Kingston burning
On February 16 1907, after restoring its stereotyping plant, the Gleaner was then able to publish the first photographs taken of Kingston immediately after the earthquake.
'The town of Kingston beyond lay flat, and from the sea gave the appearance of a large tract of waste land on which heaps of rubbish were burning. The smouldering mounds and the dense clouds of smoke which lay all over the ruined town made a gloomy contrast to the bright sunshine and delightful colouring so common to these islands.'
Member of the crew of the first British Navy ship to reach Kingston, seeing the city on the morning of January 18, 1907.
Member of the crew of the first British Navy ship to reach Kingston, seeing the city on the morning of January 18, 1907.
the rising column of smoke showed from a distance where Kingston was burning.
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Kingston shrouded in smoke and dust, seen from across the harbour.
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Firemen struggled to control the fires, but it was a task beyond their resources. Many who were trapped in fallen buildings were burned to death.
U.S. Marines were sent ashore from an American ship which arrived to offer assistance. Governor Swettenham caused an international incident when he insisted that the Marines be withdrawn, since the Americans had not asked for permission to put their troops into Kingston.
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Night January 14, 1907: "The warm and beautiful night closed in early, the cruel red glow of the burning city, with its storehouses of sugar and rum exploding and bursting into flames, shone out in intense brilliance on the black cloud of smoke that arose into the gorgeous starlit heavens." |
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After the earthquake had come the fire, almost certainly a result of the shock and the falling buildings. In claims for insurance money afterwards, attempts were made to use witnesses to show that the fire had started before the earthquake shock; but there were those like the watchmaker, John Soulette, who resolutely stuck to what they knew to be true - the earthquake caused the fires in Kingston.
