DALLAS TIMES HERALD 2-17-64 Ashes Sifted For Source of Killer Blaze 4 Bodies Located In Ruins By George Carter and Darwin Payne Staff writers Fire Investigators sifted through the charred ruins of a downtown building Monday, seeking to pinpoint what triggered a devastating fire that took the lives of four Dallas firemen. The firemen were killed during Sunday's predawn fire in the 1400 block of Commerce Street which wiped out three firms and caused damages estimated at $150,000. Loss of the four firemen was the worst single tragedy in the history of the Dallas Fire Department. The dead firemen, all veterans with three years or more experience, were: Jerry Keith Henderson, 29, father of five children and a resident of 112 Glenridge in Mesquite. James Robert Gresham, 25, of 3922 Lagoon Circle in Mesquite, father of one. James Kenneth Bigham, 36, of 7319 Wallace father of two. Ronald Edward Manley, 27, of 8805 Lapanto, father of two. FLOOR COLLAPSES Fire Investigator Capt. E. A. Emerson said the quartet died after the first floor of the Golden Pheasant Restaurant collapsed, dropping them into a flame filled basement. A four man fire investigator team worked until late Sunday night probing the ruins of the burned out building and talking to employees of the firms. They were back on the job shortly after daylight Monday. Fire Marshal Guy Harbert said the men will be working virtually around the clock until the cause of the deadly blaze is determined. "It's doubtful that they'll even take time out to attend the funerals of the four dead men," the fire marshal said. "We know where the fire started," Capt. Emerson said, "but we don't know what caused it. It may take us several days before we can pinpoint the cause exactly." The fire, he said, started in the basement of the restaurant at 1417 Commerce and quickly spread. Flames consumed the restaurant, the Dallas Blueprint Co. on the two floors above it and the Melody Shop, a record store next door. The three-story brick building across from the Baker Hotel remained only a shell after Sunday's fire. 750 FIREMEN Every Dallas fireman who could be reached helped fight the blaze. At one time some 750 men were involved, Chief H. L. Futch of the fire prevention bureau estimated. The four firemen who died were among the first to enter the building after the first alarm was sounded at 2:33 a.m. Sunday. They and approximately five other firemen entered the restaurant wearing masks to seek the cause of smoke pouring from the lower part of the building. No flames were visible from the outside on their arrival. A tiny hole on the first floor was discovered, revealing a mass of flames in the basement, Chief Futch said. The firemen began returning outside for more equipment to break a bigger hole in the floor so a water-circulating device could be lowered into the basement. But suddenly a large section of the floor collapsed and the four victims fell to the burning basement. The others scampered to safety, just ahead of the falling floor. Battalion Chief L. C. Briscoe told one fireman he "had to run up hill to get out." Deputy Chief T. E. Allen first chief on the scene, said that after the floor fell, "a mass of flames churned up." "We've fought bigger fires but this one was different. Four of our own men were in there. It was so frustrating because there was nothing we could do," he said. "After the floor fell we had to move all the way back to the street because the fire got away. It was a case of letting it burn down to where we could get it," Chief Allen said. A second alarm was sounded at 2:58 a.m., a third at 3:16 a.m., a fourth at 3:41 a.m. and a fifth at 3:55 a.m. One section of off-duty firemen was called in at 4:04 a.m. First companies at the fire were stations 1, 4 and 18, all in the downtown area. Some 30 major pieces of fire-fighting equipment were involved, dispatcher J. O. Harris estimated. Shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday the fire was extinguished. Most of the building and its contents lay in a heap of charred rubble in the basement. Clean-up operations Sunday also were hazardous. "The firemen have been passing out debris one piece at a time to keep the rest of the building from collapsing," Chief Futch said. The first body was found at about 10:15 a.m. Cutting torches and cranes were used to free debris from atop the bodies. "All the victims were close together," Chief Allen said. "One man lay at the foot of the other three, who were huddled up in sort of a pyramid with their faces between their hands, apparently for protection." The bodies were found alongside a wall approximately 25 to 30 feet from where the men were standing when the floor collapsed. This led Chief Allen to theorize that the men gathered together in an attempt to edge their way to safety along the wall. "I think it was smoke that got them rather than the fall or flames," Chief Allen said. He said he felt sure the men had suffocated before the second and third floors tumbled down. Two of three 1-½ inch fires hoses in use burned when the first floor collapsed. Smoke damage was suffered by businesses on both sides of the building. Among these were the Piccadilly Cafeteria, national jobbing Co., and the Doubleday Book Store, according to Chief Futch. Police roped off the 1400 and 1500 blocks of Commerce Sunday. Spectators gathered at the site, many with cameras. Smoke could be smelled from several blocks away after noon. 2 of Fire Victims Had Been Friends Since High School Two the four firemen killed in Sunday's disastrous fire had been friends since high school days in Canton, Tex. Ronald Edward Manley, 27, and Jerry Keith Henderson, 29, had become acquainted in the East Texas, town and had continued their friendship until their deaths. They shared mutual interests of bowling and golf. Mr. Henderson, of 112 Glenridge in Mesquite, bowled in two different leagues and carried an average of 187. He was married and the father of five children, Sandra 10; Jerry Michael 8; Robert Douglas, 6; Donald Keith 4; and Sharon Lee 2. A seven year veteran of the Fire Department he was a driver engineer at Station No. 1 at Ross and Leonard streets. He was a member of Rollingwood Hill Baptist Church and had lived in Dallas 10 ½ years. FATHER OF 2 Mr. Manley lived at 8805 Lapanto with his wife and two children, Vickie Lynn 7, and Mark Edward, 1. He was a second driver at Station No. 18 at McKinney and Laws streets. James Robert Gresham, 25, another victim, was married and the father on one child, Debra, 3. He had worked for the Fire Department since Oct. 1, 1960, and served as a private at Station No. 11, Cedar Springs and Reagan. Mr. Gresham lived at 2922 Lagoon Circle in Mesquite. James Kenneth Bigham, 36, the fourth victim of the fire, was a native Dallasite. He attended Adamson High School. Mr. Bigham lived at 7319 Wallace with his wife and two children, Ricky 15 and Karen 13. He was a private and worked at Station No. 18, McKinney and Laws. He also was a bowling and golf participant. Families of the men were notified of their deaths shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday. Four firemen who were intimate friends of the victims visited their home to inform their families of the tragedy. FUNERAL SERVICES Funeral services for the firemen were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. Firemen have been requested to wear their uniforms for the rites. Mr. Henderson was to be buried at haven of Memory in Canton after 2 p.m. Monday funeral services at the Rollingwood Hills Baptist Church in Mesquite. Rites for Mr. Bigham will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Colonial Avenue Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Restland Memorial Park. Mr. Gresham will be buried at Restland Memorial Park after 2 p.m. Tuesday funeral services at Mary King Methodist Church. Mr. Manley's rites will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Eubanks Funeral Home in Canton, with burial at the adjoining cemetery. FOUR VICTIMS WERE FAMILY MEN Fireman Hadn't Seen New Furniture Dallas Morning News Feb. 17, 1964 By Joe Thornton Mrs. James Gresham bought a houseful of new furniture over the weekend. Her husband had not seen it. Sunday, James Robert Gresham, 25, of 3822 Lagoon Circle, Mesquite, was burned to death with three other Dallas firefighters. ALSO KILLED were Ronald E. Manley, 27, of 8805 Lapanto Lane; Jerry T. Henderson, 29, of 112 Glenridge, Mesquite, and James G. Bigham, 36, of 7319 Wallace. Whether any of them had life insurance was not immediately determined. A short time ago, Mrs. Gresham took a secretarial job in order to buy the household furnishings. Based solely on her husband's $466 a month salary and with a 3 year old daughter, buying furniture for the new home would have required extremely severe budgeting. Gresham had been with the fire department for about three years. He was one of the first men trained to operate the Snorkel, when the department got the firefighting machine less than a year ago. HIS FAMILY will receive $224 monthly from the fire department pension fund. Sunday was Gresham's day off, but a friend from another truck company wanted the day off and Gresham filled in for him. For the last three months, most of Ronald E. Manley's spare time was spent studying for departmental examinations. He was a second driver and his promotion to driver hinged on the exam scores. "HE WAS REAL STUCK on his job," said a neighbor, Ray E. Jones of 8732 Ukiah Drive. "He really had been studying for those tests." Mrs. Manley works in an insurance office and Jones' mother keeps their 1 year old son, Mark Edward, during the day. Seven year old Vickie Lynn Manley is a second grader. As a fireman, Manley earned $490 per month. He had been with the department since Sept. 1, 1957. To augment his income and to buy a few extras for their heavily mortgaged $14,000 home, Manley worked part time with his brother as a sheetrocker. The family's monthly share of the fund will be $227. JERRY T. HENDERSON began 1957 with a new job. On the first day of January, he went to work with the fire department. Since then he had risen from the rank of private to driver engineer. "H was working all the time," said Roscoe E. Butler, who lives two houses away. "When he wasn't at the station, he'd be laying rock and brick for somebody. He was a hardworking boy." HENDERSON WAS forced to work hard for his growing family. He and his 28 year old wife, Kathleen, have five children; Sandra Gale, 10, Jerry Michael, 8, Robert Douglas, 6, Donald Keith, 4, and Sharon Lee, 2. On his fire department salary of $507 a month, the Henderson's were buying a $10,500 home. "But they were getting by," said Butler. Henderson's beneficiaries will receive $228 monthly from the department fund. JAMES K. BIGHAM loved kids and baseball. He helped organize a Little League baseball team and served as coach and confidant for several years. Bigham was a letterman on Adamson High School's baseball team and during vacation played summer league ball. At Adamson, he met and married Janice. "They were childhood sweethearts," remembered a former neighbor, T. G. Millender Jr. Millender, who played summer baseball with Bigham, said he had never heard Bigham say anything derogatory about his job. "HE REALIZED the danger involved, but he was happy with it. He wouldn't have been happy doing anything else." Bigham served in the Navy and worked briefly with the Dallas Power & Light Co before going to work for the city in 1951. His salary was $496 and the pension fund will donate a monthly $233. Saturday night while Mrs. Bigham and 13 year old Deborah Ann stayed home, 15 year old Ricky Don spent the night at his father's fire station waiting for him to return.