A LOOK BACK:The great Talbert fire of 1923

Fire has been a boon to mankind as well as its worst enemy.

Many homes and businesses are lost to fire each year, and sometimes it gets out of control and burns everything in its path.

One of the most disastrous fires started the night of Oct. 8, 1871, in a barn in Chicago (although the urban myth of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow knocking over a lantern has been disputed). More than 300 lives were lost and more than 17,000 buildings destroyed. However, the tragedy led to a rebuilding of the city, catapulting it to a leading international center.

I remember the great Laguna Beach fire in 1993 that engulfed many homes and filled the sky with smoke and ashes for days. The flames lit up the night sky, and it looked as if the whole town was on fire.

This week we are going to look back at another fire that nearly wiped out the nearby town of Talbert.

If it hadn’t been for the valiant efforts of the Huntington Beach firemen there might not have been anything left of the town but ashes.

It was in the early months of 1923 that an 80-year-old man moved in to the small farming town of Talbert, now called Fountain Valley.

The town’s commercial district was located at what are now Talbert Avenue and Bushard Street, and consisted of a few wooden buildings. Walter Randell came to stay in one of the buildings while looking for work.

In the months after arriving in Talbert, Randell found odd jobs at nearby ranches and janitor work at a local store and garage.

He rented a small room above a pool hall from Sam Talbert.

Just after 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 7, 1923, Randell was cooking his evening meal — something he wasn’t supposed to do in his room and something he had promised Sam Talbert he wouldn’t do.

While cooking, he somehow caught his shirt on fire, as some local boys had seen him at his upstairs window with outstretched arms and with flames blazing from his clothing.

Within minutes, his small room was filled with flames and smoke. The flames from Randell’s room spread to the outside of the two-story wooden building.

R.A. West, who owned and operated a blacksmith shop nearby, spotted the flames and rushed to the burning building. West could hear Randell screaming.

He entered the pool hall and alerted the people inside as he dashed up the stairs to Randell’s door.

Upon reaching the door, he found that it was barred from the inside. He lunged at the door again and again until it broke down.

Randell’s room was engulfed in flames, and its thick smoke prevented West from seeing into the burning room.

While trying to reach Randell, he heard a groan and then silence. The flames were so intense that West had to flee.

The flames now leaped the 15 feet that separated Talbert’s building with a grocery store next door. In a short time, the single-story grocery store was in flames.

Word was sent to Huntington Beach for help, and within minutes Fire Chief Jack Tinsley, six firemen and three policemen were on their way in a fire truck to Talbert.

By the time they reached the fire, the wind had picked up, threatening what was left of the town.

The firemen tried to use the town’s water supply, but the fire truck’s pump wasn’t able to pull in enough water to throw a usable stream and had to rely on its own water it carried.

Working as quickly as they could, the firemen tried to keep the flames at bay. But by now, the second-story floor above the pool hall had collapsed.

The firemen continued fighting the fire until the last sparks were out, and when it was over they found that the grocery store and its stock inside were a complete loss.

Talbert’s building suffered great damage, and one of the pool tables and part of the stock of goods in the poolroom was lost, but the men inside were able to save two of the pool tables and some furnishings.

Chief Tinsley and his men had saved the town — or a large part of it — because of their quick action.

Walter Randell’s charred body was found on the floor of the pool hall, having fallen through the collapsed second floor. His silver open-faced Elgin pocket watch lay next to him with the hands forever stopped at 3:40 p.m.

The loss from the fire was estimated to be about $5,000, a good sum in those days, and if it hadn’t been for the efforts of both our fire and police, the entire town of Talbert would have been a mass of charred wood and ashes.

In an strange twist of fate, the week of the fire was National Fire Prevention Week.