Return to Niles Historical Society Home Page

Back to Photographs

---

Memories of the Hoffman fire – Paul Hogan

Paul Hogan joined the Niles Fire Department in November 1961 and was a fireman when Hoffman’s Department Store in downtown Niles was destroyed by fire on March 23, 1962.

He recalls that day when he was at home and his sister, Pat, called him from Macalis on Robbins Avenue after seeing the smoke rising into the sky from the fire.

Paul had to find a car to travel downtown from his residence at 908 Lafayette Avenue. He first tried one of his close neighbors, Mr. Axel Aulin (whose wife later was the only victim of the fire). He then raced to the Quilty home at 803 Sullivan Street, borrowed a car and arrived at the fire station.

He geared up in his equipment and upon arrival was stationed on the roof of Leopold’s Shoe Store. Later he was in the basement of what was left of Hoffmans and left the scene when the fire fight was over after midnight.

Paul related how the fire started in the bathroom under the stairway with a sloping ceiling which helped to spread to flames quickly to the mezzanine and second floor. A janitor remembered a man entered the store smoking a cigarette and had asked to use the restroom and believed the cigarette had been left on the shelf in the bathroom.

A man named Fickes was driving through downtown, saw the flames and people on the second floor, had a small ladder which he placed against the front of the building and lowered one person from a window to the ground.

Upon arrival of the first fire truck, two more people were rescued from the second floor windows. Mrs. Axel Aulin, related to Bill Bohne, was unable to come to the window and was overcome by smoke and died in the fire.

Arnold Danes Hoffman Fire Story.
Steve Sava

So, here is the story of the photo. I spent time as a young boy at the old fire station. My brother-in-law was a fireman and I would stop by occasionally and run errands for the fireman. To the drug store, Dairy Queen, etc. This was before radios, cell phones and sub-station.

Firemen were pretty much tethered to the firestation. I mention this because – it gave me familiarity with the firemen of that era.
As an adult, I had business dealings at the (new) Safety Service Complex. This allowed me access to the living area in the fire station. In the hallway, they have the three photos. The Hoffman Fire and the two (2) Staff Photos from the two different years, 1959 and 1969.

The Hoffman Fire photo always fascinated me because of all the action that was taking place. Specifically, the fireman in the bottom quadrant of the photo. He appears to have been blown off a ladder – perhaps by a falling brick wall. That is fascinating enough – but the photo appears to have been taken immediately after it happened and before anyone else noticed. Look at the other people in the photo. No one appears to have noticed the fireman picking himself off the ground. Note: Most of the firemen that pass the photo daily – never noticed the guy in the smoke.

Back to familiarity with the firemen. Looking at the photo, I always believed it to be Arnold Danes for several reasons. The first is the dark black hair and the sturdy build. And the second, I knew Arnold had been at the Hoffman Fire. See photo of the crew in 1969 for a look at Arnold.

Earlier this year, I was working on our class reunion. I had to contact Karen Danes regarding the reunion. I thought it would be nice for her to have the photo. So, I went to the fire station and asked permission to go in and take a photo – of the photo on the wall.
Before sending the photo to Karen, I ran it past a retired fireman (that fought the Hoffman fire) to verify it was Arnold in the photo.

When I sent the photo to Karen, she recognized her father. She offered some insight into her father's personality. He was a decorated war veteran and professional fireman – that never spoke of his good deeds and heroic actions. She knew that her father had saved two women at the Hoffman fire – but knew little else about his actions that day.

When she shared the photo with her sister, her sister was familiar with a story (from that fire) that had her father thrown from the building.

So, we feel pretty confident that the fireman on the ground is Arnold Danes.