10/06/2026
FIRST FIREFIGHTER KILLED IN ST. JOSEPH
THE BURNING BROTHEL 🔥
The former location of Wire Rope, now owned by Hillyard, once stood a collection of five brick structures known as the Rosebud Block that housed billiard rooms, saloons and brothels. Two of the buildings were designated as dancing halls, “... it had been customary for the prostitutes of the city and those who visited them to have occasional dances. These were largely attended, not only by roughs and bummers, but often by many who lay claim to respectable positions in society.” It was on the Saturday night of January 22, that one of these extravaganzas had taken place at the Rosebud, “At length, as the midnight hour had passed the or**es ended, and one by one the revelers disappeared from the hall …”
A few hours later, a customer was sleeping soundly next to the woman he’d paid for the night when he awoke to smoke in their room. The building was on fire, “A moment more, and the whole household was alarmed— and forth from every room poured half-awakened debauchees, dressed in their night clothes, shivering with cold and half-palsied with a strange and sudden fear.” Everyone knew the fire was approaching because the smoke was getting thicker, but they just couldn’t see it yet. Within seconds, “... the glare of the red came leaping, crackling, sparkling up, licking the walls and ceiling and encircling in its fiery embrace all within its reach. Higher and higher it mounted, until at length, bursting through the roof, it reached towards the sky …”
In the early Sunday morning hours of Sunday, January 23, 1870, St. Joseph was glowing bright orange.
As the fire ravaged, firefighters with the Steam Fire Engine House were tearing down streets as fast as they could, “The men lash their horses in impatient fury, and the engine moves with reckless speed.”
When the unit finally arrived at the fire, they immediately went to hook up the hose, “... but all in vain! There is no water. The river is frozen solid, as also the little stream by the fire. It is a terrible moment.” And even more terrible it would soon become. It was here that the fire had finally reached the infamous Rosebud, “The terrified inmates have left the haunt which sheltered them, and are cowering like stricken wretches in the streets.” Everything was now engulfed in flames and beyond saving. All anyone could do was shiver and watch.
The Hook and Later Company along with the Waterwitch Company had finally arrived on scene, “Alas! Even if not too late, the latter had no chance to work. ‘Water! ‘Water!’ was the cry, but no water was to be had.”
As the crowds of the women and their customers stood watching the blaze, they began to take a headcount, “... and one who was known to be there on that night was missing.” When the women pointed at the windows to the room where the man, “... a son of one of the oldest and most esteemed citizens of St. Joseph,” had been sleeping, the firemen jumped into the action to rescue him. Unfortunately, the fire and smoke had forced them back, “For a moment, as their utter helplessness became apparent to the dense mass, there was solemn silence.” The girl he'd spent the night with had tried waking him when the smoke began to fill the room, but he never woke up.
In desperation, the firemen had tried running their hose to a nearby cistern, but the hose was too short to reach the flames. They then looked up and realized the sky was snowing with red embers and they needed to protect the neighboring homes and properties. Some of the firemen had, “... ran down to Blacksnake, and broke the ice, and then devoted their time saving the frame buildings at the end of the block.”
By morning, the fire had finished its feast and the defeated firemen began to pack up to return to their fire houses, “The boys turned back, and there in, the cellar, plainly in view, close to the doorway, lay the charred and blackened remains of a human body." The firemen quickly ran back to the scene to start investigating for more victims within the structure.
Adrenaline surging in their veins, six firemen entered the cellar with some civilians going in behind them to aid them in their efforts. They had not realized the danger in what they were doing. Not long after going in, “... a terrible cry arose … The south wall of the second tenement was toppling in on the cellar! The alarm came too late! A moment the wall shook and tottered upon its foundation; and then, with a terrible crash, fell in. Shrieks of terror arose from without, and cries of agony from the men buried within the ruins. And then there was a general rush to extricate the sufferers, men little heeding the burning bricks and hot cinders and embers that lay in their way.”
BLASIUS “BLAS” ARGUS 🧑🚒
In 1834, Blasius "Blas" Argus was born in Buffalo in upstate New York. When Argus was 23 years old, he made his way to St. Joseph to begin working at Messrs. Day & Bro. on Main Street. In 1870, Argus was employed as a foreman for G. W. Brown as a “tin man”— a skilled artisan who fabricated, sold, and repaired household and farm items made from thin, tin-coated sheet iron.
On January 23, 1870, the assistant foreman of the Hook and Ladder Company, 35-year-old Blass Argus, had been the second one to enter the cellar in a desperate search for victims.
It's crucial to note here that a selfless Black civilian by the name of Wesley Pfeonts had actually been one of the men to follow the six firemen into the cellar to help with their search. When the walls came down, Pfeonts was killed instantly as opposed to the three hours it took for Argus to. Because Mr. Pfeonts hadn't been a firefighter, he was not recognized the same way Argus had been.
“Mr. Blass Argus was found almost completely covered with its burning rubbish, and suffering the most intense agony. As his companions were taking him out, he cried, in the deepest anguish, ‘Save me, boys, save me!’ He was finally extricated and conveyed to a building on the opposite side of the streets, where the best medical attendance was at once procured. He was beyond the reach of human aid, however, his head and the upper part of his body being terribly bruised and burned. He lingered amid the most intense suffering until about ten o’clock, when his spirit returned to the God who gave it. His last words to his sorrowing companions who stood around him were, ‘Poor old Argus is gone, boys!’”
Following his painful end, the remains of Argus were placed in the lower room of the engine house. According to the paper, Argus “... looked natural, although the face was burned. The body was placed in an elegant coffin, with the emblems of the Hook and Ladder Company. On the silver plate of the coffin was inscribed: ‘Blass Argus, Died January 23d, 1870 …’”
The next day, January 24, the funeral of young Blass Argus took place at 3PM within the Rescue Hook and Ladder House. The mayor had ordered that all businesses be closed from 2PM to 5PM and that all citizens and members of city council, police department, and fire department attend the funeral. During the service, his own fireman’s hat and jacket were placed in the coffin with him.
“The procession slowly moved through the streets to the sound of the muffled drum; and then wended its way to Mt. Mora Cemetery, on entering which the Band played a death march. The music then moved to the eminence of the cemetery, followed by a hearse. Near the grave the procession halted … the coffin was carried by the pallbearers and placed over its last resting palace … The cap, jacket, and regalia of the deceased were removed from the coffin, and it was lowered to the bottom.” The article continued, “Of irreproachable character, brave, honorable and manly, he had won the love of all who knew him, and the sorrowing faces that gathered around his grave … attested more forcibly than mere words how deeply his comrades mourned the loss of poor Blass.”
🪦 findagrave.com/memorial/141177383/blasius-argus
The days following the fire and Argus's funeral, the story of the fire would sweep the nation— appearing in the following states: Georgia, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Vermont, Illinois, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, etc.
WHERE IS HE? 🔍
After being recommended the story of Argus by a follower, I was eager to photograph his headstone since no known photo exists of it. I called Suzanne Lehr with Mount Mora Preservation and Restoration Association to try and help me locate it.
Lehr informed me that she herself has tried locating his burial spot in Mount Mora for years and years to no avail! In her Mount Mora records, there is no mention of Argus.
Lehr suspects since Argus had no relatives in St. Joseph, and due to the fact his family lived in New York, they never wired money to pay for a proper stone.
Another theory is that at the time Argus was killed, the mayor already had a plot in his name in Mount Mora. Per Lehr's records, the mayor never ended up using his plot, and given the way the mayor so greatly wanted to honor the life of Argus, perhaps he let Argus be buried in his plot instead. Lehr probed the plot belonging to the former mayor, but found no disturbance in the soil. The mayor nor Argus are buried there.
You'd think if the death of St. Joseph's first firefighter was such a big deal and Argus was given such an ornate funeral that he would've been given a proper headstone, maybe even by the city at the time, but that doesn't seem to be the case. For now, the resting place of Argus within Mount Mora is lost to history.
💐 stjosephmemorylane.com/fire/fire.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawTLIpxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE1ZzlUWkRRWDVXd2lSenhTc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHj74S3RoZofJpRYwDk9y31dBucK4Lf3ChEAU-eHVc9FerWQBahfh-PD--K6I_aem_m5QKC4zKAVfHQ2rLpGlfQQ
💐 stjosephmo.gov/377/History?fbclid=IwY2xjawTLIqJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE1ZzlUWkRRWDVXd2lSenhTc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqsw7dif8ypfQyBWCvb7o1DdDshboBUO14FciFyvZzBV8lCS0hL0vPermJJp_aem_thc8J-HeL0JYT3VxICPJLQ
NOTE: The quotes I pulled all come from the St. Joseph Weekly Gazette paper on January 27, 1870.
NOTE: I tried reaching out to the SJFD and Pony Express for more info, but never heard back, so above is all info I have.
NOTE: I am by no means a professional. I'm just a girl with a camera and a search bar. This grave was photographed and researched so others can remember a life lived and virtually honor their resting place. There are no living immediate family members for me to contact to get their blessing to publish this post. It is by no means my intention to exploit the deceased. As always, any corrections, more information about, and photographs of Blasius "Blas" Argus are welcome. To contact me, you can email me at [email protected]
