Week 61: The 1946 Chandler Fire

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The Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906.  Prescott’s 1900 Whiskey Row Fire.  All of these fires have one thing in common – they devastated large portions of the cities where they occurred.  Dr. Chandler wanted to prevent that kind of tragedy in his own town.  He made sure that both the San Marcos Hotel and the downtown square would all be built as safe, fire-proof buildings. However, despite all the best planning, on October 15, 1946, Chandler suffered its own devastating fire.

Shortly after midnight that Tuesday morning, a small fire ignited at the Foxworth and Galbraith Lumberyard which was located on Washington Street, midway between Boston and Chicago Streets.  Within minutes the entire yard was in flames.  The Chandler Volunteer Fire Department was called out, but the conflagration continued to spread.  It first moved north to the adjacent O.S. Stapley Hardware store warehouse.  Then, as the fire grew in intensity, it jumped the alley west of the Lumberyard igniting the Western Tavern and spreading to the neighboring Chandler Market.

By then an entire block was ablaze.  Almost every Chandler resident turned out to watch the efforts of the firefighters in battling what the Chandler Arizonan called “by far the worst fire in the history of the Chandler district.”  The intense heat kept people from getting any closer than the far side of the street.  As they watched, the big pane glass window on the front of the Tavern exploded, showering onlookers with shards of glass and injuring three men.

It was too much for the Chandler volunteer firefighters, their light pumper truck, and limited fire hose.  Reinforcements from Tempe and Williams Air Force Base were called in to help.  The arrival of these crews, especially those from the air base, turned the tide in the fight against the monstrous fire.  They arrived with two large pumpers, thousands of feet of hose, and 20 military police to guard the furnishings and equipment hastily removed from the burning buildings.

After pouring water on the flames for more than three hours firefighters were finally able to extinguish the fire and an assessment of the damage was begun.  Three buildings were a total loss – the lumberyard, the Stapley warehouse, and the Western Tavern.  The Chandler Grocery, and the attached residence of shopkeeper Jimmy Tang, suffered from fire and water damage.  All told, there was more than $200,000 worth of damage.  Additionally, five people were injured.  Three were hurt when the Western Tavern window exploded.  Jimmy Tang suffered a head injury while attempting to remove goods from his store.  Milton Fox, a firefighter from Williams, cut his foot while dragging hose through piles of sheet metal.

As the site cooled, the affected townspeople immediately began to rebuild their businesses bigger and better.  Foxworth and Galbraith were closed for only one day. They built a temporary office and stockroom just south of their original location on Washington Street. Within just one week, they had submitted for permitting approval new plans for a larger facility at the same location.  O.S. Stapley committed to rebuild its warehouse, but in the meantime supplied its Chandler location from other stores throughout the Valley.  Harry Knight and Carl Dossey purchased the site of the destroyed Western Tavern from L. P. Serrano.  The two men built what was described as an “ultra-modern building” for the tavern, making it one of the finest cocktail lounges in the state. Finally, Jimmy Tang, despite his injury, immediately set about getting his establishment in “ship-shape condition.”  Grateful for all the efforts that prevented the fire from spreading, the O.S. Stapley Company held a dinner for the firefighters from Chandler, Tempe, and Williams Air Force Base.