Late Binghamton Firefighter Honored

Binghamton officials this morning held a ceremony inside a downtown building where a city firefighter died while battling a blaze 89 years ago this week.

The Washington Street building now houses Galaxy Brewing Company. The business also extends into an adjacent building on Court Street.

A blaze erupted in a business called the Coffee Den on March 25, 1925. City historians say 32-year-old Firefighter Horace Clair Brainard died in the basement of the building.

The raging fire threatened the downtown business district. More than three-dozen firefighters were injured.

Brainard was trapped when a floor collapsed and pinned him in deep water in the basement.

Ammonia tanks used to manufacture ice cream in the building were in the basement. Those tanks exploded during the blaze.

A sign has been posted dedicating the Galaxy Brewing Company dining room to the memory of Brainard. The sign features a photograph of Brainard and a companion reproduction of an image of several firefighters posing on a firetruck from the 1920s.

Several wood beams heavily charred in the fire remain visible in the building's basement.