The Sibley fire was a 1904 fire in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...
.
The worst
conflagration
A conflagration is a large fire. Conflagrations often damage human life, animal life, health, and/or property. A conflagration can begin accidentally, be naturally caused (wildfire), or intentionally created (arson). A very large fire can produc ...
in the city's history at the time, the fire broke out shortly before 5 o'clock on February 26, 1904, in the basement of the Rochester Dry Goods company's store at 156 Main street. Hampered by bitter cold, the fire burned for 40 hours, engulfing the north side of East Main Street, spanning from St. Paul Street to just short of Clinton Avenue.
[Ludwig 2015] When finally put out, the fire had leveled between and caused significant damage to the
Sibley's
Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company, known informally as Sibley's, was a Rochester, New York-based department store chain with stores located exclusively in the state of New York. Its flagship store, at 228 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, also ...
department store (hence becoming popularly known as the "Sibley fire"). The estimated loss was about $3,000,000
[Governale 2011] ( when adjusted for inflation).
The fire was reported to have been started by an uninsulated overloaded electrical fuse at the Rochester Dry Goods Company.
[ Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Feb. 26, 1904, p. 1]
Notes
References
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Building fires in the United States
Commercial building fires
February 1904 events
Fires in New York (state)
History of Rochester, New York
1904 fires in the United States
1904 in New York (state)
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