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Conference room dedication honors heroine of 1913 Binghamton fire

A conference room has been dedicated in the name of Nell Theresa Connor, who saved several of her coworkers from a deadly fire in Binghamton--a fire that helped spur the creation of New York’s Workers Compensation system--at the Occupational Health Clinical Center (OHCC) of the Southern Tier, located at 840 Upper Front St.,in Binghamton. OHCC is affiliated with Upstate Medical University.

Thirty workers were killed in the 1913 fire at the Binghamton Clothing Company. No other single event in the history of Binghamton resulted in greater loss of life. Coming just two years after the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factors fire in Manhattan, the Binghamton fire aided in pressing New York officials to create the state’s Workers Compensation system and advance fire-fighting capabilities in our cities. Decades later, other worker/workplace health and safety protections were established.

“It is fitting to honor Nell in this way,” said Michael Lax, M.D., M.P.H., medical director of the Occupational Health Clinical Centers (OHCC). “She demonstrated courage as she attempted to hurry her co-workers from their crowded, sweltering work areas down the single wooden stairwell, an act that took her own life.”

The Southern Tier regional office of the OHCC is among the three regions served by the Occupational Health Clinical Centers at Upstate Medical University, whose central office is located in Syracuse. All three regional offices (Central New York, Southern Tier, and the North Country) work together to support worker health and safety in 26 counties in New York state.

For more information about the dedication ceremony, or to attend, call (607) 584-9990. Contact Rick Sprout, sproutr@upstate.edu, outreach and education coordinator, for additional details.

Caption: Nell Theresa Connor, photographed above, saved several of her coworkers from a deadly fire in Binghamton. The Occupational Health Clinical Center (OHCC) of the Southern Tier is dedicating a conference room in her name.

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