Fires of Beverly street

In July of 1905, a three-alarm fire at 43 to 49 Beverly Street, was discovered by Bilas G. Reardon, an engineer in the area. The fire originated in a room on the second floor of George H. Carter's wood manufacturing business on Beverly Street. The upper part of the brick, five-story building was in flames by the time the first alarm firemen responded to the scene. The contents found on the second and top floors of the building were burned, and the fire weakened the wood supports between two floors, weakening the structure of the entire building. The loss was estimated to be around $25,000.

Although the origin of the fire remained unknown, a fire broke out in the early morning of September 16, 1907, at 45 to 49 Beverly Street. This five-story building was occupied by a few wood-working manufacturing firms, which, the wood probably led to the rapid spread of the fire. Although iron shutters on the side of the buildings were closed and somewhat protecting the spread of fire, opening these shutters to ventilate the building was extremely dangerous and made fighting the fire more difficult. The smoke from the fire was so thick and prominent, it took about fifteen minutes for the firefighters to just make their way in through the building’s entrance. Firemen decided to open the iron shutters, and sounded two more alarms in preparation for fires to roar out from the shutters. Damages were estimated at about $10,000. 

A fire at the five-story brick building at 39 to 41 Beverly Street broke out on the afternoon of February 22, 1941. The most damage was on the first floor which was occupied by the W.O. McDuffle Company, and the second floor, occupied by the Henry McManus Company. The fire was caused by a short circuit and the estimated loss for damage was about $5,000. Unfortunately, fireman Peter Finnegan was injured in the process by flying glass that broke because of the fire. Twenty-five people from George Washington Associates fled from the adjoining building.