Three-alarm fire destroys the Cathedral of Saint Joseph

Cathedral staff unlocked and opened the doors to the church.

Mass led by Francis S. O’Neill.

Fire started in an area beneath and to the rear of the main altar.

Francis O’Neill and James McSweegan found the fire.

1. Fire hoses were laid down
2. Fire burned between the main floor and the ceiling of the basement
3. Only smoke was visible
4. A 20-foot section of the basement ceiling collapsed, injuring two firefighters, John W. Covey and William E. Powers. Covey and Powers were taken to Hartford Hospital.
5. The boilers in a low structure at the northwest corner of the cathedral were shut down., but at this point, shutting them off cut off heat to the rest of the cathedral campus, including the convent, rectory, chancery office, and two houses on Asylum Avenue
6. The entire cathedral campus was evacuated.

1. Salvation Army arrived with its Mobile Canteen Unit and 12 workers.
2. The unit set up three stations to distribute coffee and doughnuts to firefighters.
3. Additional items – work gloves and dry socks – were also distributed, but it isn’t clear that they were distributed by this unit.

1. A squad of police officers under the command of Francis Gunshanan began removing valuables from the cathedral.
2. Mary C. Kelly and her crew set up several coffee stations on Aetna’s grounds.
3. Fire burned through shafts toward the rear of the sacristy and upwards to a third-floor storeroom.
4. Fire reached the large rotunda above the main altar.

The squad of police officers halted its effort to remove valuables from the cathedral.

A squad of firefighters under the command of Raymond Daly lowered two injured firefighters to the ground from the roof above the sacristy.

Raymond Daly reached the ground via ladder from the roof of the sacristy.

1. A large chunk of ceiling over the main altar collapsed.
2. The sacristy roof erupted in flames.
3. Flame appeared through the slate roof above the rotunda. Although it’s all in roughly the same area at the back of the cathedral, this separate event could have been what was elsewhere described as fire breaking through the roof of the apse.
4. Fire flashed along the cathedral roof. At this point, the cathedral was considered lost by the Hartford Fire Department.
5. Two groups of firefighters were inside the nave, and they immediately turned their hoses upward. Firefighters could only hope to contain the flames at this point.
6. Fire burst through the windows and the façade. According to one account, the fire broke through the windows before it broke through the roof at the rear of the Cathedral.

1. A meeting to discuss the reconstruction of Saint Patrick’s Church took place. Attending the meeting were Henry O’Brien and William J. Ennis.
2. Following the meeting, the attendees headed out to watch the progress of the fire.

1. Michael J. Godfrey posted police officers at every major church and synagogue in Hartford.  Godfrey did so at the request of Carleton Sharpe, who in turn was responding to a request from Joseph Cronin and Roger Ladd.
2. Aetna cafeteria provided hot meals for anyone fighting the fire.
3. Many of Aetna’s 3,000 employees were watching the fire from the north side windows. This was at the “pinnacle” of the fire.

William Ennis conducted a visual inspection of the exterior of the building.  Ennis declared that there was no danger of the walls collapsing.

Aetna began releasing its employees floor by floor.  Considered an early release to start the New Year’s holiday, the decision was made in order to avoid the typical 4:30 PM release rush hour.

Only the stone masonry walls remained standing.

The last of the Aetna employees left the building.

Henry G. Thomas spoke to reporters about the course of the fire.

The Aetna cafeteria closed.

Repair work on the boilers began.

The church will be demolished.

1. Staff conducted the search the night before the fire because of the fire at Saint Patrick’s and because of fires at several other churches in the region.
2. Arson investigators would take note of the time staff unlocked the cathedral doors, as this was the earliest that anyone could have entered the cathedral without a key.
3. Francis S. O’Neill was the chaplain for the Hartford Fire Department, and he was stationed at Fire House No. 5 on Sigourney Street.
4. The boilers would be under 8 feet of water by the end of the day.
5. Mary Kelly was the cafeteria manager at Aetna. She and her crew would distribute coffee and doughnuts (probably morning) and later sandwiches (probably noontime).
6. The Courant reported that the police officers removing valuables from the cathedral had left the cathedral for the last time 10 minutes before the ceiling above the main altar collapsed.
7. The Courant reported that Raymond Daly got to the ground the minute before the sacristy roof erupted in flames.
8. The rectory was east of the cathedral, and the convent of the Sisters of Mercy was on the west.
9. Henry O’Brien was the Archbishop of Hartford.
10. William J. Ennis was the Hartford building inspector.
11. Michael J. Godfrey was the Hartford Chief of Police.
12. Carleton Sharpe was the Hartford City Manager.
13. Joseph Cronin was the Mayor of Hartford.
14. Roger Ladd was a member of the Hartford City Council.
15. Henry G. Thomas was the Hartford Fire Chief.
16. 40 Aetna cafeteria workers and 7 other Aetna employees pitched in as volunteers to keep the cafeteria open as late as it was.

Unattributed, “Aetna lawn littered by firebrands,” Hartford Courant, January 1, 1957, page 11.

Unattributed, “Fire’s fury brings a double tragedy,” Hartford Courant, January 1, 1957, page 14.

Unattributed, “Three-alarm, $5 million fire destroys St. Joseph Cathedral,” Hartford Courant, January 1, 1957, page 1.