 fire department and major biloxi fires fire department and major biloxi fires ray wed 7242013 1542  biloxi fire department time line felix charles borries  18601937 courtesy of janice hughey hoganseptember 2013  frederick h mccaleb  18461909 from find a gravecom  1883 city of biloxi organized its first fire company  biloxi volunteer fire company no 1  on september 3rd  at the montross hotel fw elmer pres will c grant v pres pj montross treas phil mccabe foreman thomas p bachino 1st assist and frank greveniing 2nd assist others involved leon bertoli joe tucei john b bachino n petrie albert deck thomas mccabe daniel bachino jm ritch mj grady george h schrieber and n sullivan the daily picayune september 6 1883 p 1  1890 the mississippi hook ladder fire company no 1 was chartered on february 21 1890 by the following august barthes e beaucoudray joseph bellande peter bellande newt bellande eb chambers j clark m clark william collins thomas collins p dalton ab delamarre percy l elmer a giron wp henley lee kelty jc laage jb lemon phil lestrade william master dan mccarthy y petrie r price alex redon jr t rachford phil wagner the biloxi herald april 12 1890 p 2 the biloxi fire companies  biloxi volunteer fire company no 1 hook and ladder fire company no 1 and mechanics steam fire company no 2  met in may and decided that september 19th would be the day of their annual parade since that was the day that the biloxi volunteer fire company was organized the biloxi herald nominated phil mccabe as chief of the fire department the biloxi herald may 24 1890 p 4  1891 the engine room of the barataria canning company burned in early september 1891 damage was estimated at 1000 and the plant was disabled for a few days  the biloxi herald september 12 1891 p 4    1892 on march 18th  a fire of incendiary origin destroyed the sash door and blind factory of ml vazquez  north of the railorad loss estimated at 2000 with 1000 insurance by phoenix a small house valued at 400 and owned by collier also lost the biloxi herald march 19 1892 p 4  1894 the biloxi herald february 17 1894 p 8 june 1909 sanborn mapsheet 6 the biloxi herald june 9 1894 p 8 on october 12th  biloxi s commercial district was inflicted losses of about 75000  when a large fire commenced in the twostory jw swetman building on pass christian street big losers were s picard 25000 jw swetman 8000 ge ohr sr 5000 wkm dukate 4500 and the pottery of ge ohr jr 18571918 3000 the biloxi herald october 13 1894 p 8  1895 arsene o bourdon sr  of the mechanics steam fire engine company no 2 was elected fire chief to succeed edward glennan  18541933  emile tremmel  18681898 of the mississippi hool and ladder fire company was elected first assistant the biloxi herald september 7 1895 p 8  1896  the biloxi herald october 31 1896 p 8  1897 arsene o bourdon sr 18451901 was retired as biloxi s fire chief as an election was held  1898  on august 18th  fw elmer was elected fire chief of biloxi by delegates from the various fire companies of the city felix borries was elected 1st assistant and gus barthes 2nd assistan t the annual firemen s day parade which had been neglected for a few years was planned for september 19th with isidore heidenheim elected grand marshal of the parade  the biloxi daily herald august 19 1898 p 8  1900 on november 9th the  great biloxi fire started in the rear of kennedy s saloon  near the l n depot on reynoir street hotel and devastated about ninety commercial and residential structures south to the beach  damages estimated at about 600000  the biloxi daily herald november 9 1900 p 1  1904 the city of biloxi passed an ordinance in may that subsidized the two local fire companies to provide fire protection for biloxi  volunteer fire company no 1 received 250 per year while  hook and ladder company no 1 was given 125 annually for thier support in addition biloxi was to furnish the following ladders and buckets on hook and ladder trucks three hose reels to be purchased with 250feet of hose each and to be located outside markets mississippi volunteer company no 1 firemen were to remunerated as follows engineer 5 per fire fireman 250 per fire pipe men not to exceed 2 per lead hose 300 per fire team that hauls an engine to fire to get 1000 and team that hauls hook and ladder truck to be paid 500 the biloxi daily herald may 4 1904 p 1  the east end hose company no 1 was organized on october 5 1904 at sterne s store 0n point cadet with 37 men present officers of the company were  peter c ott  pres john s wentzel vicepres wt sterne sec wg manuel treas john ott sr foreman alexander ewing 1 st assistant foreman charles wentzel 2 nd assistant foreman and joseph arguelles assistant aid to the fire chief dues were set at 50 cents for three months by october 8 th the company was fully equipped with a hose carriage and ancillary equipment the fire company s equipment was stored in the east end market house the company s first mask ball was held on december 22 1904 the biloxi daily herald october 6 1904 p 5 october 8 1905 p 5 december 22 1904 p 1 and september 19 1907 p 4 the back bay hose company was organized on november 11 1904 in a small shed owned by nick voivedich on fayard street there were 20 charter members with a hose drawn reel william gorenflo and edward c joullian were generous supporters of this organization in tis primal years the company named its two horses joullian and reynoir original officers of back bay hose company were jb reynoir president william thompson vpres nick voivecich foreman george duvic 1st assistant and arthur richard 2nd assistant the daily herald september 20 1915 p 2  philip mccabe  18371904 native of new orleans and  first chief engineer of the biloxi volunteer fire company expired in middecember  in their youth ed glennan and charles redding both worked for mr mccabe at nola when he had a stove business on camp street in nola mccabe also was the  first tin can manufacturer on the coast making fruit oyster and vegetable cans  the pascagoula democratstar october 28 1881 p 3 and the biloxi daily herald december 16 1904 p 5  1905 alderman tj rosell chairman of the water works committee tested the waterfire pressure at fayard street and howard avenue with a 1 18 inch nozzle and it threw a stream of water 67 feet high or as high as the clock in the nativity bvm catholic church  the city has two water tanks the biloxi daily herald september 27 1905 p 2  1906   1910 in late april 1910 a fire on east division street destroyed three woodframed cottages  they were owned by frank cookvalue 1000 mrs john entrekinvalue 1000 and insured for 500 mrs martha parkervalue 400 the daily herald april 26 1910 p 4  henry eikel  19051976 and vera elmer  19021982 m hugh a brown ride on the cornucopia float of the hook and ladder fire company on 19 september 1910 at the biloxi firmen s day parade percy lee elmer  18731949 her father was the last living charter member of the mississippi hook and ladder fire co and was one of its officers for years mr elmer was city alderman for six years and formerly was city treasurer and in former years was prominently identified with local civic affairs  1913 the noblin house  owned by mrs ace noblin of edwards mississippi situated on west beach and used as a boarding house  caught fire in early august   mrs ld rodon and mrs wp davis both escaped death by jumping from the upper story  they were injured and treated by dr hm folkes and dr wg carroll who were both called to the conflagration it was occupied by mrs rodon for the summer months the structure was formerly utilized as a santarium by dr wr card the volunteer fire company the hook and ladder company and the west end fire company fought the blaze el castanera water works superintendent related that this fire was the first to test the new electrical fire pump at the local pumping station the pump maintained a pressure of 125 throughout the battle to save the noblin house  the daily herald august 7 1913 p 1 and august 8 1913 p 8  1921 the city had the following fire protection beginning the year  central station b mattina and joseph emile  mississippi hook ladder company charles sentell  west end fire company joseph peppard  back bay fire company harvey chinn  east end fire company fred knox and wf clark relief fireman the daily herald january 15 1921 p 1  1922 an 800  house inhabited by employees of the biloxi fisherman s packing company on point cadet was destroyed by fire on february 23rd  the structure was located in an alley just back of dave ahern s grocery store other cottages in the area caught fire but were saved by firemen from the east end mississippi hook and ladder and the volunteer fire companies of biloxi the daily herald february 23 1922 p 3 the dejean packing company on biloxi s east beach situated between dunbardukate and the seafood packing company  was entirely destroyed by fire on 21 august  the building owned by mrs jt maybury was valued at 1000 the packing company lost fresh and canned shrimp and machinery valued at 5000 there was no insurance in addition three moored schooners were damaged by the flames the place was known as the old greiner packing company the daily herald august 22 1922 p 1 on may 15 th a large fire destroyed onehalf of the 3 rd floor of the main building of the riviera hotel  formerly montross on beach boulevard and lameuse street damage estimated at 20000 the daily herald may 15 1922 p 1 after its gasoline engine backfired the hilda s  owned by martin fountain and sailed by george smith and moored at the seafood company pier on east beach received slight damage the blaze was controlled with only slight damage as the crew used its pyrine extinguisher the daily herald august 21 1922 p 3  1924 on december 16th  a fire at beauvoir destroyed dormitory no 3 which was situated west of the old hospital two confederate veterans perished in the conflagration  jt hunter  18441924 and fm sharp  18461924 they entered the soldier s home fro laurel and columbus respectively the daily herald december 17 1924 p 1  1925 hook and ladder fire company no 1 celebrated its 35th anniversary on february 23rd at its station on fayard street officers of the organization at this time were  jake lechner  18721930 president  thomas e collins  18641937 v pres  henry eikel  18691952 secretarytreasurer  august tremmel  18731942 foreman  will kornmann  1st assist  anthony v ragusin  19021997 2nd assist  charles sentell  housekeeper and frank bennett  flag bearer the daily herald february 24 1925 p 1  1926 on may 23rd  a large fire on west howard avenue destroyed the yerger building which housed the variety store electrik maid bakery newman furniture company   and biloxi mercantile company losses were estimated between 75000 100000 the biloxi news may 23 1926 p 1 and the daily herald may 24 1926 p 1 the bungalow of mrs kc roswell 1130 west beach between gill avenue amd porter caught fire in the early morning of september 4th three policemen evon swetman 19021976 richard grady and jake stanovich of the night patrol discovered the blaze and awoke the tenant mrs albert madding units from west end no 1 central no 1 and hook ladder no 1 arrived on the scene and quickly arrested the incipient conflagration limiting damage and the loss of the structure  the five city firemen were aided by volunteers the daily herald september 4 1926 p 1  1928 the  elmer packing company on back bay was destroyed by fire  on january 31st it was leased to louis a lundy of ocean springs at the time of the large conflagration the daily herald january 31 1928 p 2  1930 the jennie johnson  an auxiliary schooner owned by louis o johnson received fire damage amounting to 150 on april 20 1930 captain hub terrell was burned on his arm and torso from the fire which emanated from the ignition of gasoline vapors in the vessel s cabin when terrell lit a match the jennie johnson had just returned from the outside oyster reefs with a hold laden with mollusks and was moored at the johnson canning company wharf biloxi firemen were called to the vessel and performed admirably saving the boat and its cargo the cabin was burned as well as some of the decking and the mainsail was badly damaged by the conflagration the daily herald april 21 1930 p 2  1931 sunkist the popp home was destroyed by fire on 31 may the origin of the conflagration was unknown the daily herald june 1 1931 p 2 1933 the warehouse of frank p corso on caillavet street near the l n railroad  burned on october 11 1933 he suffered a heavy loss of about 6000 from fire and water damage mr corso will move to the warehouse formerly occupied buy the southern grocery  the daily herald october 11 1933 p 1 and october 14 1933 p 2  1934 in april 1934 a bulkhead and pumping stand were erected near the ramsay springs road highway and 500 feet from five points in north biloxi  chief sentell av ragusin and walter nixon visited the site the daily herald april 27 1934 p 7  1936 the wf mcdonnell home  a woodframed structure of eight rooms and situated on mcdonnell avenue just off west beach at biloxi  was destroyed by fire on april 23 1936  about  500 in musical instruments was lost and the house was valued at 7000  mrs mcdonnell was ill at the time of the conflagration and was taken to the home of mr and mrs thomas wiltz her neighbor the daily herald april 23 1936 p 3 on december 4th  ground was broken for the new back bay fire station on elder street the 116 foot by 200 foot lot was acquired from the elder estate john t collins was the architrect for the 5000 colonialstyle structure the daily herald december 4 1936 p 9  1937 in february  several homes on deer island were spared damage from the recent fire the daily herald february 4 1937 p 5  on april 1st work began on the new central fire station near city hall between main and elmer streets the new station was designed by john t collins and is 47 feet by 70 feet with a dormitory for 7 men and a kitchen it is taking the place of the fayard street fire station and fire apparatus from mississippi hook ladder company no 1 will be utilized christian a thompson was superintendent of the 20 man work force erecting the 10000 structure the new station was dedicated on july 1 the birthday of mayor louis braun who is also fire commissioner for the city the daily herald april 20 1937 p 1 and july 1 1937 p 1   the new west end fire station was dedicated on july 8th john t collins was project architect and robert conway built the fire engine mayor louis braun reminded the audience that 15 months prior while a candidate for mayor he promised that he would make improvements to biloxi s fire department if elected the daily herald july 9 1937 p 1 the new back bay fire station was dedicated on july 20th during the annual picnic and bazaar of the fourth ward regulars  john t collins was architect and robert  conway had built the company s fire engine which had an 85 hp motor and 850 feet of regular hose it was the 5th fire apparatus for the back bay fire company since its 1904 organization the daily herald june 21 1937 p 1  1940 chief sentell and his assistant evon swetman announced that the new 14 helmets for biloxi s firemen arrived in october the bakelite helmets were black with the initials bfd and the fireman s number in white in addition to this equipment there were three gas masks on order for the department the purchaes were made through funds raised from a recent benefit dance it was aspired that an inhalator soon be acquired for the bfd the daily herald october 1940    1942 the  sh kress store  on west howard avenue sustained   2000 in damages from a fire  in midnovember three alarm event and ow trawick was the store manager the daily herald november 13 1942 p 2  earl f cook  19071999 now attached to the central fire station  was appointed assistant fire chief in december 1942 earl joined the bfd on may 1 1935 he was the son of mr and mrs henry cook the december 23 1942 p 15  1944 on october 27 1944 a  fire in the old peoples bank building on the corner of howard avenue and lameuse street caused an estimated 13000 damage exclusive of fixtures and merchandise the collins were hired to replace the roof and perform structural work  the daily herald october 28 1944 p 1 and october 31 1944 p 5  1949 the  hick s battery manufacturing company on back bay near lee street burned on april 6 1949   damage was estimated at 50000   all five biloxi fire department trucks and two fire engines from keesler field answered the fire call fourteen firemen and several volunteers assisted in containing the conflagration the daily herald april 7 1949 p 1  1951 charles henry sentell  18841951 former biloxi fire chief 19331942 died on 25 january the daily herald january 26 1951 p 12 the laundry at the buena vista hotel caught fire on the afternoon of march 14 1951 resulting in 50000 in damages to the structure which was situated behind the hotel the fire was fed by linens and cleaning fluid unfortunately  anthony tony bernard rousseau  19081951  a biloxi volunteer fireman was killed while attempting to board the fire truck of the central fire station  he slipped fell and was run over by the rear wheels of the vehicle the daily herald march 14 1951 p 1  1952 bruce carsen howe  19511952 died on 12 march from burns received in a fire on carter avenue in west biloxi the child was rolling a jar of gasoline on the floor which exploded when near a heater in the home he was the son of mr and mrs robert howe whose father was donald witter howe  18911952 founder of seafoam company which manufactured food and pralines at their establishment on carter avenue damage to the howe home was estimated at 1500 the daily herald march 13 1952 p 1 biloxi ordered four new fire trucks costing about 63000 from the four wheel drive company of clintonville wisconsin two were high pressure pumpers 750gallon pumper and two were standard750 gallon pumpers the equipment was expected in the first week of september the daily herald june 7 1952 p3 an old canning factory at main street and back bay formerly the braun canning company was destroyed by fire on 24 september the building 150 feet by 65 feet was owned by madames ea braun and lomax burdine the daily herald september 25 1952 p 1 with photo a new   30000 fire station for biloxi s west end  on jeff davis avenue and the l n rr  was proposed  from the 999000 bond issue passed by biloxi denizens in october the daily herald december 24 1952 p 10  1953 walter clark  19001961 and frank hecht  19011981 were appoined fire chief and assistant fire chief respectively of the biloxi fire department by incoming mayor laz quave  19101985 the daily herald july 6 1953 p 17  1954 herman creel  19081976 was named as assistant fire chief in february 1954 william knox retired the daily herald march 2 1954 p 6 in the early morning of november 2 1954 a devastating conflagration which commenced in poor richard s lounge of the sun n sand restaurant and lounge  damage to the structure was estimated at 80000 to 100000 an apartment above the housed the ah bailey family and their two young children units from the west end and back bay fire stations with assistance from kafb first responders were called to the scene the daily herald november 2 1954 p 1  1955 in april the  grove club on west beach was destroyed by fire  owners  louis uchello  19091996 and  guy uchello  18951962  valued  the 1940  structure  and a 1946  addition at 75000  they averred that 10000 was left in the safe the daily herald april 11 1955 p 1  1956 the  folkes building on the se c of west howard and reynoir  had its second floor destroyed by fire in early november damage to the structure was estiamted at 90000 the daily herald november 1956 p 1  the barthessentell fire station no 5   a 25000 structure situated on father ryan avenue  was dedicated on december 18th  it was named in honor of  frederick auguste barthes  18641948 and  charles henry sentell  18841951 former biloxi fire chiefs the daily herald december 17 1956 p 21 and december 19 1956 p 1  1959 in 1959  fire damage at biloxi was estimated at 270489  william gilmer age 60 was the only fire victim gilmer was a former patient at the biloxi va center and burned to death in his pass road trailer on february 20 1959 the fire at ohr s junk yard which occurred on december 27 1959 was estimated to result in about 100000 in damages antique automobiles were among the treasured items lost the a p super market fire resulted in about 75000 in damages other notable conflagrations in 1959 were the 25000 blue note cafe fire on main street which occurred in march and a 20000 fire in an apartment building on west water street in june  the daily herald january 1 1960 p 5 on august 25th the a p super market on west howard avenue was severely harmed by fire with damage estimated at over 100000 the building was erected in 1945 by sam mitchell and remodeled in 1950 all biloxi fire units ledby chief walter clark with assistance by the lemoyne volunteer fire company fought the blaze for 45 minutes the daily herald august 26 1959 p 1  1960 on 21 may  noel little jimmie james skrmetta jr  19571960  burned to death in a fire at the home of his parents noel jimmie james skrmetta and bobbie jean maumus skrmetta at 5135 southern avenue in biloxi  martin skrmetta  an older brother  received mild burns from the gasoline fire the skrmetta home damage was estimated at 2000 and was valued at 12000 the daily herald may 21 1960 p 1  captain patrick d quave  19351960 biloxi fireman at the east end fire station  was killed on dukate curve in a traffic accident on december 26 1960 his spouse  ramona darrington quave  was seriously injured the daily herald december 27 1960 p 1  1962 bayview lanes  formerly the  bayview theatre building  was destroyed in a great conflagration on november 29th loss to structure and equipment was estimated at 450000  douglas i smith  19011979 opened a theatre flower shop and drug store here in 1946 in 1959 the  building was remodeled into a 20lane bowling alley  when owned by ernest v landaiche 18951966 the daily herald november 30 1962 p 1  1963 the bernard t  a fishing vessel owned by jane taltavull smith  sustained about  700 in damages when it caught fire at the taltavull company wharf on west bay view avenue  batallion chief frank hecht said that a shortage in the boat s electrical system was responsible for the fire damage to the cabin of the vessel the daily herald january 28 1963 p 2  1964 the new 54000 east end fire station was dedicated on september 12th completing the first phase of mayor guice s 4point modernization program the wl easterling company of ocean springs erected the 3984 squareft structure on the site of the old fire station the building was designed by hf fountain jr associates the daily herald september 3 1964 p 5 september 11 1964 p 9 and september 14 1964 p 1  the old crystal ice company building situated between lameuse street and delauney street burned for 32 hours in middecember damages estimated at 182000  the daily herald december 10 1964 p 1 and december 11 1964 p 2 the folkes building  southeast corner of west howard avenue and reynoir street  burned in late december 1964  losses estimated at 230000 to kent s men store royal credit jewelers acme photo et al frank gabrich was bfd chief the daily herald december 26 1964 p 1 the biloxi fire department fought two large fires in 1964  the  55000 east end fire station was completed and two new diesel fire trucks each costing 27000 were acquired  the daily herald january 1 1965 p 1  1965 a vacant 2story home valued at 30000 and located on west beach was destroyed by fire on january 2nd  the structure just west of oakmont place was owned by russell h huffstetter   18941969 the daily herald january 2 1965 p 1  the roxy theatre on east howard avenue which had been closed for nearly eight years burned on january 3 1965 a residence and trailer in the rear of the movie house were also destroyed resulting in total losses of about 26000 mrs francis smolich was the owner the daily herald january 4 1965 p 1    1966  the buck theatre   laughran building and collins building  situated on the west side of lameuse street between jackson and howard avenue burned on mardi gras eve february 22 1966  while the mardi gras parade was in progress firemen from four other cities and kafb fought the conflagration and two biloxi firemen guy green and george emile suffered smoke inhalation while battling the burning buildings damages were estimated to be as much as 50000 the daily herald february 23 1961 p 1 the  fifth floor of the buena vista hotel s east wing caught fire at 545 pmon july 20th   125 rooms were burned resulting in damages estimated at 150000 all 360 rooms of the luxury hotel were in use as the alabama farm bureau federation was holding its annual meeting local fireman extinguished the blaze in about three hours the buena vista reopened for business on july 21st the timespicayune july 21 1966 p 1  richard harvey chinn  18901966  richard harvey chinn  retired chief of keesler afb fire department died at 7 a m today at howard memorial hospital biloxi mr chinn who resided at 411 copp st was a native of woolmarket and a lifelong resident of the mississippi coast he began his career as a fireman in 1918 at the old back bay fire hall and became a fireman at keesler in 1941 he was appointed chief at keesler field in 1944 and retired in 1959 in 1946 and 1947 mr chinn assisted in reorganizing the ocean springs fire department and for his work he was made an honorary member the daily herald august 28 1966  1968 the a p super market on west beach boulevard in biloxi burned in an early morning fire on february 1st damage was estimated at 100000 the daily herald february 1968 and february 24 1968 p 1   the 2nd february a p super market conflagration in biloxi occurred on february 23rd  when the a p on west howard avenue burned in a flash fire battalion chief frank hecht noted that fire trucks had difficulties getting to the blaze due to heavy smoke which dimenished visibility  sam mitchell owned the building that had been erected in 1948  sic   the structure had been heavily damaged by fire in 1958  sic     merchistonhall galleries a furniture store east of the a p store and owned by leo crapo  received about 2000 in damages when large windows and doors shattered due to the extreme heat emanating from the fire the daily herald february 24 1968 p 1 and the daily herald august 26 1959 p 1  1969 leo nick  18951969 died from burns and smoke inhalation on january 14 1969 in his small trailer at 127 east bayview avenue  nick was a veteran of world war i and was born at sea enroute from poland he had no know survivors gladys gorenflo harrison county coroner related that nick s demise was caused by first and second degree burns received when the mattress caught fire in his trailer the daily herald january 14 1969 p 2  three commercial business at 303a 303b and 304 porter avenue sustained damages estimated at 60000 from a conflagration that occurred on november 30th business damaged were john s package liquors owend by john treuting arthur murray dance studiomrs dorothy shuttlemore proprietor and verna s beauty shopmrs verna taranto owner the building was owned by john demetrakopoulos the daily herald december 1 1969 p 2    mary juline simmons  age about 33 years  died in a fire at 732 magnolia street on the afternoon of december 6th the daily herald december 9 1969 p 2  1971 the vapors a large night club on biloxi s west beach strip east of the broadwater beach hotel was destroyed by fire on the morning of may 20th 1971 richard head owner of the structure estimated damages at 120000 it had been destroyed by hurricane camille in august 1969 and rebuilt the daily herald may 20 1971 p 1  1972 the accomo hotel and restauant  formerly the paradise gardens at 744 main street  was gutted by fire on november 22 1972 a postww ii negro night club was once the venue for entertainers such as  antoine fats domino  19282017  guitar slim  eddie jones 19261959  chuck willis  19281958 and johnny otis  19212012 damage to the structure was estimated at 30000 it was owned by joseph t hathorn and william e jones the fire was discovered while bfd firemen were fighting another blaze at the auction city furniture building 445 east division fire chief gabrich estimated that wm krohn and ronnie krohn owners loss at 5000 to their 10000 structure the daily herald november 22 1972 p 2  1974 the gorenflo publc school on lameuse street caught fire on april the conflagration originated in the cafeteria and destroyed the cafeteria library auditorium teachers lounge principal s office and four class rooms in the main school building  damages were estimated at 1 million dollars  the daily herald october 9 1975 p c1  1975 repairs to the firedamaged gorenflo school were 40 per cent completed  the 508 students in grades 16 were attending classes in 19 classrooms with 20 teachers the daily herald october 9 1975 p c1  ag cool breeze hilton  19201974  died in a fire at 847 elmer street at biloxi on december 17 1974 three adults and two children escaped from the conflagration which destoyed the one and onehalf story wood frame house the daily herald decmber 18 1974 p a2  1976 evon emery swetman  19021976 former assistant biloxi fire chief  expired at long beach on march 15th he was the son of the late jw swetman and sofey p schumann the daily herald march 16 1976 p a2 in the late afternoon and evening of august 16th  domicilliary no 1 a threestory 45year old building housing 142 elderly and disabled patients at the veterans administration hospital at biloxi was heavily damaged by a large conflagration more than 100 firemen from biloxi gulfport d iberville and keesler afb fought the blaze which appeared to have commenced in the attic of the dormitory and destroyed most of the building s third floor no lives were lost but william b sheppard  19161976 director of the va facility died of a heart attack in his office around 600 pm during the height of the fire the daily herald august 17 1976 p a1  1980 joan marie manning johnston  19601980  gerald guy ross jr  19601980 and george w johnson  19571980 died in a duplex fire at 917 central beach boulevard on january 19 1980 damage to the structure was estimated at 15000 the corporal remains of the deceased were interred at the biloxi cemetery the daily herald january 20 1980  1982 in the early morning of  november 8th 28 people died and more than 30 injured in a fire in the harrison county jail  on delauney street and mcelroy street in biloxi  robert eugene pates  b 1951 was charged with 28 counts of capital murder when he was named the alleged conspirator of the conflagration pates was sent ot parchman immediatley the daily herald november 8 1982 p a1 and november 9 1982 p a2  1981 a warehouse adjacent to melvin supply company at 613 east howard avenue was damaged by fire on february 6th damage was estmated in the 350000 to 400000 range in early may the struture was owned by ernest melvin beat 1 harrison county supervisor and biloxi mayoral candidate the daily herald february 6 1981  1983 the shalimar lounge at 806 main street was destroyed by fire on march 8th  the building was valued at 150000 the daily herald march 9 1983 p b6  1985 on 7 january  harold windom replaced guy bernard roberts as biloxi s fire chief chief roberts health was in decline but he agreed to replace windom until his position could be filled the daily herald janaury 8 1985 p b1  1986 on october 20th  carl ohr jr  19521986 and edwin kurt jacquet  19561986 bfd employees were killed battling a fire in biloxi the timespicayune october 21 1986 p 1  1991 on june 25th the buena vista hotel was severely damaged by fire and steve moore biloxi fire chief estimated that the fire resulted resulted in damages of hundreds of thousands of dollars and a total loss  the sun herald june 26 1991 p a1  2009 retired fire chief guy b roberts  19262009 expired at biloxi on february 24th he was with the biloxi fire department for 32 years and retired as fire chief in 1988  guy was a former deputy for the harrison county sheriff s office a charter member of the moose lodge member of the back bay volunteer fire department and served in the national guard chief roberts was married to the former iris dubaz  19292014  2013 david roberts retired as fire chief on march 2013  after 14 years in this position   joseph boney confirmed as fire chief by city council on july 9 2013  mark dronet named assistant chief on july 11 2013 the sun herald july 10 2013 p a2 and july 12 2013 p a2  2014   arbor view fire  d iberville mississippiimage from the sun herald  conflagration on march 4 2014 at the arbor view apartments at d iberville destroyed all 20 apartments in building 400 of the apartment complex biloxi units assisted in this large fire krystal dannielle gonzalez b 1989 of d iberville was arrested and charged with on a charge of 1st degree arson the sun herald march 13 2014 p a1  biloxi fire chiefs 18831896 philip mccabe   philip mccabe  18371905 native of new orleans and  first chief engineer of the biloxi volunteer fire company expired in middecember  mccabe had married in their youth ed glennan and charles redding both worked for mr mccabe at nola when he had a stove business on camp street in nola mccabe also was the  first tin can manufacturer on the coast making fruit oyster and vegetable cans  the pascagoula democratstar october 28 1881 p 3 and the biloxi daily herald december 16 1904 p 5  preaugust 1897   ao bourdon sr arsene o bourdon sr  18451901  1897 dan markey daniel joseph markey  18551900 was elected fire chief on august 5 1897 by two of biloxi s fire companies the mechanics steam fire company no 2 did not send a representative of the election meeting chief bourdon retired the biloxi herald august 7 1897 p 1  18961933 frederick auguste barthes  from the biloxi daily herald september 19 1907  frederick a barthes  18641948 was the son of fa barthes sr 181898 and margaret alexandrine binet d 1877 became fire chief in 1896 and retiring in 1933  1933 charles h sentell charles henry sentell jr   18851951 was born at new orleans on 14 december 1885 to charles h sentell sr 18441910 and johanna aligrate 18601930 who married in orleans parish louisiana on 23 february 1884 charles entered the municipal fire service at biloxi on 7 december 1907 with volunteer fire company and transferred to the hook and ladder company 15 august 1909 in may 1920 he was appointed assistant to fire chief barthes and became biloxi s fire chief on 1 october 1933 the daily herald january 26 1951 p 12 in september 1910 a young charles while driving a wagon of the mississippi hook and ladder company became involved in a spectacular runaway gus and jake the dray horses bolted from reynoir street onto the beach and sped eastward alll the way to the dunbars lopez and dukate factory on point cadet here they stopped when hitting a guide line from the plant s smokestack one horse was bruised and the other lost a shoe sentell s mad dash certainly created some excitement to a quite sunday morning at biloxi the new orleans item september 19 1910 p 4 chief h sentell jr married ursiline milles also a new orleans native in harrison county mississippi their children were russell joseph sentel 19271948 charles sentell and olivia sentell  19421942   lee chinn lee chinn  18881971 age 82 years died at howard memorial hospital on thursday night march 11 1971 he was the son of mr and mrs william david chinn and was born at vandalia missouri in march 1888 and came to biloxi in 1890 with his family as a youngster lee worked for a railroad company at gulfport and at age 14 became a flagman for the l n railroad at the railroad street crossing in biloxi he became a fireman in 1907 and was stationed at the back bay fire station lee was one of the first drivers of horsedrawn fire engines at biloxi he was also one of the first to drive motorpowered firetrucks when introduce in biloxi in 1918 lee chinn was named biloxi s fire chief in january 1942 he was released following the summer elections of 1942 and william willie knox appointed fire chief the daily herald january 4 1943 p in 1968 a new biloxi fire station was named for him among the large biloxi fires that mr chinn assisted in fighting were the yerger building on west howard avenue the avelez hotel on west howard avenue the union hotel the peoples bank and the hicks battery company on back bay r harvey chinn 18901966 lee s late brother had been fire chief of the keesler afb fire department lee chinn retired from the bfd in 1953 and was caretaker at bsa camp wilkes for about four years lee chinn married lou ethel fortner 18981971 in harrison county mississippi on july 3 1915 harrison co mississippi circuit court mrb 27 p 359 mr chinn was survived by his spouse three sisters mrs wj currie and mrs harry currie shreveport louisiana and mildred chinn olster of nola and many nieces and nephews bradfordo keefe funeral home of biloxi directed the chinn funeral lee was a member of the first methodist church and his corporal remains were interred in the southern memorial park cemetery at biloxi  19431953  lee chinn lee chinn  18881971 was appointed biloxi s fire chief in january 1943 by mayor chester delacruz william knox who had replaced chinn became his assistant the daily herald january 4 1943 p  1953 walter clark walter clark  19001961 was appoined fire chief by mayor laz quave 19101985 in july 1953 chief clark joined the bfd in 1919  1961 frank l gabrich frank lawrence gabrich  19131986 son of john gabrich 18641928 and aeoline pavolini 18671946 was born 30 march 1913 he attended sacred heart academy and during wwii he served with the 79th infantry division in europe and was awarded the purple heart five campaign medals and the german occupation medal frank made sergeant on 1 july 1944 and was hit by shrapnel in his right arm five days later near cherbourg france the daily herald september 19 1944 p 3 in march 1952 frank l gabrich married elmere rita barras 19231987 in harrison county mississippi their only child rachel louise gabrich m chevis roy hatten mrs elmere r gabrich was the mother of leah rae vuyovich m gray slay harrison county mississippi circuit court mrb 89 p 95 frank tranferred from the biloxi police department which he joined october 19 1937 to its fire department february 1 1938 he retired as a captain in 1958 and joined f f distributing company with the retirement of chief walter clark on 1 july 1961 gabrich was appointed fire chief by mayor danny guice at this time there were 39 firemen in the biloxi force the daily herald july 3 1961 p 1 and p 2  1972 john t poulos john thomas poulos sr  19142002 retired as acting fire chief effective may 1 1974 he joined the bfd on september 16 1945 and had a career that spanned over 28 years john  john t poulos sr 87 retired biloxi fire chief died wednesday march 20 2002 in biloxi chief poulos was a native and lifelong resident of biloxi he retired from the biloxi fire department after 29 years of service he served as fire chief for two years prior to his retirement he was a member of the international association of firefighters he served with the mississippi army national guard artillery from 19321940 he was a member of st john s catholic church survived by his wife of 61 years lucille toncrey poulos of biloxi three daughters and sonsinlaw sheila foster and husband larry lucille p strayham and husband andrew crystal ann delano and husband russell all of biloxi four sons and daughtersinlaw john t poulos jr and wife joy of slidell james poulos and wife darleen of biloxi david a poulos and wife donnet of biloxi and daniel p poulos and wife cindy of d iberville a sister helen newman and husband paul of biloxi 17 grandchildren 23 greatgrandchildren and two greatgreatgrandchildren services will be at 430 pm friday at the howard avenue chapel of bradfordo keefe funeral homes in biloxi where friends may call from 3 pm to 430 pm burial will be in biloxi city cemetery the family prefers memorials be made to the biloxi firefighters museum 1052 howard avenue biloxi mississippi  the sun herald march 22 2002  1974 fletcher dumas fest  19271991 was born january 22 1927 he married winifred cecile thornton 19272008 children fletcher d fest jr 19522011 and m charles fest fletcher joined the bfd in 1956 and made captain in 1960 he was named acting assistant fire chief in 1973 with the announced retirement of john t poulos sr he became fire chief in late march 1974 chief fest retired november 10 1976 from his 13300 a year position with a remuneration of 550 per month from the biloxi police and fire and disability relief fund fest related that conflict with the biloxi civil service commission was a factor in his early retirement his age health and family were salient reasons as well the daily herald march 30 1974 p 2 and october 28 1976 p a3  1976 gabriel lehman jr gabriel gabe lehman jr 19372010 was born at biloxi mississippi on may 9 1937 to gabriel lehman sr 19121984 and cecile albert 19171984 he quit school in the but later acquired a degree from mississippi gccc gabe married florence aline mccaleb in harrison county mississippi in may 1958   obituary gabriel lehman jr a retired fire chief with the biloxi mississippi fire department and a resident of baker louisiana died monday sept 20 2010 in baton rouge he was 73 a native of biloxi and a veteran of the us navy he is survived by a daughter erin lehman smith and husband charles of biloxi son kevin m lehman and wife gina of biloxi sister myrna williams and husband terry of vancleave miss brother albert bucky lehman of biloxi three grandchildren and a greatgrandchild preceded in death by his wife janet martin lehman parents gabriel lehman sr and cecile albert lehman sisters lucille allen evelyn wilk lorraine allen and charlotte franklin and brother john johnny boy lehman the baton rouge advocate on september 21 2010    1978 guy b roberts   guy bernard roberts  biloxi native and the son of anthony roberts 19031982 and bernicefergonis 19071999 was appointed fire chief on 30 october 1978 by mayor jerry o keefe major conrad kennedy was named assistant to chief roberts guy suceeded gabe lehman who retired after 20 years of service to the citizens of biloxi chief roberts joined the department in 1950 the daily herald october 31 1978 p a8 chief roberts had open heart surgery in december 1982 and his health continued to decline he retired in january 1985 and was replace by harold a windom the daily herald january 81985 p b1  obituary guy b roberts sr 82 of biloxi died tuesday february 24 2009 in biloxi mr roberts was a member of blessed seelos catholic church where he served as a eucharistic minister a member of knights of columbus council 1244 he was with the biloxi fire department for 32 years and retired as fire chief in 1988 he was a former deputy for the harrison county sheriff s office a charter member of the moose lodge he was a member of the back bay volunteer fire department and he served in the national guard  he was preceded in death by his parents mr and mrs anthony tony bernice fegonis roberts brothers paul roberts and riley cotton roberts two granchildren jessica rose and stephen iachino soninlaw mark landry survivors include his wife of 60 years iris dubaz roberts of d iberville his children guy b roberts jr and his wife barbara of biloxi charmaine landry of d iberville david roberts and his wife linda of latimer darnell iachino and her husband ronnie of ocean springs robin mullen and her husband phillip of latimer laurie pinette and her husband richard of biloxi grandchildren amanda rhett ashley micha mandy milton clement stacey charnell markie shane david jr billy jeff marisa glenn brandy mindy cory phillip brandon jonathan 27 greatgrandchildren and numerous other family and friends visitation is thursday february 26 2009 from 600 pm until 900 pm at the howard avenue chapel of bradfordo keefe funeral homes mass of christian burial friday february 27 2009 1100 am at blessed seelos stjohn s catholic church where friends may visit one hour prior to mass interment is in biloxi national cemetery with full biloxi fire department honors the sun herald february 26 2009  1985 harold a windom   harold august windom was born circa 1941 at biloxi mississippi to august windom 19041974 and marie hebert 19091992 he graduated from biloxi high school in may 1959 harold married deanna fayard 19432008 the daughter of fayard and ibele harold was named biloxi fire chief with the retirement of guy broberts in january 1985  1999 floyd j thibodeaux floyd john thibodeaux married josephine sophie rosetti at nbvm at biloxi in november 1959  19992013 david roberts david roberts  began his tenure as biloxi fire chief in 1999 to march 2013 mark dronet named acting fire chief  2013 joseph boney confirmed as fire chief by city council on july 9 2013 mark dronet named assistant chief on july 11 2013 the sun herald july 10 2013 p a2 and july 12 2013 p a2 in midjuly 2021  chief joseph boney considers retirement as he believes that the biloxi council is not 100 in favor of his reappointment by mayor gilich  on july 20 2021 the biloxi city council  voted not to reconfirm boney  43 vote which gave the mayor 90 days to nominate a new fire chief this came after a report that boney and a supervisor at the fire department  were investigated  by the state auditor   2021 nicholaus geiser  mayor andrew fofo gilich had 90 days from july 20 to nominate a new fire chief but he ll submit a candidate to the biloxi city council on tuesday  nicholaus geiser  a 17year veteran of the biloxi fire department is the mayor s choice according to the agenda for the aug 3 meeting if he is approved by the council his salary would be 85000 geiser age 41 was promoted to captain five years ago in 2016 a biloxi native he completed his bachelor of science degree in accounting and business management at university of southern mississippi and has been deputy chief of training and city emergency manager gilich also announced that jason earl davis will become the department s assistant chief that position was held by mark dronet before he retired earlier this year davis is deputy chief for training on july 6 chief joe boney announced his  plan to retire  at the end of the year after he learned that some of the council members were planning to  remove him as chief  on july 20 the council  voted not to reconfirm boney  which gave the mayor 90 days to nominate a new fire chief this came after a report that boney and a supervisor at the fire department were investigated  by the state auditor gilich has since notified the city that his last day on the job will be aug 5the council can either approve geiser as chief or vote against his appointment and ask the mayor to submit another candidate https wwwsunheraldcom news local counties harrisoncounty article25    references   the biloxi herald     the biloxi herald     the biloxi herald     the biloxi herald     the biloxi herald     the biloxi herald     the biloxi daily herald     the biloxi daily herald     the biloxi daily herald   east end hose company   october 6 1904 the biloxi daily herald   east end   october 8 1904 the biloxi daily herald   prominent citizen  philip mccabe  dead   december 16 1904 the biloxi daily herald   mask ball   december 22 1904 the biloxi daily herald     the biloxi daily herald   prominent citizen  philip mccabe  dead   december 16 1905 the biloxi daily herald     the biloxi daily herald     the biloxi daily herald     the biloxi daily herald   east end hose company no 1   september 19 1907 the biloxi daily herald     the daily herald   three biloxi cottages destroyed by fire   april 26 1910 the daily herald   back bay company started in 1904 grow steadily   september 20 1915 the daily herald   98000 fire in biloxi early sunday morning   may 24 1926 the daily herald   biloxi mayor talks on fire   may 29 1926 the daily herald   sentell with city 30 years   december 7 1937 the daily herald   2000 fire damage to kress co store   november 13 1942 the daily herald   biloxi officials   january 4 1943 the daily herald   with coast men women in armed service   september 19 1944 the daily herald   heavy water damage results from biloxi fire   october 28 1944 the daily herald   start repairing biloxi fire loss   october 31 1944 the daily herald   former biloxi fire chief is taken by death   january 2 1948 the daily herald   exfire chief is taken by death at biloxi residence   january 26 1951 the daily herald   new fire chief   july 6 1953 the daily herald   assistant fire chief   july 6 1953 the daily herald   lehmanmccaleb   may 3 1958 the daily herald   three captain promotions for biloxi firemen   september 27 1958 the daily herald   fire breaks out at biloxi a p damage is heavy   august 26 1959 p 1 the daily herald   gabrich chief of biloxi fire department   july 3 1961 the daily herald the sun herald   o keefe announces new fire chief   march 30 1974 the daily herald   biloxi fire chief resigns   october 28 1976 the daily herald the daily herald   fire chief says degree has become part of job   may 30 1977 p b1 the daily herald   native biloxian suceeds lehman as fire chief   october 31 1978 the daily herald   biloxi names  harold  windom to head fire department   january 8 1985 the daily picayune the daily picayune   burnt biloxi   june 6 1889 the daily picayune the daily picayune the daily picayune the new orleans item   sunday runaway   september 19 1910 the sun herald   john t poulos sr   march 22 2002 the sun herald   guy b roberts sr   february 26 2009 the sun herald   gabriel lehman jr   september 22 2010 the sun herald   fire chief s  joseph boney  first emergency call at meeting confirming him   july 10 2013 p a2 the sun herald   dronet named biloxi s assistant fire chief   july 12 2013 p a2 the sun herald 3242 views  