By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society
COURTESY OF SHS
Fire Chief Matt Perry poses proudly with Sausalito’s new ambulance in 1947
In November 1944, Sausalito Fire Chief Matt (aka Matts) Perry and Mayor John Ehlen tried to pull off a publicity stunt that literally backfired, creating panic throughout the North Bay. Here’s a first-hand account by Sausalito News reporter Marjorie McQuiston:
“With a whirr of the siren . . . the motors throbbing beneath me . . . three people on my lap . . . and my eyes popping out of my head ... I was off last night in the fire engine to see one of the biggest fire rallies in the history of Sausalito. There in the blackness of the night, several thousand spectators gathered at Sausalito’s star-lit waterfront to watch the mayor, John B. Ehlen, set fire to a gasoline soaked rope which the Volunteer Firemen had strung around the old hull of the SS Mazama, laying in the soggy mud flats. The mobs surged down near the side of the ship as the flames crawled toward the bridge. They watched the burst of brilliant light when the cracked and rotten wood suddenly burst with fire that could be seen for miles around.
“Blaring across the waterfront from a loud speaker set up on Pacific Queen, the Kissinger’s three masted sailing vessel in the harbor, a running commentary directed traffic along Bridgeway, described the progress of the fire, and entertained the excited crowds with music. Aboard this ship, which provided protected ringside views of the rally, were many of the Sausalito yacht owners, guests of Capt. and Mrs. Kissinger. Cars lined the sidewalk along Bridgeway. Hundreds of other people wandered up and down the yacht harbor pier, where emergency fire pumps were standing by, and cameras were being set up by many a professional and amateur photographer.
“The purpose of this huge conflagration was to give the Volunteer Firemen’s Carnival, next Friday and Saturday, some special publicity. Then too, Matts Perry, the fire chief, was anxious to rid the landscape of the three old crates stuck on the mud flats, which have been eyesores for many years.
“There were numerous comments among the spectators that the wood might have provided fire wood for homes this winter, but the answer to those remarks is that people have had ample opportunity to chop up the old ships and help themselves. Many others believe that the ancient hulls gave Sausalito a picturesque quality, and that burning them destroyed half the charm of the town. It is too late for controversy now. In the cold gray dawn of Wednesday morning, the still-burning embers of all three of the ships were close to the ground. Only black charred skeleton of the Mazama remained while the hulls of both the Santa Barbara and the Welseley were still being licked by flames.
With the help of the Sausalito Yacht Club boys, who stayed up all night with the firemen, the Volunteer Firemen built a protecting ridge around the bow of the Welseley, cutting off a small part of the ship from the fire because there was still a considerable amount of oil stored in her tanks. The remainder of the Welseley and the Santa Barbara were set on fire about two hours after the old Mazama had been lit. Sparks, blowing southward across the flats, showered the mobs of children and older people who crowded the shell beach. A pall of smoke hung around the vessels during the night, drifting over the bay just off Tiburon.”
Evidently, Mayor Ehlen and Chief Perry didn’t realize there was still some fuel oil in the steam schooner Welseley when they touched off this firestorm. This being wartime, the incident triggered speculation all around the Bay that the fire might have been the work of enemy saboteurs. The next day the News ran a story headlined “Fire Excites S. F. Papers”:
“Flames from the burning ships Tuesday night could be seen for such long distances that the Fire and Police Departments were kept busy answering frantic questions of citizens and newspapers from everywhere in the bay area. San Francisco Examiner called up the Fire Department soon after the fire started and wanted to know all of the data. A reporter from the Call-Bulletin caught sight of the conflagration as he was coming down the peninsula and immediately got a hold of a photographer to get pictures while he covered the story. Many of the observers in San Francisco thought that Marinship was on fire. FBI contacted the Police Department and wanted all of the information it could obtain. A false alarm from up in the hill took an engine and many of the firemen away for over a half an hour, but it was caused by people mistaking the flames from the ships for houses.”
After that, the town went back to pursuing the less hectic war effort.