"All of us at Wallen’s would like everyone to step back in time to March 8, 1963. Many of you will recognize this date immediately. Others will have heard about it. And still others will find no particular significance to the date. That was the date of the Bellport School Fire.

An entire school building was reduced to ruins. Miraculously, no lives were lost. Volunteer fire fighters, school staff, emergency response teams, BMH medical staff, the Suffolk Country Police Department, and scores of volunteers who rushed to the scene helped avoid an even greater tragedy.

Take a moment, in your own private way, whether with a prayer or a kind thought, and say “thank you” to all of theses people."

-Bob Wallen & Staff

The following article appeared in the June, 1963 issue of Fire Engineering magazine, who has graciously given Bellport.com permission to include it here. It was written by James F. Casey. The photos, as noted, were taken by Bill Cummings and World Wide photos.

Based upon a personal interview with Chief Robert Terwilliger, Bellport Volunteer Fire Department, with the assistance of Suffolk County Fire Coordinator Lloyd Case.

Click any photo to enlarge it...

HIDDEN FIRE which spread undetected through a hanging ceiling at Bellport High School, Long Island, N.Y., on March 8, finally burst out as a fierce blaze which consumed most of the older section of the school and sent 47 rescued students to hospitals. The near-disaster occurred shortly before 2:00 p.m. on a Friday, with more than 900 students in class.

Bellport High School consists of a recently erected, modern, two-story concrete and steel building and an older brick and joist section erected in 1929 - both connected by an enclosed walkway. The older section was divided into three parts: A one-story that was connected in an "L" shape to a one-story auditorium that in return butted into a two-story school. A hallway serviced the side and rear of the auditorium and gym, and a center hallway serviced classrooms on both sides of each floor in the school area, with stairways on the north and south ends. Ceilings in the gym and auditorium were hung by bow-string roof trusses that left a large, open, connected area over both rooms. Cause and exact location has not been determined, but it was in this hidden area that the fire apparently started.

Fire in hanging ceiling

First to discover the fire was a group of girls walking through the unoccupied auditorium who saw flame curling along the ceiling. Fleeing, they ran through the adjacent corridor where they found the school's principal, Thomas Feeny, who sounded the interior alarm and notified the Bellport volunteers by phone. On hearing the alarm, Paul Laterza, custodian, in the cellar beneath the audi­torium at the time, ran upstairs and closed the roll-down fire door which separated the old building from the new at the walkway. Students in the new building began a quiet and orderly evacuation of their classes that came off without incident; but for the ones in the older section it was a different story. According to spectators, within seconds the gym and auditorium were a roaring mass of flame and dense black smoke threatened the classrooms. Fortunately, a stout brick wall prevented the fire from going directly into the school building. However, smoke and heat were so intense that the combination pushed through the auditorium doors and mushroomed throughout the building. In addition, flame, eating under the floor of the auditorium communicated to two utility and vent shafts in the hall and then upward to the cockloft over the second floor.

Fire attacked older section of Bellport, L. I., school, routed 900 students in session and sent 47 of them plus a teacher and two fire fighters to local hospitals. Damage was esti­mated at $500,000. New wing at lower left suffered no loss. 

Wide World photo
 

Despite severe conditions, students and instructors on the first floor and those who took the north stairs on the second floor made it safely to the street. Unhappily, a group of some 50 students who started down the south stairs either panicked or found fire conditions too much. Halfway down the double-run stair the leading ones hesitated, stopped and then dashed back up, ignoring the urgings of the teachers. The teachers, Joseph Raberge and Richard Hall, managed to lead some of them into a corner class­room (see illustration) which was relatively free of heat and smoke, there to await the arrival of the fire fighters. But about 20 others, seeing daylight at the end of the hall, headed for this supposed zone of safety.

Fire destroyed gym and auditorium and caused heavy damage to classrooms and roof in center of second floor.

Smoke and heat meanwhile had banked down toward floor level. Some children collapsed and the panic was on as they pressed toward the fresh air coming through the window. A few jumped but the others held back, with those in the rear collapsing one by one. Such were the conditions that greeted Bellport volunteers as they rolled in.

Chute improvised with ladders

"We were lucky - lucky in a lot of ways," said Chief Robert Terwilliger. "To begin with, we got a big response of men considering the time of day. And the very first piece of apparatus that rolled in was a city service truck loaded with ladders."

Two ladders went up in a flash to the window in the hallway, and others up against the side of the classroom, including extension ladders and painters' ladders rushed to the scene by quick-thinking neighbors. Chief Terwilliger was one of the first up the ladders to the hall window and saw to his horror "a bunch of kids piled up on the floor with arms and legs sticking out like a pile of cordwood." He and another fireman literally pulled the window out of its frame - sash, glass and all - creating a clear opening for rescue, and started passing the kids down.

City service truck fortunately was first to arrive on scene carrying ladders shown here. Photo shows last of more than 30 students trapped in second-floor classroom being re­moved.

Photo by Bill Cummings

The smoke by now was boiling out of the top of the window and a masked fireman went in on the floor to accelerate things. Other quick-thinking fire­men - Chief Terwilliger doesn't even recall who - remembered that the ladder truck carried a big "tarp" used for covering it. They manufactured an improvised chute on the spot by tying the upper corners of the tarpaulin to a ladder on each side of the window. With a number of husky firemen and students holding the lower corners, conscious and unconscious students were slid down the chute and out into waiting ambulances. At the same time, students who had retreated to the classroom got out safely, either by ladders, or by being hung out the window by the teachers and then dropped to the ground. A head count had im­mediately been instituted by Mr. Feeney and there was reasonable assurance that all students were at least out of the building. Taking no chances, Chief Terwilliger had his men search the building as far as humanly possible.

Fire fighters employed improvised tarpaulin chute to rescue 17 students trapped in corridor behind window. Masked volunteers went in on floor and carried conscious and un­conscious children to window where they were slid to safety

Photo by Bill Cummings

Mutual aid tells

With the problem of rescue out of the way, Chief Terwilliger now turned his attention and efforts to the fire. In the neighborhood when the alarm was turned in, he had immediately called for the mutual aid disaster plan to be put in effect. It brought a heavy response from the Brookhaven Town Ambulance Association, plus fire fighting units from the following towns: Patchogue, an aerial; Brookhaven, two pumpers; Hageman, one pumper; Yaphank, one pumper; and Medford. While these units were getting into action - organizing relays, laying lines for ladder pipes, and stretching hand lines - the chief realized that the magnitude of the fire plus the severe exposure of the new school required additional help. A request then went to Lloyd Case, Suffolk County coordinator, at the control center in Yaphank, asking for more companies. As a result, five more departments responded to the scene, including an elevating platform from Westhampton Beach, and five others rolled on covering assignments.

First lines were stretched to cover the exposed walkway and the new school, and additional lines were then placed over and around the perimeter of the fire. Some time after the rescues were made the bow-string ceiling trusses in the gym and auditorium collapsed, materially assisting both in ventilating and enabling the fire fighters to get at the flames. A more stubborn problem was the fire in the cockloft and classrooms on the second floor. This area was untenable and had to be fought with outside lines and when a section of the roof partially collapsed it placed a many layered shield of roofing tar between hose streams and fire.

To solve the problem Chief Terwilliger brought in a bucket crane that dug into the debris, deposited it on the street and eventually permitted hosemen to get in on the floor. When this was accomplished the fire was for all practical purposes under control. The search for hidden sparks went on into the night and through the next day, when the last units took up, leaving watch lines behind.

Lessons learned

Several lessons can be drawn from this fire:

First is the importance of mutual aid. A well-organized and efficiently operated mutual aid plan can bring apparatus and men quickly to the scene of a major fire in numbers which do justice to a large city.

Second is the importance of the school teacher in safety and fire prevention programs.  The courage and quick thinking of the teachers of Bellport High probably saved many lives and it would be well for fire chiefs everywhere to establish liaison not only with school officials but with  teachers within schools as a form of mutual aid.

Third, training pays off not only sharpening the standard skills required of a fire fighter but in sharpening his senses for improvising in an unexpected situation such as the Bellport men did with the chute.

Last, but by no means least, hidden or remote areas in public buildings, particularly schools, should be protected by sprinklers or fire-detecting devices. Had such devices been available at Bellport, it is possible that 47 children, a teacher and two firemen might not have been hospitalized and a fine school facility not been destroyed.
 

Bellport High School Fire Comments...

If you have some remembrances of the High School fire, drop us a note. We'd be glad to share your thoughts with everyone.

4/23/2008, Charles Hoyt wrote...

graduated Bellport high in 1961--was out in California when the news of the Bellport fire spread all across the country-a miracle indeed that all were safe-Mr. hall was my favorite teacher along with Mr. Baldwin--oh those were the days--as a kid growing up gave a little business to Trotta bros. market and Wallens and of course Paul's fish market--and a few people should remember Raddatz's luncheonette with the jukebox, and don't forget the homemade pies--well thank god for memories-currently residing in Theodore, Alabama--semi-retired--Bellport forever.

3/19/2008, Nancy J. Roberge wrote...

How could I forget March 8, 1963 when I had a father, Joseph Roberge, BHS chemistry teacher, the fellow on the left helping to carry the stretcher in the photograph, and a sister, Terry Roberge-Yacubich who was about to go down to the basement to shower after a gym class? Those girls would have been trapped by the fire and a tragedy of great enormity was fortunately avoided.

I was in the Kreamer Street elementary school at the time. We heard the fire engines and commotion and our teachers finally told us what was going on. PANIC!  For me, I could only think of my Dad and sister who were less than 1/4 mile away.....in building which was on fire!

Our teachers let us know that if our parents came to pick us up, we could go home.  My Dad was helping rescue students, getting rid of chemicals which might explode or act as an accelerant, hollering for kids to come to his voice in a smoky hallway so that they could escape out his 2nd floor window to ladders to safety and my Mom who had MS could not rescue me from school.  Thankfully, Lucy Weinstein, Susan's mother and our neighbor came to pick us up.

With my trusty brownie camera in hand, I ran over to the fire and started taking pictures. I remember the "cherry picker" that our fire department got afterwards, as a result of that fire. Thankfully, this horrible fire did not take anyone's life.  I remember feeling so proud, even as a kid, of all the teachers, the firemen and all those who pitched in to help save lives that day. I also remember watching the demolition of the burned out shell of a building.  That big cement ball banging into the walls and causing them to crumble.  It really was sad to watch.

Yes, I remember where I was on March 8, 1963. I so miss my Bellport!
 

1/9/2008, Vince Marrazzo of East Patchogue wrote...

I remember the fire, I was home on leave from France. I was visiting a lady friend when I heard the Fire Sirens, first Bellport, then Hagerman, and then Patchogue. I went out to South country Road and hitched a ride. I think it was a chaplin from the Patchogue Fire Department. I got out at the traffic light and ran towards the school. My sister (Toni) was in school at the time, and my Dad was with the Hagerman fire Department. I headed across the front lawn of the school and met my sister Vivian administering first aid. I continued North to where I could see the Hagerman trucks. I found Mr. Frank Kotasek at an engine and asked where my Dad was, Frank coughed and pointed to the roof between the old and new section. The smoke lifted for a second and I saw my Dad, he was aiming the fire hose nozzle, I also noticed his Italian Stoggie clenched in his mouth. I felt I need not worry, Dad was on the job my sisters were safe. I stayed out of the way and helped with first aid as best I could.
 

3/15/2007, Brian Hannon of Bellport wrote...

I remember being in class on the second floor of the new building when the fire alarm started to ring. We were finishing an exam. As I exited the new building the horror of seeing the flames engulfing the old building seemed like something out of a nightmare. This can't be really happening. I ran toward the flames. They were roaring high over the roof of the auditorium. The heat was so intense the glass was melting. I remember students grabbing the ladders off the fire truck before the firemen could climb down from the trucks. Others were trying to rip bushes out of the ground to break the fall of students being pushed out of the second floor windows. I remember one classmate standing on the front ledge of the building, trying to get air and preparing to leap. There were all the victims coming down the chute. Most of them covered in black soot. They were lifeless bodies. You recognized no one.

When it was all over and the firemen stood vigil into the night so did many of us students who could not leave the grounds. We were stunned. We were still all trying to grasp what had just happened to us. It was a day that brought the whole community together. I remember being in church a few days after and people were hugging each other and patting each other on the back. We were spared the ultimate tragedy, but our lives were changed that day forever.
 

3/14/2007, Pamela Hannon of Bellport wrote...

Bellport High School Fire. I remember so many details of that day. The alarm going off just a few minutes before the end of the school day...seeing smoke...racing to the exit...frantically trying to find my sister and brother...trying to find our friends, worrying and praying that no one would perish in the fire.  The smell from that burning building stays with me to this day. I am grateful to everyone who helped...including students who ran for the ladders and tried valiantly to rescue their friends. Last week I said to a co-worker that this is the anniversary of the school fire.  She said to me..."HOW COULD YOU REMEMBER THAT DATE" I will never forget it.
 

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Sure Miss Bellport

Editor: We just received this letter from Joe and we had to share it with you.

Hello

I lived in Bellport for 50 years. There were only two grade schools no Jr high school and the High school was made of brick and wood. We would play baseball all day long do some fishing down by the dock stayed out late and our doors were never locked.

Everyone knew each other and if you needed anything there was always a neighbor there to lend a hand. The people were special everyone got along.  I remember as a child seeing on TV the tension our country was facing the "Black and White" thing. This I found very strange because in Bellport the Blacks and the Whites got along. We would play with each other  every day even eat at each others homes. There was no color if you lived in Bellport as I saw it. The 50's was a great time if you lived in Bellport.

We all got older and we went to high school. We call it the old school now because it burned down in 62 or 63. I remember that day well, it was a bright day school was almost out just about 15 more minutes and off we'd go. I remember the fire bell ringing and everyone was going though the drill but this was the real thing. I left through the southeast door and walked towards the bank across the street never looking back when I felt the heat and screams coming from behind me. Wow the school was on fire the Flames have already taken over the more than half the building the smoke was so black my friends couldn't get down the stairs to get out. The window at the end of the hall was nailed shut so no one could open the window they threw a trash can to break the glass and started to jump out. I remember a man Dr. Bell I believe that was his name pulling out the bushes and putting them under the window so it would break the kids fall. I was thinking that my parents would hear about the fire so I ran home. It seems to take only minutes two and a half miles away. It was a big story it was on the news for a few days. I still can smell that fire to this day.

As always everyone looked forward to the 4th of July fireworks down by the dock. I guess we were lucky someone lived in Bellport who owned a firework company.

There now was a new Bellport high school and we the kids in the school got to choose it's name. This was funny it was Bellport High School or Beaver Dam High School. The Beaver didn't make it.  Now we finished high school some of us went to college and some went into the service to fight a war. No matter what path you had to take I'm sure everyone felt the same as me. I missed Bellport my home my friends and my family. I'll never forget my first day back from basic training I got into my 1968 Camaro driving about 50 on Station Road and a cop pulled me over. In my uniform he asked me where I was going so fast? I told him I just couldn't wait any longer to see if any of my friends were down by the bay. He smiled and told me to slow down and let me go.

After the service I stayed in Bellport and started a family got a job as a conductor on the LIRR worked for 30 years and retired. Now this should be good news but it wasn't. All our lives my wife and I said when I would retire we'd move to Florida the Sunshine State. Oh yea did I mention my wife and I dated since we were 14. Well we sold everything and moved to Florida. The weather is good and that's about it. We miss Bellport everyday! Now we can't afford to come back and this pains us even more.   The reason I had to write this is maybe one day you can tell this story to someone who wants to leave Bellport, Stop them tell them to smell the Roses there isn't another place like it in the world.

I thank you for reading this I just had to tell someone for there isn't anyone here in Florida that would understand.

I live in Florida but my Home will always be Bellport.

Thank you and enjoy Bellport the best kept secret in the world.

Joe Centrone

Sure Miss Bellport Comments...

7/2/2007, Laura Brown of Oregon wrote...

We moved away from Bellport 20 years ago to beautiful, wooded acreage in Oregon. What I miss about Bellport is that I could walk to everything. As a kid, I regularly wandered down North Howell's Point Road, crossed South Country Road and continued to the Bay. One time I came across masses of horseshoe crabs mating on the beach. Another time, I frantically painted a watercolor of the Bay as the sun was setting.

I liked to explore places that had wide open spaces, such as the Kreamer Street Elementary school field and (oddly enough) the cemetery. I longed for acreage during my entire childhood, with the hopes of acquiring a horse.

It was great to be able to walk to town, stop in the shops, go to the library and head on down to the Dock for fireworks, Easter sunrise services, skating on the Bay and looking at the boats. (My parents didn't get a sailboat until after I went to college.) A few times, I displayed watercolors with the Artists on the Lane, as a member of the South Bay Art Association.

I now have to drive into town if I want to take a walk on sidewalks. Civilization has slowly crept out our way in the past 20 years, but I don't see any sidewalks coming to our street in the near future. We do get to see the neighbors' horses, a view of mountains, lots of wildlife (including elk grazing on our grass) and plenty of trees.

I'm the daughter of Bill Brown, who used to be a volunteer fire department member. He and my mom really liked those dances. I remember submitting a buzzard drawing when the department was creating the logo. I don't remember if the drawing was used. My parents moved to Arkansas after being caretakers for the museum and recently, they moved near my sister and I in Oregon.

I don't miss the Long Island traffic, but sometimes I get nostalgic for white picket fences, sailboats and sidewalks.

 

10/24/2006, Richard Terwilliger of Bellport wrote...

I know exactly what Joe is talking about. We moved to Tennessee in 1988 to try something different. Although we were successful, there was no place like HOME! After 8 years we were able to return to Bellport. Long Island has its faults, but we missed it dearly and am glad to be back. Especially in Bellport.

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