- RhodaMelendez.com
Mobile, AL - More than 60 firefighters converged on 911 Dauphin Street after receiving a call from one of their own the morning of October 8, 2020. Mobile Fire Rescue Department dispatchers received the early morning report of a building ablaze at 911 Dauphin Street near downtown. The caller, an off-duty Engine 8 firefighter, reported heavy flames erupting from all three floors of the masonry structure. MFRD Engine 3 was first to arrive, soon followed by District Chief 1, who assumed command at the scene of heavy flames and thick, black smoke billowing from the building. Suppression teams entered from the front and rear to begin their initial attack, and as the scene developed, fire was discovered throughout the building. Mobile Fire Rescue Department crews were able to successfully fight back flames with aggressive attacks, and the efforts of more than 60 firefighters at the scene. No injuries were reported by Fire-Rescue crews, and the structure was unoccupied at the time of the blaze. The historic structure remained intact although much of the interior suffered significant damage from flames, smoke, and water.
The building at 911 Dauphin St was constructed in 1845 and served as the Protestant Orphan’s Home until the 1970’s. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 18, 1973. (Daily Dispatch-DD, MFRD, and MSN contributed to this article.)
The Minnie Mitchell Archives division of the Historic Mobile Preservation Society was the first stop in this author’s research travels leading to the publication of 911 Dauphin St. It is named after a woman well-known for her love of the city of Mobile and her preservation efforts and dedication to education. She was married to Alfred Mitchell who was transferred to the city of Mobile in 1925 by the Ingram-Day Lumber Company. Purchased with her own money earned from investing and meticulous saving, and home to her family, the Bragg-Mitchell Mansion in Mobile also carries her name. The HMPS archives building shown in this photo, located on the Oakleigh campus, was constructed in 1980. It holds the first edition of the Mobile Commercial Register, Volume 1, Number 1, dated December 10, 1821, the 404-volume George B. Rogers architectural library, and houses a collection of Mobile maps, documents, family papers, photographs, rare books, memorabilia, and artifacts. For more information on the archives, visit historicmobile.org.
historicmobile.org contributed to this article.)
