Chicago Fire Department history, Union Stockyards Fire 5-19-34

Chief Fire Marshal Michael Corrigan feared he was witnessing an apocalypse when flames raced across a maze of livestock pens on Chicago’s South Side, 85 years ago. “At one time I thought its destination was Lake Michigan,” he told a Tribune reporter at the scene. “It was coming toward us so fast and the air was so hot no human could stand in its way. I sent in a call for 40 fire companies immediately.”

The Union Stock Yards fire of May 19, 1934, was second only to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 in its destruction. The smoke was visible to the crew of a United Airlines plane flying over South Bend, Indiana, 95 miles away. As the flight approached Midway Airport, Chicago practically vanished behind the thick plume.

The stockyards, which had inspired Carl Sandburg to call Chicago the “Hog Butcher for the World,” occupied about a square mile between Halsted Street, Ashland Avenue, 39th, and 47th streets. To the east, the Bridgeport neighborhood narrowly escaped destruction when the flames leaped across Halsted. Firefighters carried dynamite, hoping to create firebreaks like those used in forest fires, but before they could act, the fire reached the homes.

“From the saloons, the small groceries, the upper floor rooms, fled the terrorized workers and residents,” the Tribune reported. “So swift was the advance of the flames that firemen at times had to lay down their hose lines and flee to save themselves.”

A fire station inside the stockyards was destroyed, along with six fire engines, a hook and ladder, and 5,000 feet of hose. At the time, a branch line ran from the South Side “L” bringing workers to the stockyards. The fire’s intense heat damaged the elevated structure, and the Halsted Street station burned down. When the line’s electricity was cut off, the crew abandoned an “L” car, which was also destroyed.

Just as in 1871, the 1934 fire was preceded by a dry spell, turning the wooden animal pens into tinder. The fire was started by a motorist who threw a lit cigarette out of the window while driving on a viaduct that carried Morgan Avenue over 43rd Street. It ignited a pile of hay in a cattle pen below at 4:14 p.m. A worker said he often saw drivers doing just that.

One of the first to see the blaze was Isaac Means, a watchman. He shouted “Fire!” to nearby workers. As they fled, they saw Means stay behind, trying to rescue some of the animals. His body was found the next day in the fire’s debris.

Other employees mounted horses and drove sheep, cattle, and horses to an improvised corral on a nearby playground. But 30 to 40 animals roamed the nearby streets when the “cowboys” returned to the yards to rescue more. Among the saved were Highland Stamp, the grand champion shorthorn bull of the previous year’s livestock show, and eight award-winning cows. However, the venue where they won their prizes was destroyed, along with several pens filled with cattle. The International Amphitheater would later be built on the site.

With the blaze raging uncontrollably, radio stations broadcast the fire marshal’s appeal for off-duty firefighters to report to the scene. Hundreds did so and were given hand pumps to sprinkle water on endangered buildings. Sirens wailed across the city as five-sixths of Chicago’s pumpers and ladder trucks rushed to the stockyards. Their vacated firehouses were staffed with units from Blue Island, Chicago Heights, Oak Lawn, Harvey, and other suburbs. With 200 police officers controlling crowds, volunteers took up their posts.

Leonard Smuezymski, an 11-year-old boy living near 40th Street and Racine Avenue, directed traffic at that intersection when he noticed the usual officer was missing. Several Boy Scout troops brought drinking water to the firefighters, and John Russell, the tavern owner at 4127 S. Halsted St., donated five barrels of draft beer and a dozen cases of bottled beer to the men. He figured if his business was in the path of the fire, it might as well be put to good use. Fortunately, his tavern survived.

Other nearby structures were not so lucky. In the intense heat, gas tanks of parked cars exploded in garages along Emerald and Union avenues. Jim O’Leary’s famous gambling house at 4183 S. Halsted St. went up in flames, as did the Stockyards Inn, a famed hotel at 42nd and Halsted streets; the Saddle and Sirloin Club, where celebrities dined; and the New Exchange Building, home to over 100 commission firms.

Radio station WAAF, located in the Exchange Building, was knocked off the air, and seven firefighters were trapped on its roof, nine floors above ground. An 85-foot aerial ladder was raised, but it was too short. Just as the men were about to jump, Lt. Thomas Morrissey climbed the ladder with a 15-foot pompier ladder. Using the curved hook, he bridged the gap, allowing the firefighters to descend safely. Morrissey had been off-duty but answered the call for help.

By 8:30 p.m. Saturday, the fire was under control, but at midnight, crews were still battling isolated flames. On Sunday, insurance adjusters and fire marshals estimated the damage at $8 million — over $150 million today — and 50 people were injured, mostly firefighters. Isaac Means, the watchman who stayed behind, was the only fatality. Between 400 and 1,000 animals perished.

The following Monday, the stockyards reopened, even as snowplows cleared the wreckage and 1,500 new workers were hired to rebuild. Farmers were advised to hold back livestock, and St. Louis offered to process some. Yet, despite the devastation, Chicago refused to admit it needed help.

Amid smoking piles of debris and walls threatening to fall, trading resumed in Chicago. “We’re getting along all right,” said O.T. Henkle, the stockyards’ general manager. “In ordinary times, of course, every commission merchant has his own pens out there, but today they are all working together, cooperating, and the livestock is kept moving.”

The day’s receipts included 12,000 cattle, 26,000 hogs, and 5,000 sheep—each fetching higher prices than before the fire.

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