John Beale, Post-Gazette Descendants of Francesco Stirone look at an old photo of Stirone relatives during a dedication ceremony in honor of Mr. Stirone, "The Forgotten Hero," yesterday in Connellsville. From left, Mary Elizabeth Stirone-Eisenberg, granddaughter of Mr. Stirone; Karen Stirone, wife of Rick Stirone, great-grandon of Mr. Stirone; Rick Stirone, and Joanne Stirone, a great-granddaughter. Click photo for larger image.

What started out as an Internet request for information about a 1911 fire in Connellsville has led to a public tribute to Francesco Stirone's long forgotten act of heroism one January morning.

Descendants of Mr. Stirone gathered for a ceremony yesterday to honor the man who sacrificed his life trying to save others.

Mr. Stirone, 35, was a $10-a-week coal miner who lived in Trotter, a small town about two miles outside Connellsville. Mr. Stirone, his wife, Maria, and their four children shared their rented home with three boarders to help make ends meet.

On Jan. 12, 1911, Mr. Stirone rode a trolley to Connellsville to run some errands. It was about 10 a.m. when he walked into McCrorey's, a "five and dime" that later shortened its name to McCrory's. There were about a dozen customers in the store and a number of teen-age girls to wait on them. A gas company employee was replacing a gas meter in the basement.

Then, moments after Mr. Stirone entered the store, leaking gas caused an explosion.

The front of the two-story wooden building was blown across Apple Street. Pedestrians were cut by flying glass. The blast knocked down utility lines along North Pittsburgh Street.

Onlookers saw Mr. Stirone walk out of the store carrying a young girl to safety. He put her down and ran back into the burning building to rescue others. The aisles had become obstacle courses with debris from overturned counters and fallen beams. He never came back out.

Mr. Stirone's body and the bodies of four other victims were found hours later. Twenty-nine people were injured. Six buildings were destroyed or damaged.

John McCrorey, of New York, who later rebuilt his store, promised to pay for the funerals, but wouldn't pay for Mr. Stirone's because he was an Italian immigrant. Instead, a funeral director stepped forward to cover the cost.

Also, a special fund was established to help the injured and the families of the dead. But the minister in charge of it declared Mrs. Stirone ineligible because she had income from the three boarders.

Decades later, Mary "Biz" Harrill of Monroeville, a great-granddaughter of Mr. Stirone's, decided to conduct some genealogy research. Early last year she posted a notice on a Connellsville discussion board via the Internet, seeking more information on the 1911 fire.

Dennis Cleary, a Connellsville native now teaching in Albuquerque, N.M., knew about it and the two started corresponding via e-mail. Dr. Cleary asked his cousin William Morris, who lives in Connellsville, to research the fire. Mr. Morris said the employees at the Carnegie Library in Connellsville and the Fayette County courthouse were a great help.

"Dennis and Bill were just wonderful," Mrs. Harrill said.

Blending family information provided by Mrs. Harrill with their extensive research, Dr. Cleary and Mr. Morris wrote a lengthy story for the Connellsville Courier on Jan. 12 about what life was like in 1911, Mr. Stirone's role in it and his heroism.

Nancy Wallace, of Connellsville, said she was so moved by the article, "The Forgotten Hero of Connellsville," that she placed it in front of Councilman Terry Bodes and made him read it. "You have to do something about this," she told him.

Mr. Bodes did. He contacted Italian-Americans in the area and organizations to raise money for a bronze plaque. And they responded just as the Italian community had in 1911 when it raised money for Mary Stirone and her children.

In an hour-long ceremony yesterday on an overcast, chilly day, the plaque was dedicated. It is mounted on the outside wall of the rebuilt McCrory's store near the spot where Mr. Stirone re-entered the burning building. The City Church of Connellsville, which now owns the building, hosted a reception for about 80 attendees after the ceremony.

"Francesco Stirone should be an inspiration for all of us," Mr. Bodes told the group, which included about 20 descendants of Mr. Stirone. "We need to embrace his spirit. We as a city and a community need to remember that when each of us pass by this plaque, that we cannot quit."

Rick Stirone, a great-grandson, said the newspaper article gave him chills. It was a part of his family's history that he didn't know.

"Making a difference in someone's life is what we all hope to do," he said. "Remembering and honoring a man who did just that is something we're all grateful we could be a part of."