again died.
The men then obtained a strong rope from the Neuyhart store, and it was used to anchor the boat to Andrus building.
By now several of the women were so hysterical that they refused to leave the building, but the prisoners forced them into the motor boat. With the guide rope tied to the building the men were able to guide the boat downstream to the Stearns store, where they unloaded their passengers.
Two trips were made in this manner, before all were safe in either the jail or Stearns, where they would have to remain. By then it was 7pm - all of that had occurred in just under 5 hours time.
Both groups had plenty of food. At the jail, Ward Rosser, prison cook, fed almost two dozen refugees. There were about 15 at Stearns.
The fire died down gradually after the Hunt building burned.
This photo, from the following day when the flood waters have receded, shows the Meckler auto sign on the corner building.
The efforts of the men who formed the bucket brigade, and the thick fire wall between the Hunt and Neyhard buildings, saved the block from further destruction.
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The fire kicked back up the next day, but by then the flood waters had gone down enough that the firemen could extinguish it with "regular equipment". The firemen then pulled down the "tottering brick walls" to make the street safe for passing traffic and pedestrians.
Four of the prisoners had spent the night at Stearns. The next morning, Sheriff Mertz was walking down third street when he spotted all four of them standing on the fire escape at Stearns. The four yelled down "Hello Sheriff"
"Don't forget to come back" was the Sheriff's reply as he continued down the street.
"That evening the four prisoners appeared at the jail, along with the other that had been released. not one took advantage of the situation in any manner that is reported."
THE CAUSE & THE RESPONSES
Several papers had reported that the explosion was caused by ammonia in the refrigeration system. The Grit repeated an alternate theory, put forth by a workman at the Glossor Motor Car Garage Co, that gasoline had escaped from the huge tanks in the nearby Gulf Gasoline filling station. He believed that the gasoline fumes struck a live wire.
The blaze burned south to the Glosser Motor Car company, north to the Faries Apartments, Fetzer furniture Company, and Meckler Auto Supply company, and east to the Moore Restaurant, Schuster Radio Agency, New Way Lunch, A. B. Hunt, and the American store.
Others named specifically for their efforts in boat rescues throughout the city included" Cal Young and A.F. (Cozey) Dolan, Carl Hall & The Sea Scouts. Many others lined up at the ends of streets in boats at the waters edge, above the railroad tracks. Cars with radios were stationed nearby, so that calls to WRAK could be heard, and relayed to the boats, effectively directing help where needed. (See Hello Al - the ham radio operator who worked non stop to pass along information to WRAK, who then broadcast using car batteries for power)
On March 29th, the Grit reported that all 8 of the businesses destroyed in the fire had insurance, but several were uncertain the insurance would be enough to cover losses. Five of the eight planned to reopen.
A B Hunt & Co had already established temporary headquarters at the Prior and Sallada Company on Pine Street.
S A Glosser, Glosser Motor Car Company, stated that he planned to reopen in his building on William and Church Sts, as soon as repairs were made. He was temporarily located at the Majestic Garage on Church Street. The Glosser building was only one story high, and due to the height of the water, only the roof was burned. All the cars and equipment had been moved in preparation for the flood. Fire insurance would cover the cost of the new roof.
The Schuster Radio company planned to rebuild at their old location.
Mecklers Auto Supply planned to set up business at 229 West 3rd street, formerly occupied by Bloom and Company. Meckler lost $6,000 in stock and his building was destroyed in the fire. He did have some insurance.
Vaganos, owner of the New Way Lunch, was considering a location Hepburn street between Third and Fourth.
John L. Kauffeld reported that plans were not yet known for the Wakenhut Ice Cream Company. His partner, V.J. Kauffeld was still recovering, at the home of friends in South Williamsport, from the burns he received in the explosion. Temporary office headquarters were established at 48 Ross Street.
Ellsworth Smale, one of the owners of Fetzer Furniture Co, said it would be impossible to reorganize. About $3,500 worth of stock was destroyed, and insurance would only cover a part of the loss. Mr. Smale also suffered heavy losses at his home at 1154 West Third Street.
Millard G. Moore, who operated another restaurant, did not plan to go back into business and was looking for a job. Friends said he intended to sell his establishment anyway, and he carried enough insurance to equal his loss.
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