In the early morning hours of 3 November 1924, a disastrous fire swept through the center of Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The perfect storm of the failure of the borough council to approve the establishment of a water department or an organized fire department coupled with high winds, led to the spread of the fire across a street and alleys. The result was the leveling of the town center.
One contemporary account of the fire is found in the Lykens Standard, 7 November 1924. It described efforts to save the buildings and contents before the flames consumed them. The article did not speculate on the cause of the fire. Loss estimates were given as $200,000.
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HEART OF GRATZ BUSINESS SECTION BURNED TO ASHES
LOSS ESTIMATED AT $200.000
[for photo accompanying this article, see The Great Gratz Fire of 1924 as Reported by the Lykens Standard (2)]
Today the central part of the Borough of Gratz, the enterprising inland town of Upper Dauphin County is in ruins, caused by flame, which swept that section shortly after midnight Monday causing a property loss of more than $200,000.
The flames, discovered shortly after midnight by Irvin Bixler and C. T. Updegrave, were burning the ice house belonging to the Kerstetter Hotel. Efforts were made to extinguish these; volunteers started a bucket brigade and all worked like beaver with no result for a strong western wind fanned the blaze and err long the entire central section was a mass of flames.
Heroic work on the part of Harry Smith, who was ably assisted in getting assistance by the telephone operator at Elizabethville, summoned companies from Lykens, Wiconisco, Millersburg, Elizabethville, Valley View, requests were sent to Harrisburg for assistance and four companies, the Good Will, Friendship, Hope and Mt. Pleasant were loaded on a special train and given clear track to Millersburg. Upon arrival at Millersburg it was learned the other companies at the blaze had the fire under control and the Harrisburg companies returned to their city.
Elizabethville and Lykens and Wiconisco companies deserved great credit as they worked hard and were instrumental in saving adjoining dwellings to the flames, which, had the building caught might have meant the destruction of the town.
Miller Brothers store building and Charles Klinger‘s home were on fire several times but diligent watch by the firemen saved these buildings.
The high wind carried burning embers a distance of more than half a mile and when the blaze was at its height, a hay stack located at the fair grounds burst into flames. This was extinguished shortly after with little loss.
Among the property lost was: Kissinger Hotel and private property with outbuilding entailing a loss of more than $10,000, on which little insurance was carried.
Harry Smith store, restaurant, public hall, residence and bottling establishment together with other small adjoining buildings fell. The loss of Mr. Smith was estimated at $50,000 of which there is only one-tenth of the amount protected by insurance.
George Hepler lost two large barns with the season’s crops containing hay, oats, corn, etc., and many up-to-date modern farming machines.
Miller Brothers barn, Hoffman Brothers Garage, and barns of Ira Rothermel, George Umholtz and Daniel Koppenhaver were burned to the ground.
Only the fact that the high wind died down in early morning saved the entire town from destruction.
Yesterday men were busy cleaning away the debris of the flame-swept section, but nothing could be learned whether the properties will be re-built.
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The news story was obtained through the resources of Newspapers.com.