Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Robie Industrial fire aftermath, February 1972

Description

"An arsonist set a number of devastating fires in the early 1970s, including the 10.5 acre Robie Industrial Park fire on Saturday, February 5, 1972. The Water Street complex was once home to Cyrus Wakefield's Rattan Company, and later, the Heywood-Wakefield Company. The site is now occupied by Shaw's supermarket. Firefighters first encountered heavy smoke in the basement of the Continental Chemical Company, and within minutes, flames fully engulfed the four-story structure. A catwalk which connected the building to another helped spread the fire, as did an underground tunnel between two of the buildings. Five of the seven buildings were completely destroyed. The evening blaze was reported to be the worst 'disaster' in the Town's history, with more than 500 firefighters from 40 communities first reported to be battling the wind-driven flames which quickly spread from building to building. Reports also said that aid came from 'as far as Brockton, Concord (New Hampshire), and Worcester'. Because of high winds and freezing temperatures, the water used to fight the fire turned to ice which coated the streets, hoses, couplings, hydrants and the firefighters. The fire continued to smolder the next day, and crews from the Department of Public Works scraped ice from the pavement in the complex, as well as Water and New Salem Streets. They worked with fire and police to thaw the couplings and hydrants and removed the frozen hoses to the Greenwood Fire Station. Initial reports indicated that approximately 1,000 people would be unemployed because of the fire, and losses would total $15 million. These figures were quickly downgraded to approximately 150 to 150 unemployed and the loss set at $2.5 million."

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2012

Photo courtesy of John Devlin

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

02-1972

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

Wakefield, Mass. : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Fires

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture: b & w

Extent

33 x 17 cm.