Arson World: Part 8: The Midtown Conflagration of 1981
Arson was the order of the day during Gary’s early decline years. The emptied-out Midtown area was devastated by municipal neglect, crime, gang activity, and murders. The entire Calumet Region suffered from unemployment, well ahead of the national and state average. But, to no surprise to anyone, Gary suffered the most.
In addition, several firebugs ran rampant through Gary. The following story is paraphrased from The Times.
Midtown Gary
Thursday, April 2, 1981; 3 PM
Thirty-seven-degree morning temperatures broke to reach 79 degrees by the afternoon. The sun shined bright over 1643 Jefferson Street, an abandoned frame house in the middle of the block. The wind picked up, gusting through the decrepit neighborhood as people went about their day.
On the front porch, a fire was lit with, presumably, paper as a fuel source.
“It was a little bitty old fire when it began,” said resident Peter Gisselle. “You could have put it out with your feet. But the next thing you know, it was a sure ‘nuff fire.”
The wind fed the pyre, causing it to get out of control quickly. The entire front porch was ablaze in minutes, heat and flame licking wildly in the air.
It became a wind-driven fire situation. The block of 16th and Jefferson Street was in grave danger. Firefighters from Station №2 were the first to arrive, posted just a few blocks south.
The smoky reek was so thick they had trouble finding the house. The truth was that multiple homes were now burning, not just one. Three of the homes were fully engulfed at this time.
Finally, after circling the block a few times, they found a place to set up. Over 30 pieces of apparatus were on the scene.
The fire burned furiously, giving firefighters a tough time. Walter Webb, a fireman, suffered a heart attack. Assistant Deputy Chief Donald Auston and Michael LaMarr were treated for injuries when a high-pressure hose burst at the hydrant connection. The hose whipped through the air violently, knocking both men around like rag dolls.
Neighbors were able to escape the devouring flames without suffering any serious injuries.
“The smoke was so bad it was stifling people,” said Vernon Doughty. “You couldn’t tell which house was on fire.”
Six wood frame homes got burned to the ground over the 9-hour course of the inferno. Twelve other homes, many or all occupied, received roof damage from wind-driven embers and other debris. Again, the roofs burned, and many of their upper floors were gutted. There was no way owners could salvage any of these homes.
Reported addresses of completely destroyed homes:
- 1616 Jefferson Street
- 1617 Jefferson Street
- 1625 Jefferson Street
- 1629 Jefferson Street
- 1633 Jefferson Street
- 1643 Jefferson Street
We can assume that the other addresses received significant damage, not wholly lost, as in the previously listed locations.
Twenty-one people were left homeless as a result of the fire. Calumet Township offered shelter at the Sheraton Hotel, but only six people took up the offer to relocate there temporarily. Most others remained on the scene to crawl through the debris and salvage whatever they could.
Eventually, the entire block got razed. Today, 16th and Jefferson Street has still not gotten rehabilitated. Instead, it’s a mini jungle, with most plots reclaimed by nature. There isn’t a scrap of evidence that anything used to exist there.
I discovered this story while trying to locate the origin of these 1987 pictures:
They are located on the Library of Congress website HERE. The captions identify the location as 16th & Adams. It’s more likely; however, 16th & Jefferson. In any event, these 1987 pictures show how the neighborhood was completely devastated by this event.