Historic Fires of Fredericton

Provincial Normal School Fire
May 5, 1929

The original Provincial Normal School Building was erected in 1876 not long after the system of free schools had been adopted by "New Brunswick and the decision to centralize teacher training at Frederic-ton had been leached. The contract was awarded to Crosby & Campbell, who erected the structure destroyed that afternoon. The building was one of the handsomest in Fredericton as far as its exterior was concerned. The building was of brick on a free-stone base and with freestone trim. The main entrance was Gothic in type with three large pointed arches sup-ported on red granite pillars. Gothic also was followed in the other entrances. The Annex was erected in 1912 by J. Fred Ryan of Fredericton, of concrete and brick,

TREMENDOUS START.
Burst of Smoke Attracted Attention - Fire Evidently Was Well Spread Then.
A few minutes past three o'clock smoke was observed by George Haviland, who happened to be walking In Phoenix Square, gushing out about window frames of the upper floors of the building on its westerly side. He notified Patrolman Dell Hartt at the police station and the firemen were notified by telephone.

When they arrived they saw the fire was not a slight one and an alarm was rung in. The school was locked and it was necessary to break in to carry hose lines to the upper stories. Fire then was in the basement and also was in all parts of the rubbish-chute, which opened on all floors in the main corridors. In addition the third floor at the rear was afire and smoke was dense. Two lines of hose which were used at first were supplemented from time to time as the fire went on, until seven lines were in use.

This Photo was taken at 3:10pm during the fire at the Provincial Normal School.
Firefighters were able to save the Annex at the back of the building.
City hall can be seen on the left as large crowds gather.

The fire at once attracted large numbers of spectators and the parking of cars along Queen Street in front of the school on both sides of the street seriously interfered with the firemen. Eventually the street was cleared and roped off. The grounds of the school gave room for salvage of some few articles of furniture and books and for the handling of hose-lines.

For a short time the fire seemed to be held In the northwest corner where it started and no flames showed but there was smoke in dense masses. Not many minutes after the alarm had been sounded, however, it was noticed that flames were crackling above the wooden ceiling of the front porch although not showing themselves. This was a long distance from the rubbish-chute and showed the speed with which the fire traveled. The old-fashioned floor construction, which left a space of two feet open below the flooring, let the fire spread in all directions.

A heavy southerly gale was blowing from the start of the fire and the large rooms and the wide corridors of the building gave the flames every chance. Fire showed through the windows of the mansard roof where the fire broke out but a few minutes later also showed in the front, in practically the opposite direction. At this time it became apparent to all that nothing could be done to save the main building and efforts were redoubled to keep the fire out of the Annex. Hoselines were carried up inside the Annex and also to its roof and although the main building was a furnace right beside it, the newer part of the school came through unscathed.