Kugler’s Restaurant Fire – February 26, 1920

The evening of Thursday, February 26, 1920, was bitter cold with temperatures in the teens and a howling wind. Over two hundred diners were enjoying themselves at Kugler’s Restaurant, one of the city’s best-known eateries, located at 1412-20 Chestnut Street in Center City. Shortly after 8:30 PM, someone smelled smoke and an orderly evacuation of the building was begun.

At 8:46 PM Box 328, Broad and Chestnut Streets was transmitted for the fire. By the time Engine 4 arrived on location from their firehouse on Sansom Street, a short few blocks away, heavy smoke was pouring from the three-story building. Extra alarms were sounded culminating with the fifth alarm being struck at 10:26 PM.

The fire presented one of the most difficult exposure problems faced by the Bureau of Fire up to that time. The Kugler Building was situated between the twenty-two story Land Title Building and the eighteen story Franklin National Bank Building. Both buildings had windows overlooking the Kugler Building. As fire burst through the roof of the restaurant, the department had a difficult time keeping the fire from getting into the exposures under adverse weather conditions.

Fire fighters were able to limit extension to the exposures. No serious injuries were reported.

Water Tower 1 shown encrusted in ice, the morning after the fire while a steamer pumps away in the background.

Engine 20 on a hydrant in front of the Union League on Broad Street with their 1899 LaFrance steamer.

About the Author: Jack Wright

Jack Wright (April 11, 1963-April 6, 2021) was a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, PA. As a child he was fascinated with fire engines in general and those of the Philadelphia Fire Department in particular. He chased them his entire life. From his early days of grammar school, he watched Engine 53 and Ladder 27 responding to alarms in his South Philadelphia neighborhood. Those scenes made an indelible impression on him. It was at that time that he began collecting photographs relating to the Philadelphia Fire Department. With his interest in the Philadelphia Fire Department and its history, it was only natural that he found himself at the Fireman’s Hall Museum. In May of 1988 he began working as a museum volunteer. While working there he became involved in researching the department’s history, as well as documenting it. Some of his research has been used by the Philadelphia Fire Department to evaluate their operations and procedures and make changes where necessary. On October 14, 2007 Jack was named the official Philadelphia Fire Department Historian by Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers. Jack served on the Board of Directors of Fireman’s Hall. He also was a contributing editor for Fire Apparatus Journal. Jack co-authored Hike Out, the only written history of the Philadelphia Fire department ever published. In addition, he published Philadelphia Fire Apparatus Volume 4. He wrote a number of articles relating to the department’s history that have been published in various magazines and newsletters and posts a history blog on the internet. Jack provided presentations to various historical societies in the Philadelphia area regarding the Philadelphia Fire Department.