 Firefighters attacking the blaze | |
| Date | 3 July 1908 |
|---|---|
| Location | Cleveland, Ohio USA |
| Type | Fireworks disaster |
| Cause | Fire |
| Deaths | 7 |
| Non-fatal injuries | close to 1000 |
| Property damage | 1900 buildings damaged or destroyed |
At about 11 am on July 3, 1908, fire consumed the S.S. Kresge five-and-dime store at 2025 Ontario Street in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The 4 story building housed a basement restaurant and offices on the third and fourth floors, with the street level first floor and the second floor occupied by the store. A cental staircase joined the two floors. On this day, the store was stocked with $30,000 in assorted fireworks like firecrackers, Roman candles, rockets, and sparklers for the 4th of July holiday. Clerk Winifred Duncan, assured by the store manager that the sparklers were “perfectly harmless,” was demonstrating them for customers like Mrs. Minnie Parker and her four-year-old son Jimmy. When Duncan turned towards a display of stacks of fireworks next to an American flag, sparks from the sparkler she held ignited the flag and Mrs. Parker’s dress. As the women tried to smother the fire, sparks from the fabric ignited the stacked fireworks in the display. The 200 customers and clerks scrambled for the exits amid quickly growing inferno as the fireworks exploded, setting goods and people aflame. On the second floor, people either tried to exit down the stairs and through the main entrance or by way of the fire escape. Many jumped from the windows facing Ontario Street, resulting in some serious injuries.