On January 13, 1933, a fire broke out in the Browning King Company building at 15th and Douglas Streets, Omaha. The three-story brick and timber building, built in 1882 and remodeled in 1931, housed the men’s clothing store, one of sixteen nationwide.
That morning, porters Oliver Patterson and Christopher Pinkston were working in the basement. Pinkston was heating solid floor wax on a gas stove to soften it when he briefly left to sort mail. Around 7:45 a.m., the can exploded, spreading flaming wax. The fire rapidly filled the basement with heat and smoke, cutting off the stairway. Pinkston and Patterson escaped and warned clerk Neil Tierney, who pulled the alarm at 7:48 a.m.
Assistant Chief Essau Gardiner and Battalion Chief Homer Howes led the first fire companies, attempting entry via the single basement stair in the southwest corner. Heavy heat and smoke forced them back. Crews cut holes in the floor to spray the basement with revolving nozzles. Fire Chief Patrick Cogan arrived at 8:00 a.m., sensed extreme heat, and ordered a second alarm at 8:02 a.m.
Howes and Fireman Charles Gardiner of Engine No. 12 entered the basement with smoke masks. When a sidewalk elevator hatch was opened, a rush of oxygen triggered a backdraft. Both men were overcome. Gardiner was rescued, but Howes remained inside. Multiple rescue attempts followed. Inspector Clarence Urban’s team retrieved Gardiner; other crews, including Engine No. 4, sustained injuries in failed efforts to reach Howes. Six rescue attempts were made before Cogan halted further entries due to dangerous conditions.
The crowd outside swelled into the thousands. Howes’s wife Anna, with son Homer Jr., came to the scene and waited in the emergency hospital area. For over two hours she was not told of her husband’s fate. Fire Inspector Joe Saitta eventually informed her there was no hope of rescue.
By 9:30 a.m., fire had spread to the second floor; by 10:00 a.m., it was breaking through the third floor and roof. At 10:30 a.m., the fire was at full strength, with smoke, heat, and water streams filling the streets. Captain James Jensen of Engine No. 15 was injured in a fall from a ladder and taken to hospital. The fire was brought under control after noon, leaving only the walls standing.
At 12:45 p.m., Howes’s body was recovered from the flooded basement near the stairs by members of Engine Nos. 3 & 12. He still clutched his mask. Hired in 1906, Howes had a long record of service and prior injuries. He left a wife and seven children. In total, 15 firefighters were injured, including Captain Henry Deitz of Engine No. 12, who fell into the basement; his later absence spared him from the fatal Millard Hotel fire a month afterward.
Damage was estimated at $400,000 to Browning King and $50,000 to neighboring Kilpatrick’s store. Mayor Richard Metcalf publicly honored Howes and Anna’s resolve. Howes’s funeral, conducted by Father Patrick Judge, drew large attendance, with fire and police motorcades. Anna received a widow’s pension and successfully sued for additional compensation, later helping found the Omaha Firemen’s Widows’ Association in 1935.
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