Boston' Bravest-Retired Firefighter Bob MacKinnon talks about the Vendome Fire-"One Tough Day"
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
- The Hotel Vendome fire on June 17, 1972 killed nine firefighters, making it the worst firefighting tragedy in Boston history (in loss of life terms). It happened during the final stages of fighting the blaze. In the clean up phase five stories collapsed on the overhaul and cleanup firefighters. Bob MacKinnon was one of the young firefighters who battle the blaze. This is his personal story of that tragic day.
Oral History Definition:
Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events. Oral history is both the oldest type of historical inquiry, predating the written word, and one of the most modern, initiated with tape recorders in the 1940s and now using 21st-century digital technologies.
When using oral history as a source material, several caveats exist. The person being interviewed may not accurately recall factual information such as names or dates, and they may exaggerate. To avoid this, interviewers can do thorough research prior to the interview and formulate questions for the purpose of clarification. There also exists a pre-conceived notion that oral history is less reliable than written records. Written source materials are different in the execution of information, and that they may have additional sources. Oral sources identify intangibles such as atmosphere, insights into character, and clarifications to points made briefly in print. Oral history can also indicate lifestyle, dialect and terminology, and customs that may no longer be prominent.
I lost my grandfather in the Vendome. They were all such brave men. Thanks for sharing.
Sorry for your loss...they were indeed very brave men.
God bless you Bob. One tough sob . you need guys like that.
I was 11 and my dad was on engine 52 at another fire. My uncle was at the Vendome on engine 42. My dad took me there a few days later. I saw ladder 15 still buried in rubble. I will never forget. After that I always said goodbye to my dad when he went to work.
I'm sure your dad appreciated that. My father was a Boston policeman, unfortunately I never did that. Should have!
Thank you all for your service RIP 🙏🏻🕊🙏🏻
Continued Rest In Peace Boston Brothers.
The man being interviewed is a Fireman's Fireman !
You don't come across many True Firefighters like him today !
Thank You very much Sir for your contribution to the Fire Service !
I absolutely agree! Although I'm not a firefighter, I could see the respect with which the others treated him. Thanks for watching!
@@josephconforti4684 You are welcome and Thank You for your Interview Clips of Boston Firefighters & Chiefs ! They are very much appreciated ! 👍
!@@megaweld7018 It's my pleasure
I was four years old. My parents were looking at the TV with very stony expressions, so I asked what happened. They said "Nine firemen died." This was my first tragedy. First indication that terrible things happen in the world. I also remember the column of smoke from the Chelsea fire a year later. Same feeling. "Something terrible is happening" (although nobody died in that one).
I was attending Northeastern, just around the block, when it happened. I remember it well. It's strange how certain things stay with you from a very young age. Thanks for watching and sharing.
My grandfather was there. George Thompson engine 37.
Hat's off to any firefighter who endured that particular fire.
Wow. Such a tragedy.. what a brave man. A true hero. 💔 🇺🇸
Met him for the first time for the interview, a brave, gentle giant. Thanks for watching, more coming.
I stayed in the VenDump Hotel in 1968 when I was 13 in June of 1968. I was on a class trip from Long Island to Boston. Even at 13, I could see that the place was a DUMP! I instigated 3 other boys in our suite of two bedrooms and a living room with a fireplace to rip the rooms apart! Why didn't the building department condemn the place if I at 13 could tell 4 years earlier that it was a disaster! The furniture looked like it was from 1890! Those poor firemen and anyone that died there. I now tell people that I survived the Titanic of Boston!!!
Yes, it was a tragedy...I believe it went even deeper, to a structural issue in the initial construction of the building...dumpy furniture doesn't kill.
@@josephconforti4684 I know that Joseph. I just had a real bad feeling about the place. I don't know if there were fire escapes there either. Us kids were pretty high up. The building had just been inspected before the fire. I think something fishy might have been involved, even more than the structural issue. It all smacks of organized crime somehow but that is how I look at the world; as one big crime syndicate and the best people are often killed by it. Did they question enough people including the building inspector afterwards? Obviously it was all too late. I'm so sorry for those men, their families and friends. I just had a memory of that old fashioned elevator that I believe had to be run by a man. This is the first time I'm thinking about that. Would you say that is what they had there? I wonder if the logistical details of the structure, fire and collapse are online.
@@josephconforti4684 I remember reading in one of Leo Stapleton's books that a supporting column had been removed or altered to install a/c ductwork. The area could not hold up under the weight of the firefighting activity above it
Thank You
Fdny had a similar fire on October 17 1966 which was deadliest day for the fdny until 9/11 it’s known as the 23rd street fire
God bless the firefighter!
Not to mention Waldbaums in '78
@@josephconforti4684 there’s a couple videos on UA-cam about the 23rd street fire one has deputy chief Vinny dunn
@@garystadler5583 Thanks, I'll check them out. Much appreciated!
@@josephconforti4684 you’re welcome I study this period in the fdny history 😊
Last name is spelled wrong. MacKinnon
Thanks much, will change.
Corrected