page_title: Ponce, Puerto Rico
section_title: Major fires
hierarchical_section_title: Ponce, Puerto Rico / Municipal services / Fire protection / Major fires
caption_attribution_description: English: Picture of Calle 25 de Enero (25 de Enero Street) near old historic district, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
context_page_description: Ponce is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.
  Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1692 and is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the great-grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce is often referred to as La Perla del Sur, La Ciudad Señorial, and La Ciudad de las Quenepas. The city serves as the governmental seat of the autonomous municipality as well as the regional hub for various Government of Puerto Rico entities, such as the Judiciary of Puerto Rico. It is also the regional center for various other Government of Puerto Rico and US Federal Government agencies. Ponce is a principal city of both the Ponce Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Ponce-Yauco-Coamo Combined Statistical Area.
  The Municipality of Ponce, officially the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, is located in the southern coastal plain region of the island, south of Adjuntas, Utuado, and Jayuya; east of Peñuelas; west of Juana Díaz; and bordered on the south by the Caribbean Sea.
context_section_description: The city has withstood some nearly catastrophic fires.
  A major fire took place on 27 February 1820, that "almost destroyed the early Ponce settlement". It destroyed 106 "of the best homes in town." In 1823, then Governor of Puerto Rico, Miguel de la Torre mandated that "every male from 16 to 60 years old must be a firefighter".  Those firefighters had to supply their own fire fighting equipment (essentially picks, buckets, and shovels). Unfortunately, once De la Torre left office, this first fire fighting institution started to decay.
  Another major fire occurred in La Playa in March, 1845, that destroyed "most of the Ponce vicinity."  It significantly damaged the Spanish Customs House in Ponce, this being one of the few buildings left standing after the fire. The fire burned down the major buildings of the "Marina de Ponce". After this fire, then governor of Puerto Rico Conde de Mirasol (born Rafael de Aristegui y Velez), created a new fire fighting organization staffed by volunteers. In 1862, the Ponce Firefighters Corps was reorganized under the administration of Ponce mayor Luis de Quixano y Font, and Tomás Cladellas was named fire chief.  In 1879 the Ponce Fire Corps reorganized again, with a new fire chief, the local architect Juan Bertoli.
  On 25 September 1880 another fire, took place destroying most of the older civil records (births, baptisms, marriages, etc.) of the Ponce parish.  In 1883, the Ponce firefighter corps reorganized once more, this time in a more definitive fashion when Máximo Meana was mayor of Ponce. During this time the Ponce Fire Corps was made up of 400 firefighters. Its leadership consisted of Julio Steinacher, fire chief, Juan Seix, second fire chief, Oscar Schuch Olivero, Chief of Brigade, and Fernando M. Toro, Supervisor of the Gymnastics Academy. Concurrent with this, the firefighter corps music band was organized.  In September 1883, Juan Morel Campos formally organized the Ponce Fire Corps Municipal Band which exists to this day.
  The fourth Ponce fire of large proportions occurred on 25 January 1899. The fire was fought by a group of firefighters among whom was Pedro Sabater and the civilian Rafael Rivera Esbrí, who would later become mayor of the city. The fire started at the U.S. munitions depot on the lot currently occupied by the Ponce High School building and grounds. The heroes in that fire, believed to have saved the city from certain annihilation, are remembered to this day with monuments on their tombs as well as in a monument in the city square Plaza Las Delicias. As a further gesture of gratitude, a neighborhood of distinctive Victorian-style cottages were constructed to house the firefighters and their families. These houses, painted in the red and black colors of the city, are located along a street named Calle 25 de Enero (25 de Enero street); they are still owned and occupied by the descendants of these firefighters and are a scenic attraction in Ponce's historic center.
caption: Distinctive red-and-black striped cottages at Calle 25 de Enero
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