Comanche Steamship Fire - 1901

Norwich Ladies Narrowly Escape a Terrible Fate

Fire on the Steamship Comanche

Utica Saturday Globe, February 1901



Mrs. Marvin W. Tanner and daughter, Minnie Tanner

 



Last Friday's press dispatches contained the details of a disaster that befell the Clyde line steamship Comanche on Wednesday.  About 3 o'clock in the morning while the ship was weathering a gale off Fenwick's lightship the man on watch saw a small flame coming from the skylight of the engine room amidship and before the men could answer the call from the bells, a volume of fire swept up and blazed 12 feet high.  It was impossible to launch the lifeboats and to take to the water meant death in the cold and ice.  The coolness and courage of Capt. Pennington and crew alone averted a panic among the 200 passengers, most of whom were tourists bound for Florida.  Among these were two Norwich [Chenango Co., NY] ladies, Mrs. Marvin W. Tanner and her daughter, Minnie.  Just after the crew had been called, the passengers were quietly notified of the danger and rushed in the cabins fore and aft.  Once in they were guarded to prevent an indiscriminate rush to the decks, and above the crackle of the flames there could be heard voices of prayer for safety.  When not urging on his crew Capt. Pennignton was in the cabins giving assurance that the ship was safe.

 

It is not known how the fire started.  The flames licked the dry sides of the wooden walls and had fine play on the combustible stuffs and then swept through the skylight in one volume.  The danger was not at an end until 5 a.m., after the crew had been bravely fighting for two hours.  Father John J. Dougherty, of the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, New York, Rev. J.F. Foster, of Geneva, and others went about to comfort the passengers.  Father Dougherty said afterwards that a crew could not have acted with more bravery.  He said that practically all of the passengers had realized that they were near death.  A meeting of the passengers was held in the cabin, when resolutions of thanks to the officers and crew were adopted and brief speeches were made.  Capt. Pennington answered for his men.  A purse of $100 was raised and presented to the crew. 

 

Save for the bruises, none of the passengers was injured.  Hundreds of telegrams were sent to friends at home by passengers to prevent fear as to their safety.  Mr. Tanner was among those who received a telegram notifying him of the safety of his wife and daughter.  A letter received later gave the particulars of their great peril and fortunate escape.

 

Comanche on Fire at Sea

The Sun, New York City, February 15, 1901

 

Charleston, S.C., Feb. 14:  Fire which was discovered in the engine room of the Clyde steamship Comanche at 3 a.m. on Wednesday, while the ship was ploughing through a gale off Fenwick's Island lightship, created a panic among 200 passengers, the majority of whom were tourists bound for Florida. The night was bitter cold, the sea was running high and the deck was covered with ice.  The man on watch saw a small flame coming from the skylight of the engine room amidships and before the man could answer the call from the bells a volume of fire swept up and blazed twelve feet high.

 

A moment later there was pandemonium.  Passengers occupying berths adjoining the engine compartment were called first, but before they could be dragged out, the fire had eaten through the woodwork.  Mrs. Bock and Miss Bock of Bridgeport, Conn. who were in room 13, were slightly burned, but not seriously, and other passengers close by were rescued in time. The fire apparatus was set at work promptly and four streams were played on the flames.  Smoke was driven in large quantities through the hatchways and into the cabins and the work of the crew was badly hampered.  In an hour, however, the fire was under control.

 

Capt. Pennington quickly saw that the only safety for his 200 passengers was to get the fire under control.  Lifeboats could not be launched, and the cold and ice would have meant quick death for persons taking to the water.  There was no port nearby to be made and not a vessel in any direction could be seen.  The engines were not injured by fire and the speed was only slackened a bit, but the course of the steamer was switched about in order to have the flames driven from the vessel.

 

Just after the crew had been called, the passengers were quietly notified of the danger and rushed in the cabins fore and aft.  Once in they were guarded to prevent an indiscriminate rush to the deck, and above the crackle of the flames there could be heard voices of prayer for safety.  When not urging on his crew Capt. Pennington was in the cabins giving assurance that the ship was safe.

 

Capt. Pennington said today when his ship got into port that he never saw a braver lot of passengers.  "They realized the great danger," he said, "but they felt safe in our hands, and were assured that we would all pull through without danger.  There was nothing to do but get that fire extinguished.  Had it spread into the cabins further away no force that we had could have prevented entire destruction, and it was the mercy of God that saved us.  The crew acted nobly.  Not a man left his post.  I had told the officers to call the passengers quietly, but with that flame of fire in the air it was impossible to show them that the fire was trifling.  The ladies were cared for first, but there was no panic, and the passengers never acted better.  I have been on the sea a great many years and I felt that we were doomed if that fire was not quickly extinguished, but with all the risk and danger the people were brave." 

 

The engine room extends up through the two decks.  It is not known how the fire originated, but it started possibly in the storeroom.  The flames licked the dry sides of the wooden walls and had fine play on the combustible stuffs and then swept through the skylight in one volume. The danger was not at an end until 5 A.M., after the crew had been bravely fighting for two hours and the Comanche went on her journey with a small loss of time.

 

Father John J. Dougherty of the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, New York, the Rev. J.P. Foster of Geneva and others went about to comfort the passengers.  Father Dougherty said today that a crew could not have acted with more bravery.  He said that practically all of the passengers had realized that they were near death.  Last night there was a meeting of the passengers in the cabin, when resolutions of thanks to the officers and crew were adopted and brief speeches were made.  Capt. Pennington answered for his men. A purse of $100 was raised and presented to the crew. 

 

Save for the bruises, none of the passengers was injured.  The members of the crew suffered most.  There were many burns, and frostbitten hands and feet were left as a proof of the exposure suffered by the fire brigade.  The damage to the Comanche has not been estimated.  All of the woodwork in the engine room will have to be replaced, and five staterooms were burned.  The carpets were damaged and the baggage and effects of some of the passengers were ruined.

 

The Comanche got in here at noon without having lost time from her schedule, and sailed tonight for Florida. The passengers sent hundreds of telegrams to friends at home to prevent fear as to their safety.