 Melony
Block Fire (Maverick Laundry)
 The
Maverick Laundry fire occurred on Wednesday, May
8, 1908. Box 32, at the corner of Bank and Main
was struck at 12:05 in the afternoon. The
Maverick Laundry was located in the Melony Block
which was just across the street from the Hooker
House. At the time of the alarm, thick black
smoke was coming from both the laundry and from
the A.C. Blanchette furniture store.
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 Melony
Block
 The
flames worked their way through the floor and
into Blanchette's furniture dealer’s store. That
caused much of the furniture store’s stock to be
damaged by flames, smoke or water.
Unfortunately, just a few days earlier,
Blanchette had received a new shipment of
household goods and four new pianos. |
Melony Block
 The
fire was believed to have started in the
basement drying room where the huge amount of
clothes drying there, along with carpets and
oily machinery created not only a mass of flames
but billowing clouds of smoke as well. It was
said that firemen at the rear of the building
had to stand back several feet in order to avoid
the smoke. |
Melony
Block fire
According to the Chronicle story, it was about
10 minutes before all the fire companies were on
the scene although “some companies arrived very
shortly after the alarm and in a few minutes
there were three streams of water on the
flames”.In this May 6, 1908 photo (originally
from "The Chronicle"), spectators gathered to
see the damage done by the fire in the Melony
Block. |
Melony Block Fire
 During the
Melony Block fire of May 6, 1908, serious losses
were incurred by the Maverick Laundry and the
Blanchette Furniture Store. The “Courant”
criticized the fire department for a delay in
response to the fire. Chief Webster discounted
that and said that it was just four minutes
between the alarm and the time that “water was
playing on the fire”. Chief Webster went on to
lament the fact that there was not enough
protective gear for the firefighters. |
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Windham High School
At
2:40 A.M. on April 28, 1913 a fire was
discovered at Windham High School. The companies
responded promptly but when firefighters reached
the school, it was apparent that the fire had
progressed rapidly
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Thread City Garage
/Johnson House
On
the night of January 9, 1915, what was said to
be, “one of the most serious fires in a decade”
occurred. The fire was discovered in the
Natchaug Garage, located directly in back of the
Johnson House Hotel on Main St. As one can see
from this photo, the fire eventually spread to
and gutted the Johnson House |
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The
fire continued to burn throughout the morning.
Many of those who came early stayed on even as
more devastated members of the community came to
see what was left of the building.
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Windham
High School fire
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Windham High School
fire ruins
This
photo shows part of the original Windham High
School after the disastrous April 27, 1913 fire.
The school was built in 1896 and an addition was
put on in 1910. The fire began in the addition
but the whole school was destroyed. |
 Windham
High School fire
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 Windham
High School fire
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St. Valentine's Day -
1968The
famous St. Valentines Day fire of 1968 destroyed
the Sherwin-Williams paint store, and a vital
center of old Willimantic. Many suspect the fire
was set in an attempt to attract HUD funds for
the city's ill-fated urban-renewal program. Note
the icicles on the traffic lights. |
St.
Valentine's Day |
St.
Valentine's Day |
St.
Valentine's Day |
St.
Valentine's Day |
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St.
Valentine's Day |
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St.
Valentine's Day |
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 Willimantic
Fire Alarm Box locations |
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Windham Lumber Company fire
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Normal
School |
Normal School
Fire aftermath
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Normal School Fire aftermath
<<Click
here for more photos
of the the Normal School
fire.>> |
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