Mayor David Statement On Anniversary Of 1913 Binghamton Clothing Company Fire

(BINGHAMTON, N.Y.) — Mayor Richard C. David on Thursday released the following statement:

“Today marks 108 years since the tragic Binghamton Clothing Company fire, the single largest loss of life in the City’s history. The fire killed 31 people, many of whom were young women at work in the factory, and destroyed the Wall Street building in less than 20 minutes.

“Taking place just two years after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire killed nearly 150 garment workers in Manhattan, the fire at the Binghamton Clothing Company heightened pressure on State officials to strengthen fire safety laws and increase resources to improve employee safety.

“Thanks to the local historical community and the City of Binghamton Parks & Recreation Department, the memorial marker honoring the lives lost at the Binghamton Clothing Company has been repaired and restored. Our community continues to mourn those lost and honor the heroic actions of the Binghamton Fire Department and community members like Nellie Connor, a 31-year employee of the company who hurried countless others to safety but never made it out of the building herself.”

Information from Broome County Historian Roger Luther:

On this day – July 22, 1913, at 2:20 in the afternoon, fire broke out at the Binghamton Clothing Company factory on Wall Street. It was a hot day, the windows were open and the fire instantly swept up the stairway of the four-story building. Within ten minutes the building was totally engulfed in flame. A few minutes later the walls collapsed. More than 100 people were in the factory that day and thirty-one perished.

There were many heroes that day, among them two company foremen – Nellie Connor, who helped guide her workers to exits from the fourth floor and Sidney Dimmock, who made trips back into the building leading women to safety. Both Nellie and Sidney perished in the fire.

In 2009 a bronze plaque was installed near the site of the fire memorializing the people who died, and honoring Nellie Connor and Sidney Dimmock for their acts of heroism. Unfortunately, the plaque was later vandalized and had to be removed.

Recently the plaque was repaired and restored by the City Parks Department, and now, on this 108th anniversary of the tragic fire, the memorial plaque has been reinstalled at the site.

“The Binghamton Clothing Company fire was the biggest loss of life disaster in our city’s history,” said Broome County Historian Roger Luther, “and with this plaque, the story of this tragedy and the names of those who perished will be kept alive for generations to come.”