The Monumento a los héroes de El Polvorín (Monument to the "El Polvorín" fire heroes) is a monument at Plaza Las Delicias in Ponce, Puerto Rico, dedicated to the seven fire fighters and one civilian that subdued the flames of the "El Polvorin" fire on the night of 25 January 1899.
Its coordinates are 18.011503°N 66.613846°W (18°00′41″N 66°36′50″W).
Backgroundedit
On 25 January 1899, a large fire (later dubbed "El Polvorin") threatened the lives of the residents of the city of Ponce and, given Ponce's de facto role as Puerto Rico's banking and agricultural capital, it threaten the economy of Puerto Rico as a whole. The fire started at the horse barn of the recently deployed U.S. Army artillery encampment one block from the center of town, on Calle Salud between Calle Cristina and Calle Comercio, and quickly spread towards the army's artillery munitions storage area. By the time the local commander realized there was a fire near the munitions compound, he judged it too risky for his men to try to put it out and ordered all personnel to move away from the area to let the fire extinguish itself, even if it meant explosions at the munitions depot. The commander also instructed the local firemen (then numbering about 40) not to enter the area or attempt to extinguish the fire. However, seven of the firemen and one civilian disobeyed the orders of the commander and decided to fight the fire. They were able to suppress the fire before it could get to the gunpowder reserves, without any loss of life or additional loss of property. Due to their efforts, disaster upon the then mostly wooden homes and businesses in town was averted. For their success, the group was honored many times both in Ponce and the rest of Puerto Rico. The obelisk was built to honor their memory.[2]
^The "Roosevelt School", mentioned on the Western facing plaque, refers to the Ponce High School.
Referencesedit
^Emilio J. Pasarell. Esculcando el Siglo XIX en Puerto Rico. Barcelona, Spain: M. Pareja Press. 1967. page 86.
^Conmemoran 120 años del fuego del Polvorín en Ponce. elvocero.com 26 January 2919. El Vocero. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Accessed 25 February 2019.
^Camina por Ponce: "Ponce es nuestro; Ponce es del que nos visita". 2012-07-03 at the Wayback Machine Municipality of Ponce. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
^ abPariser, Harry S. (2002). Explore Puerto Rico (5th ed.). Harry S. Pariser. ISBN9781893643529.
^Millán, Reinaldo (25 January 2012). "Hacen justicia con héroes del Polvorín". La Perla del Sur (in Spanish). No. Year 30, Issue 1469. Ponce, Puerto Rico. p. 22.
^Hillinger, Charles (22 April 1990). "Heroism of Firefighters Still Ignites Civic Pride". Los Angeles Times.
Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 259. Item 1299. LCCN 92-75480
P. A. Reyes Vargas. "El Parque de Artillería de Ponce." El Imparcial. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 11 de septiembre de 1954. pp. S-8 to S-9.
January 01, 1970
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For the tomb mausoleum at Cementerio Civil de Ponce see Monumento a los heroes de El Polvorin mausoleum The Monumento a los heroes de El Polvorin Monument to the El Polvorin fire heroes is a monument at Plaza Las Delicias in Ponce Puerto Rico dedicated to the seven fire fighters and one civilian that subdued the flames of the El Polvorin fire on the night of 25 January 1899 Monumento a los heroes de El PolvorinImage of the monument18 00 41 N 66 36 50 W 18 011503 N 66 613846 W 18 011503 66 613846LocationPlaza Degetau at Plaza Las Delicias Ponce Puerto RicoTypeObeliskMaterialGranite and MarbleHeightapprox 20 feetBeginning dateca 1947Completion date1948Opening date25 January 1948Dedicated toThe El Polvorin fire heroes Contents 1 Location 2 Background 3 The structure 4 Notes 5 References 6 Further readingLocation editThe monument is located in a shady area on the eastern half of Plaza Degetau the southern plaza at Plaza Las Delicias in Ponce Puerto Rico and it honors the following seven firemen and one civilian 1 Rafael Rivera Esbri civilian Pedro Sabater 2nd Corporal Rafael del Valle 1st Corporal Cayetano Casals 2nd Corporal Pedro Ruiz 1st Sargent Juan Romero 1st Corporal Gregorio Rivera Gastador Tomas Rivera 2nd Corporal Its coordinates are 18 011503 N 66 613846 W 18 00 41 N 66 36 50 W Background editOn 25 January 1899 a large fire later dubbed El Polvorin threatened the lives of the residents of the city of Ponce and given Ponce s de facto role as Puerto Rico s banking and agricultural capital it threaten the economy of Puerto Rico as a whole The fire started at the horse barn of the recently deployed U S Army artillery encampment one block from the center of town on Calle Salud between Calle Cristina and Calle Comercio and quickly spread towards the army s artillery munitions storage area By the time the local commander realized there was a fire near the munitions compound he judged it too risky for his men to try to put it out and ordered all personnel to move away from the area to let the fire extinguish itself even if it meant explosions at the munitions depot The commander also instructed the local firemen then numbering about 40 not to enter the area or attempt to extinguish the fire However seven of the firemen and one civilian disobeyed the orders of the commander and decided to fight the fire They were able to suppress the fire before it could get to the gunpowder reserves without any loss of life or additional loss of property Due to their efforts disaster upon the then mostly wooden homes and businesses in town was averted For their success the group was honored many times both in Ponce and the rest of Puerto Rico The obelisk was built to honor their memory 2 The structure editThe obelisk was built in 1948 3 It replaced the original obelisk built shortly after the 25 January 1899 fire but which was destroyed by the 1918 San Fermin earthquake 4 The obelisk was erected by a city board consisting of Jaime L Drew Antonio Arias and Antonio Mirabal 4 This monument is different from the obelisk tomb built in 1911 and dedicated to the same men and which stands at the Cementerio Civil de Ponce Ponce Civil Cemetery 5 6 The four sided obelisk has four plaques one on each side The plaque facing East reads Tributo de Gratitud que el pueblo de Ponce dedica en el 49o aniversario del acaecimiento a sus ocho benemeritos hijos quienes con expocision de sus vidas conjuraron el voraz elemento 25 de enero de 1948 Tribute of Gratitude which the people of Ponce dedicate on the 49th anniversary of its occurrence to its eight distinguished citizens who exposing their own lives fought the raging fire 25 January 1948 dd The North facing plaque lists the honored men saying Heroes de la Jornada Rafael Rivera Esbri civil a Pedro Sabater Rafael del Valle Cayetano Casals Pedro Ruiz Juan Romero Gregorio Rivera Tomas Rivera Heroes of the Labor Rafael Rivera Esbri civilian Pedro Sabater Rafael del Valle Cayetano Casals Pedro Ruiz Juan Romero Gregorio Rivera Tomas Rivera dd The Western facing plaque says El siniestro al que se hace referencia se desarrollo en el lugar en que se levanta la Escuela Rosevelt manzana que circuyen la calles Comercio Salud Cristina Trujillo The disaster to which we make reference occurred at the location of Roosevelt School b the block bordered by Comercio Salud Cristina and Trujillo streets dd The plaque facing South reads Junta Erectora Jaime L Drew Antonio Arias Antonio Mirabal Building Board Jaime L Drew Antonio Arias Antonio Mirabal dd Notes edit The civilian Rafael Rivera Esbri later became a mayor of Ponce The Roosevelt School mentioned on the Western facing plaque refers to the Ponce High School References edit Emilio J Pasarell Esculcando el Siglo XIX en Puerto Rico Barcelona Spain M Pareja Press 1967 page 86 Conmemoran 120 anos del fuego del Polvorin en Ponce elvocero com 26 January 2919 El Vocero San Juan Puerto Rico Accessed 25 February 2019 Camina por Ponce Ponce es nuestro Ponce es del que nos visita Archived 2012 07 03 at the Wayback Machine Municipality of Ponce Retrieved 25 April 2013 a b Pariser Harry S 2002 Explore Puerto Rico 5th ed Harry S Pariser ISBN 9781893643529 Millan Reinaldo 25 January 2012 Hacen justicia con heroes del Polvorin La Perla del Sur in Spanish No Year 30 Issue 1469 Ponce Puerto Rico p 22 Hillinger Charles 22 April 1990 Heroism of Firefighters Still Ignites Civic Pride Los Angeles Times Further reading edit nbsp Puerto Rico portal Fay Fowlie de Flores Ponce Perla del Sur Una Bibliografica Anotada Second Edition 1997 Ponce Puerto Rico Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce p 259 Item 1299 LCCN 92 75480 P A Reyes Vargas El Parque de Artilleria de Ponce El Imparcial San Juan Puerto Rico 11 de septiembre de 1954 pp S 8 to S 9 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Monumento a los heroes de El Polvorin obelisk amp oldid 1138723494, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
