Eagle 9 Plaque
PERTH AMBOY – The Perth Amboy Fire Department has a long, rich and storied history which dates back to its start in 1881. Initially, the first company operated out of City Hall until the original firehouse was built on State Street in 1882. That firehouse was in the area where the sundial was back in the sixties and seventies. For the first nine years, the fire department was solely comprised of volunteer members until January 1890, when the first career firefighters were hired. These first professional firefighters were mostly hired to tend to the horses and the firehouse, as well as drive the apparatus to fire calls in those early days. The fire department grew rapidly as well as the city, and by 1920, there were six firehouses spread around the city.
THE EVENT
On Wednesday June 15, 1921, the Fire Alarm box 2-7 (Madison Ave. and Patterson St.) rang out at the Eagle Hose & Chemical Company #4 fire station on Davidson Ave. This was the fourth consecutive call from this box since Sunday, all for fires at the P.A. Iron and Metal Company, owned by the Ruderman Brothers. The paid driver, John Torgeson, and several members of the fire company started to respond but they encountered a minor mechanical problem, common at that time, called vapor lock. Relatively quickly that was overcome, and the engine responded down to Market Street. On Market Street the fire engine picked up a few more members bringing the total on the small fire engine to 14 men. The gate tender’s instructions were if the fire bell in the gate house rings, the gate is to be left up and the gate tender was to use the red flag to stop the train. On this occasion, the fire bell and the train indication happened at almost the same time.
The gate tender also indicated that there was a large number of cars and people trying to cross the tracks and he did not lower the gate. The Central Railroad of NJ’s south bound Barnegat Express train was coming through Perth Amboy from Woodbridge at about 40 MPH. The railroad tracks at that time were street level and as said the gate tender had not lowered the gate. He was out in the road waving a red flag on the west side of the crossing, the side the fire engine was coming from. The driver of the engine did not see him or hear the train over the roar of the fire engine motor. There were a few cars stopped at the rail crossing, but the fire engine driver drove around them and then he saw the train. He attempted to stop the fire engine, but it was too late. The fire engine crashed into the side of the train and 6 firefighters were killed instantly.
Just before the impact, Andrew Kafton saw the train and shouted, “Jump for our lives!”. Kafton and four others; Edward V. Johnson, Ralph Paulsen, Joseph Finan, and John E. Murphy jumped off the fire engine at the last second. They were injured but they lived to tell the story. None of them saw the flagman, but jumping off the fire engine saved their lives. At that time, the trains were not supposed to speed through the city. At 40 MPH even if the gate tender tried to stop the train, it would not have mattered as the train would not have been able to stop in time.
In all, nine men were taken to Perth Amboy General Hospital by those that had vehicles and were in the area. Later that night one more died and two died the following day.
The five remaining firefighters and the Gate Tender, Andrew Thomas, who sustained a broken leg, were treated at the hospital and eventually recovered.
That night the Engineer, Theodore Brown, and the Conductor, William Ridgeway, were arrested and charged with manslaughter and a $3000 bond was posted for their release by Wight, Wight and Golenbock, a local law firm hired by the Central Railroad of NJ to represent the railroad and the two employees. The next day, Thursday morning at 8:30 AM, Brown and Ridgeway waived a hearing and bail was continued. Andrew Wight, ESQ stated that Anton Massopust would furnish the necessary $3000 bond for the two men. He was the father of the co-chair of this committee who recently passed away Ex Chief Anton Massopust.
A Prayer service was held at the Eagle Fire House Thursday evening and a relief fund was established for the families of those killed. During the first day $1,288.00 was donated to the Relief Fund.
On the Wednesday evening after the accident, the Mayor called an emergency meeting of the Board of Aldermen and they adopted a resolution limiting the speed of trains coming through Perth Amboy to 10 MPH and Police officers were assigned to city grade crossings at Market Street and Washington Street to enforce this speed limit.
On Friday, the city prepared for the funeral service for all nine men. A committee was formed and tasked with meeting with the families and coordinating the time of all the services so the Members of the fire department could attend. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen had an emergency meeting that night. A long discussion was held with representatives of the Central Railroad and P. A. Iron and Metal as the railroad owned the property and the buildings where P.A. Iron and Metal operated. It was agreed that the junk yard could remain, as long as all flammable materials were removed from the property.
By vote, the Fourth of July fireworks were cancelled, and the city deposited the $500 that was to be used for the fireworks in the Relief Fund set up for the families; also, by vote box 2-7 was eliminated. Another request that was a result of Thursday’s meeting was that all businesses close and all industrial whistles be silenced during the hours of the funerals from 10 to 11AM and again from 1:30 to 3PM Saturday. R. Ruderman, one of the owners of the junk yard, was arrested earlier on Friday as a result of another fire on the property on Thursday.
On Saturday at 10 AM, a funeral Mass was offered for two of the men at St. Mary’s Church; and services were held throughout the early afternoon for the others at their homes. Rev. Schlotter of Grace Lutheran Church conducted services for five of the men and Rev. H.E. Hatchman of First Baptist Church and Rev. Dr. Ganss of St. Paul’s Evangelical Church each conducted one service at the residences of the others, as was customary at that time. Mayor William C. Wilson and all seven members of the Board of Aldermen went to the funeral at St. Mary’s Church and then to homes of the other men to pay their respects to the widows and families of each member.
At 3:30PM, a huge funeral procession was assembled at this intersection the site of the accident. The funeral procession wound its way through the city past the Eagle Fire House and up to New Brunswick Avenue and then onto Amboy Avenue to Alpine Cemetery and St. Mary’s Cemetery; where these nine brave heroes were laid to rest, seven in Alpine Cemetery and two in St Mary’s Cemetery.
The following Thursday, June 23rd, the sitting Grand Jury visited the city to view the site of the accident and hear statements from the witnesses. The speed limit for trains coming through the city was reduced to 15 MPH by order of the State Public Utility Commission. The relief fund had swelled to $9,287 dollars. On The following Thursday, June 30th, The Central RR of NJ paid the City of Perth Amboy $5000 to replace the fire Engine and it was announced that the relief fund would be closed on Saturday, July 2nd, (at the time of the announced closing $15,243.65 had been collected and more contributions were expected to come in.) In today’s dollars, that would amount to $225,570. Eventually, the total amount swelled to about $18,000. = $270K
The findings of the Grand Jury were reported on July 22. As a permanent solution, it was suggested that the rail tracks were to be raised up over the road or that the roadway should be lowered under the rail track crossing. The second recommendation was a temporary solution, which was that two competent, capable men would be hired and assigned to all rail crossings. At the time of this accident, the railroad was using older men or employees that had been previously injured while working for the railroad as gate tenders.
On January 10, 1922, the Central RR of NJ went on trial for gross negligence and for hiring incompetent gate tenders. On January 12, 1922, after only 30 minutes of deliberation, the jury reached a verdict, and the Railroad was aquitted and absolved of all responsibility.
Research has not been able to determine what happened to the charges filed against the Engineer and the Conductor on the night of the accident; however, other charges were filed against the Track Foreman, John Stonaker, and the Gate Tender, Andrew Thomas. Those charges were “nolle prossed”, the legal term for dropped.
As a result of this accident, all of the passenger rail tracks were lowered and the roadways were raised over them. A brand-new train station was built; it was completed in 1928 and is about to be renovated. There are two plaques that are being unveiled today and the plan is to place the second one in the main lobby of the train station after renovations are completed.
As a result of this accident about fifteen children lost their father, Several from the Donegan family, three Kutcher children and the six children of the Larson brothers. Morgan F. Larson who was a NJ State Senator from 1922 to 1928. He was Senate President from 1926 to 1928 and on Nov 6, 1928, he was elected Governor and served as Governor from 1928 to 1932. He took in his brother’s widows and the 6 children. He died on March 21, 1961.
Credit: City Historian John K. Dyke.
Roll Call of those killed according to the funeral line up:
HANS CHRISTIAN HOLT age 27*
EX Chief GEORGE T. LARSON age 42
PETER LARSON age 36 VICTOR JANDERUP age 32
Sgt. JAMES A. ANDERSON age 32 *
JOSEPH TORGESON age 28
JOHN MOWREY age 45
JOHN E. DONEGAN age 35
JOSEPH “Schulack” KUTCHER age 39
*Denotes World War I Military Service.
Perth Amboy Fire Department Line of Duty Deaths
1914 William O’Hara
1921 Joseph Kutcher
1921 Peter Larson
1921 James Anderson
1921 John Donegan
1921 John Torgesen
1921 George Larson
1921 Hans Holt
1921 Victor Janderup
1921 Jack Mowery
1931 Matthew Egan
1934 Roland Jensen
1934 Burt Palo
1941 Joseph Brown
1949 Laurence Danback
1949 Howard Adams
1962 Andrew Schantz
1987 Francis Tiewski
2017 Richard Leonard
2018 Douglas Ambrozewicz
