Blazing History: A Selected History of Destruction from Kennedale’s Past Infernos
Kennedale recently lost its favorite gathering place due to the blazing destruction of fire. The Kennedale Burger Box caught fire shortly after midnight early Sunday morning, July 28th, 2024, resulting in a total loss of the inside of the building. Burger Box is a staple of Kennedale and the site of frequent gatherings to reminisce about days gone by with the talented Carleton Hurdle’s Elvis Nights. If you ever went down the hallway to the restrooms at Burger Box you likely saw their display of historical photographs from the Kennedale community, so considering the recent fire the Kennedale Historical Society would like to share some information about some of the infernos from Kennedale’s past.
Flaming Cotton:
At 11 O’clock on Friday, January 11, 1907, forty-three bales of cotton were totally consumed by a fire that was believed to have been started by a passing train. The cotton that burned had been sold by J. M. Estes (one of Kennedale ISD’s first Board of Trustee Members) to J. M. Knight of Mansfield. The cotton was shipped to Waxahachie and the bill of lading (a legal document that a carrier issues to a shipper to outline the terms and conditions for transporting goods) was just received that afternoon. The cotton was standing near the freight platform, which was full of cotton itself, all of which was however saved. Fifty bales of cotton were rolled off the platform away from the fire. The cotton burned all night, and the remains were still blazing on Saturday morning. Nothing but charred remains were left, and the total loss was estimated between $2,500 and $3,000.[i]
Fire of 1908:
The Kennedale fire in 1908 that was pictured in the Kennedale Brown Book, shows the fire that destroyed much of the old historic part of Kennedale.
Gardenhire Family Fire:
On Tuesday afternoon, March 31st, 1914, the home of the J. A. Gardenhire family caught fire and burned down, injuring all four family members. J. A. Gardenhire, father of the family, was taken to the Fort Worth university hospital to be treated for major burns to the upper part of his body along with the other badly burned members of his family. Although everything possible was done to save him the burns were too severe, and he died on Sunday April 5, 1914. Had he lived he would have lost the use of his hands. The other victims were doing as well as could be expected but suffered the loss of the family breadwinner in addition to the loss of their home.[ii]
Cyclone Causes Fire:
A twister laid a path of destruction through Kennedale on the morning of April 13, 1927. Mrs. W. A. (Carrie) Wilson was touted as a heroine for saving the lives her five children who were trapped in the ruins of their cyclone destroyed home in Kennedale. The Wilson’s had barely escaped the cyclone by fleeing to a storm shelter, when flames began to consume the debris of their home. With neighbors assisting her Mrs. Wilson fought the fire which threated to consume all the furniture of the five-room home. The fire started when the cook stove that had just been used to cook breakfast was knocked over and blown over 50 feet away by the tornado. W. A. Wilson had left for work in Fort Worth just 15 minutes before the cyclone bore down on Kennedale, and he did not receive the news until four hours later because the tornado knocked out the telephone line. The Wilson’s salvaged what they could, but like the half a dozen other families who were hit by the twister not much was able to be salvaged. A quarter mile down the road from the Wilson’s was the home of A. O. Reynolds, which was owned by Dr. J. A. Hammack. Mr. Reynolds was pinned under the rafters of the home after the roof collapsed but was literally chopped out by his eldest son Bertie Reynolds and his neighbor Sam Cooper. Miss Grace Brown, telephone operator of Kennedale, came to perform a great service to reestablish a line of communication with the outside to obtain relief. The Kennedale Public School was severely damaged, having every window broken, but much to the chagrin of the students Principal W. C. Robinson announced that school would still be held the next day. The home of T. S. Peterman was also destroyed, and his yard was covered with railroad ties that had been blown in from nearby, and boards from the construction of a barn 200 yards away were also blown in. The force of the twister was so strong that one of the railroad ties and barn boards were conjoined together by force of impact… Mr. Peterman said he planned to keep it as a relic.[iii]
Kennedale Volunteer Fire Department:
In April of 1950 the City of Kennedale purchased an old truck for $600 and citizens made contributions to a fundraising effort to turn the truck into a fire truck, so that Kennedale would have a fire truck as a tool to protect the residents property. The citizens formed the Kennedale Fire Association and the wives solicited for most of the fundraising. A square dance fundraising event brought in $490 dollars, which was even attended by the Baptist preacher. An additional $600 was raised at a meeting of Kennedale residents and the Fire Association had $400 in the treasury after the completion of the truck. The men beat the bent fenders out, got a can of paint, added a siren donated by Owens-Brumley Funeral Home in Fort Worth, an unknown man contributed the ladder, an 800 gallon tank with 350 feet of ¾ inch hose, 200 feet of 1 ½ inch hose and a 500 gallon per minute pump were all added to the truck. L. F. Johnson, Clyde Brown and J. Moore did the welding, R. E. Adams did the body work and painting, William Cromer, Holman Warren and W. W. Gillespie did miscellaneous work and Chief Mortie Peterman tuned the motor. The truck was stationed at Peterman’s Service Station until a fire hall was constructed. The fire department did not initially have it’s own phone number so residents would call the chief if a fire occurred during the day at the assistant chief if it occurred at night. The Kennedale Fire Association elected Alex Flake as President of the association, W. W. Gillespie as Vice President and assistant chief, Harold Evans as Secretary and Treasurer, and the newly elected Mayor of Kennedale B. T. Webb was elected recorder.[iv]
First Baptist Church of Kennedale Fire:
In 1954 the First Baptist Church of Kennedale completed construction on their new building valued at $102,000 and held a cornerstone laying ceremony and dedication. The new building had a capacity of 450, and an education wing with 30 classrooms replacing the 1890 wooden church that had served the members for 64 years. A few years later on January 5, 1959, at 7:00 PM, a massive fire destroyed the L-shaped building and its contents. A Kennedale Volunteer Firefighter, Kenneth Pearce, was injured when a south gable collapsed. He was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital for a puncture wound in his right side. Firefighters from Kennedale, Forest Hill, Everman, Rendon, Mansfield, Pantego, Arlington and Fort Worth battled the blaze. The First Baptist Church of Kennedale was forced to build another building to replace the new campus that had not yet celebrated it’s 5-year anniversary.[v]
Kennedale Fire Department New Truck:
After the major fire that destroyed the new First Baptist Church of Kennedale in January 1959, the Kennedale Volunteer Fire Department purchased a new fire truck which was acquired to increase Kennedale’s protection against fires. The Fire Marshall, Mayor and Fire Chief were photographed by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram with the new truck in September 1959. As was noted by the newspaper when the original fire truck was made in 1950, the fire truck not only increased the community’s protection against fires, but it also reduced fire insurance rates for the community.[vi]
Gasoline Tank Fire and Explosion:
In August 1968, a spark from the alternator or generator from a gasoline truck that was pumping gasoline into a surface storage tank started a fire and lead to an explosion that injured 31 people and killed the Mansfield Fire Chief and a TV newsman. The fire and explosion occurred at the Red Ball Gas House on U.S. 287 in Kennedale. The truck driver had been ordered to deliver 5,800 gallons of regular gasoline, but the tank would not hold that much. The gasoline slopped over the overflow opening and spilled under the tank. Instead of stopping the pump and resolving the spillage the driver hooked up to the ethyl part of the tank and continued pumping. While pumping continued the driver got a water hose to wash away the spilled gasoline, which only produced more gasoline vapor and worsened the situation. The driver did not use the dry powder fire extinguisher on the back of the truck to try to put out the fire. The fire outside of the tank caused the sides to heat up and the gasoline inside to boil producing vapors which were eventually ignited by the flames outside of the tank. The explosion hurtled the 10,000 gallon gasoline tank 200 feet and it fire ball 200 feet in diameter. Harry Blissard, the Mansfield Fire Chief was killed from injuries sustained from the explosion, and TV newsman for KRLD-TV in Dallas, Steve Pieringer, was also in the blast radius and died in the same room in the hospital as Chief Blissard within 10 minutes of each other. Pieringer was changing the lens on the news camera across the street when the explosion rolled over his news unit scorching him.[vii]
Conclusion:
Whether protecting lives, property or simply lowering fire insurance costs, the Fire Department is essential and should be provided with whatever equipment and tools they need to protect the lives and property of the citizens and visitors of Kennedale. The Kennedale Fire Department has come a long way since the early days of the Volunteer Department, and the community is ever thankful for the firefighters and paramedics that have served and that currently serve in the Kennedale Fire Department. While the community mourns the temporary loss of a popular gathering place at the Burger Box, we look forward to either a remodeled or rebuilt Burger Box and the return of “the King” (Elvis aka Carleton Hurdle).
[i] Fort Worth Star Telegram 12 January 1907 page 2
[ii] Fort Worth Record Telegram 6 April 1914 page 5
[iii] Fort Worth Star Telegram 14 April 1927 page 6
[iv] Fort Worth Star Telegram 6 April 1950 page 44
[v] Fort Worth Star Telegram 6 January 1959 page 3
[vi] Fort Worth Star Telegram 13 September 1959 page 4
[vii] Fort Worth Star Telegram 2 August 1968 page 1
