Year: 1875

The official report of Chief OF Battalion John W.
Miller to the Fire Commissioners the subject of the
aerial ladder disaster reveals the deeply criminal job
berry and reckessness of life attaching to the machine
Chief Miller gives graphic picture of the terrible
affair WELL He says


"In accordance with orders received from your Office
in relation to the sad accident which occurred the
morning Of the 14th inst the junction of East Broad
way and Canal street would respectfully state that
have made careful and thorough investigation the
same and herein transmit report showing the num-
Der of and the position of each the ladder tho
time of the accident and also my opinion as to the



cater the bearing the ladder had been placed in
the position required Chief Nash gave orders for the
sections to be taken off and joined together which being
done the ladder raised to angle of some sixty
five degrees. Chief Nash then followed by Fireman
Maus, of Hook and Ladder Company No. 6; Fireman
Hughes of Engine Company No 8; Assistant Foreman
Cusick and Fireman Beebe. of Chemical Engine No @;
Gould, of Engine No Is; Kingsley, of Engine No IL;
Lee, of Hook and Ladder Company No O. and Bowers
of Engine Company No II, mounted the truck and
commenced to ascend the ladder Chief Nash after
arriving at height of sixty feet stopped and gave
orders for the below to back down and hoist the
ladder still higher All the men, with the exception of
Maus and Hughes, obeyed the order These men, with





raised to angle of seventy-dve degrees This being
accomplished Chief Nash closely followed by Maus and
Hughes, again started for the top while the who
had gone down again started ascend the ladder in the
following order:-Beebe, Cusick Could Kingsley Lee
and Bowers 1t sas well to state here that previous
trial on that morning the had been each assigned
to certain section and TO place themselves in
similar position the ladder. Chief Nash quickly
reached the top of section extending his body the
ladder, outstretched his head, with hands
grasping the top rung of the section. Fireman Maus
was below him. on section G, in similar position, and
Hughes the same section 5. The men sent below
to hoist the ladder had not yet arrived the posi-
tions assigned them when the accident occurred
Beebe had been assigned to section A. and claims to
have reached section 3 going up when the ladder broke
This would have brought him section above the
broken one but as he cannot account for himself in
any way, and could not tell how he landed on the
ground, am of the opinion he was not there, but
Assistant Foreman Cusick says he was, will
let it 60. Cusick, who was assigned to
section 3, had just reached No. q with Gould and
Kingsley on No l. and Lee and Bowers the
lower, or, we term it, the ''bed" section This
would give total of nine men on the ladder, and
counting Beebe, four men were above the break. AS
the had just reached the position here described
my informant states that the off side Of section was
seen to bulge outward aud at the time the top of
the ladder was seen to drop downward when some one
In the street shouted for the TO down. 1t ap-
pears that all the the ladder, with the excep-





movement as if to comply, but the warning too
late. The men above on the ladder had not time to
move foot before section snapped of some five
six feet above the hub, where is joined TO
ton l, and the ladder twisting it broke threw
the three men who were above clear from it, and in
their fall they struck the ground with such violence that
they almost instantly killed The on the
lower part of the ladder escaped by jumping down,
some of them receiving few scratches. The upper
part of the ladder after breaking doubled like hinge
the upper section striking the ground first and then
spread out and the section where it had broke first
maned suspended in the air TO that part standing
the truck, held there by the iron connecting rods.


sin my opinion the accident partly due to the
test to which the ladder subjected early
that morning, IL being raised to its full height.
A guy rope made fast to the top rung of the
upper section, the rope being side mot in
the centre) and leading straight up and down
with some nine men on it, part OF them hanging with
their whole weight, while the remainder were pulling
and surging down with all their strength This
ladder standing in the air with other support than
the truck carriage which it stands, is too
test, and, in my judgment, weakened the ladder
that when it brought out the second time with the
three men (Chiel Nash and Fremcn Maus and Hughes
the extreme top weight Of from 450 to 100 pounds
and the men below ascending in hurried manner TO.
gether with the fact that large knots found the
side pieces and the rung holes bored through each knot
Just where the section broke or have doubt caused
the accident whereby the department has TO tho
loss of three brave men"