The Horan Archive Chicago fire history

The Horan Archive · Person records

Person records · Union Stock Yards

Fallen 21

Twenty-one Chicago Fire Department members killed in the line of duty at Nelson Morris Beef Plant No. 7 on 22–23 December 1910. Ranks and company assignments follow official department records and the CFD Foundation Roll of Honor.

Line of duty 22–23 Dec 1910 21 CFD fallen
  1. James J. Horan Chief Fire Marshal Headquarters
  2. William J. Burroughs Asst. Fire Marshal Headquarters
  3. Patrick E. Collins Captain Engine Co. 59

  4. Father and son

    Dennis N. Doyle Captain Engine Co. 39
  5. Nicholas D. Doyle Truckman Truck Co. 11
  6. William G. Sturm Lieutenant Engine Co. 64
  7. Herman G. Brandenberg Lieutenant Truck Co. 11
  8. James J. Fitzgerald Lieutenant Engine Co. 23
  9. Edward J. Danis Lieutenant Engine Co. 61
  10. Edward D. Schonsett Truckman Truck Co. 11
  11. Albert J. Moriarty Truckman Truck Co. 11
  12. Michael F. McInerney Truckman Truck Co. 11
  13. Peter J. Powers Truckman Truck Co. 11
  14. Charles N. Moore Truckman Truck Co. 18
  15. Nicholas Crane Truckman Truck Co. 18
  16. Thomas J. Costello Pipeman Engine Co. 29
  17. Frank W. Walters Pipeman Engine Co. 59
  18. George F. Murawski Pipeman Engine Co. 49
  19. George E. Enthof Pipeman Engine Co. 23
  20. William F. Weber Driver Engine Co. 59
  21. Alexander D. Lannon Captain Engine Co. 50 · died 23 Dec 1910

Packinghouse casualties

Three packinghouse workers died alongside the twenty-one firefighters when the exterior wall collapsed onto the loading canopy at Nelson Morris Beef Plant No. 7. Because contemporary 1910 newspaper dispatches, coroner rolls, and railroad records recorded their surnames differently, the documented variants are preserved below:

  • Andrew Dymuran / Dzurman

    Night watchman · Nelson Morris & Co. Beef Plant No. 7

    On duty when fire was discovered in the basement hide room around 4:00 a.m. Trapped during the initial stages of the fire and collapse while assisting in sounding the alarm and evacuating the plant. Period papers alternate between Dymeran and Dzurman.

    Night watchman

  • Stephen Leen

    Clerk · Chicago Junction Railway / Morris & Co. shipping

    Working the rail sidings adjacent to Beef Plant No. 7 checking freight car manifests when the alarm sounded. Trapped beneath the loading canopy on the east side of the building when six stories of brick buckled outward.

    Railway clerk

  • Patrick Realph / Reach

    Shipping clerk & livestock handler · Nelson Morris & Co.

    Stationed on the canopy platform assisting fire crews with hose lines and plant access during the early response. Killed instantly under falling masonry. Contemporary reports alternate between Realph, Realf, and Reach.

    Shipping clerk

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