Regardless of who is on duty at the fire station, one thing remains the same – a major fire could strike at any time. At 2:00 a.m. on the morning of January 27, 1953, that is exactly what happened as the biggest fire Little Falls had seen in decades lit up the night sky.

A tanker truck carrying 4,800 gallons of gasoline was making its way down the Gorge View Highway (Route 5), heading westbound into the city. That morning a steady sleet and freezing rain fell on Little Falls and would soon be the cause of a major disaster. As the tanker was attempting to negotiate the turn onto East Main Street (the Route 5 Arterial had not yet been built), the truck overturned and its contents began to spill into the road. Immediately realizing the extreme danger, the driver of the truck, Robert Michael of Rochester, N.Y. ran to all the nearby houses to alert the residents of the impending danger. As the last of the residents made their way into the street, they witnessed a horrifying sight.

The cab of the truck caught fire and ignited the thousands of gallons of gasoline that had poured into the road creating a tidal wave of flames. Little Falls Firefighters quickly responded, but initially could get no closer than 500 feet due to the intense heat. When they were able to move in, the firefighters found seven houses and two garages on fire all at the same time.

Herkimer and Dolgeville Fire Departments were called for and responded. A total of eight two-and-a-half-inch hoses were used as well as the new Little Falls aerial truck to save the Gulf Garage building at the northeast corner of East Main and Ward Streets from complete destruction. When the flames were completely extinguished, three homes were completely destroyed, four were badly damaged, and 28 people were left without a home. The addresses affected were 111, 115, and 117 Hancock Street, as well as 807, 809, 812, and 814 East Main Street. It is nothing short of a miracle that there were no fatalities and the only injury was a minor leg wound sustained by the driver of the gasoline truck.

A Mysterious Call

Not all calls firefighters respond to are big fires far from it. In fact, the 1950s saw a sharp increase in the amount of non-fire emergency calls. These types of alarms include: trees down, an odor of gas, and flooding among other things. The ambulance also saw a marked increase in calls during the 1950s as well.

Every once in a while, a bizarre call will come in, as was the case on March 22, 1954. Little Falls firefighters and police officers were called to River Road for a car that had plunged into the Mohawk River. When the car was pulled from the river, there were no bodies found, prompting the LFFD to begin dragging operations with grappling hooks off of a boat owned by the Call Fireman’s Association.

While this was going on, the police examined the car and discovered the car was in low gear with the throttle wide open. Based on this, they determined the car was empty when it plunged into the river, but the big question was why?

An investigation followed, and the driver of the vehicle was eventually identified as Rexford Tabor, a resident of the Town of Danube. The investigation revealed Tabor had taken out a life insurance policy on himself the week before (with his wife as the beneficiary), and was last seen taking a taxi to the Utica Bus Station after the “accident.” Tabor had not been heard from for nine months until he turned himself in at the East Herkimer State Police barracks. He had been hiding in Richmond, Virginia, and planned the whole thing because he “wanted to straighten himself out.”

The Christmas Fires of 1958

On Christmas morning of 1958, a barn on Paradise Road owned by Denton Bennet burned to the ground. Everything in it, including a dog and a cat was lost.

At about 8:00 a.m. the following morning, the VFW Lodge at 18 Church Street suffered a fire that caused extensive damage. The blaze destroyed the bar area and damaged the front room. A ten-foot hole burned through the ceiling and damaged a second-floor meeting room as well. Several windows were broken while fighting the fire, and the entire building had smoke and water damage throughout.

The original building was torn down, and a new lodge was built in the same spot. It still stands today, and was last used as a storefront for Valley Restaurant Equipment.

A special thanks to the Little Falls Historical Society for access to their Cooney files.

The original VFW Lodge at 18 Church Street.