The Tannery Fire of 1966
On July 27, 1966, massive flames billowed hundreds of feet skyward as fire leveled a quarter-million feet of framed industrial buildings at the former Wilcox Tannery in Wilcox. The fire sirens sounded at 12:30 this Wednesday morning. For a time, the inferno lifter tarpaper and other materials in to the air over a wide area, destroying a large nearby dwelling.
There were no reports of any injuries. Firefighter from eight local communities fought to keep the blaze from destroying the entire town which was only a few hundred feet from the burning structure, Firefighters from Kane sent two units, St. Marys with two, with Johnsonburg sending four units. Firefighters fro Emporium, Port Allegany, Smethport, and Mt. Jewett assisted the Wilcox Department led by Chief C. P. Dietrick.
While hose lines were strung like spaghetti to the Clarion River to fight the fire, firefighters pumped close to 70,000 gallons of water from the Wilcox reservoir. As the fire spread throughout the maze of industrial buildings, flames burnt the main electric power distribution lines supplying electricity to the Wilcox and Rasselas area. West Penn Power rushed in emergency repair crews to restore power.
Residents watched in horror as the searing heat begat to blister the siding on homes as far away as 200 feet from the fire. The homes of Mr. & Mrs. James Steve was gutted by the fire. The homes of three other families, Walter Polinski, Clarence Fiscus, George Mehalko, and James Turzanski were severely damaged.
The old, dry, wooden, buildings produced a spectacular fire that was seen for miles. State Police Sgt. John Dussia reported that the fire was first reported and appeared to be in an industrial area southeast of Kane and investigated. He continued on eight miles to discover the fire in Wilcox.
Firemen at the scene indicated that the blaze is believed to have been started by an arsonist. Several local barns and other rural building have been intentionally set on fire recently in the area. No one was ever charged with the crime. The Tannery buildings were under the ownership by the Kovalchik Salvage Company of Sykesville. The company was in the process of salvaging some of the buildings while demolishing others. Machinery and other valuable equipment had long since been removed from the buildings.
The day after the fire at the Wilcox Tannery. (Note the West Penn Power lineman to the upper left of the photo. The flames burnt the electric lines to serving Wilcox and Rasselas.)
The day after the blaze, crews from West Penn Power were on scene to restore power to the community. The valley of Wilcox was partially darkened as smoke hung heavy over the town for miles. Since it was a calm day the smoke lingered over the former industrial giant like a cloud, State Police rerouted traffic traveling on Route 219.
Today only the remains of the foundation for the plants sewage treatment process are visable. The modern Route 321 cuts directly through the former site. The site was later turned over to the Wilcox Area Development Corp. which has since sold off industrial building lots. These lots are now occupied by Precision Compacted Components, Cameron Diversified Products, Elcam Tool & Die. Formerly the Thorco Bottling Company operated at the site and constructed the building now occupied by Cameron Diversified Products, Elcam Tool & Die.
Although these new industries provide valuable jobs and economic benefits to the community, they will never replace the great wealth provided to the town as did the Wilcox Tannery.
The Tannery as it appeared shortly before the fire that totally consumed the remaining structures.