The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-01-03 00:00:00

DESTRUCTION OF "LLOYD'S NEWS-

PAPER" OFFIOE BY FIRE.

In London, on Monday, ahortly before four o'dock in the
afternoon a tire, which at one time created considerable
alarm, broke out on the large premise. between Salisbury.
square end Whilefriars-itreet, In which Lloyd's Newspaper
Is prthted. The flames spread al:h knell rapidity that, nut-
withstanding the presence of some twelve or tilt. ea steam
flreenglues, the main building, wab gutted within an hue.
The Daily News of Tuesday than describes the Ire :--

Rarely indeed of late years have the central thorough
farce of London been so startled by a fire es they were
yesterday by that which burned down Lloyd's News-
paper Otti,o, in Salisbury-square, Fleet street. Our
great fires have for the must part taken place in the
neighbourhood of the river, where large warehouses
filled with all manner of inflammeirle materials have
yielded themselves an essay prey to the flames, and
lightened up with a lurid glow the evening or mid-
night skies. Yesterday afternoon, whin the first
glimmer of the flames was seen in the neighbourhood
of Fleet street, the attics aud roofs of the adjoin-
ing bouree were at once crowded by groups of people
anxiously wondering whether a conflagration breaking
on: in such a closely-built district might not spread
indefinitely and canes immeasurable ruin. Fortunately
the day was fine and still ; there was scarcely a
breath of wind to carry the flames to the adjacent
buildings; and the spectators who hail swarmed to
therm small windows, or who had ventured out on the
slates, looked onithe fierce raging of the lire under a per-
fectly calm sky in which the moon was clearly visible.
The scene was picturesque enough for those whose in.
terest in it was not of a more painful kind. The
flames had apparently broken out at the top of the
building; and some time before the engines had arrived
immense tongues of yellow fire were breaking from the
roof, accompanied by dense anl rolling volumes of
smoke. There was as yet no sound of falling rafters
or tumbling walls, but a continual crackling of elates
and tiles accompanied the silent shooting and flaring
of the gusts of flame, while the heat became every
moment more perceptible. Presently the destruc-
tion wrought by the fire grew more apparent.
truge gaps appeared in the roof of the building;
the iron supports of chimneys were distinguishable
amid the fierce light, where the bricks them-
selves, had fallen; and from time to time irnmenee
cloudy of sparks would rapidly ascend into the air, turn.
ing and falling again over the summits of the neighbour.
log homes. Here and there a long rafter was seen to
burn clesrly amid the redder flames and the smoke, as
if it were a row of footlights in a thestrs ; and then
again another volume of smoke would burst up from
below, and the red hot spars would break and fall into
the gulf beneath. Then, while as yet there were
no firemen visible, dark figures began to appear
on the roof of the nearest house; and it could be
seen that while some seemed to be getting articles
of bedding and furniture out of the attics, and
pitch(' g them over in the street below, others were
handing up buckets of water, which were emptied
along those portions of toe builling abutting on the
burning house. They were at °icier quarters with the
fire, those black figures that were visible in the glow of
the flames ; for every minute or so a shower of sparks
would curl over and fall on them, carting them, as far
BS one could see, to put their arms over their floes.
Meanwhile the fire had wrought its will with the ripper
portion of the doomed building, and only the skeleton
of it, traced in lines of crimson, was visible ; while
ominous noises, followed by fresh clouds of sparks.
told of the falling in of the interior portions. The
adjacent gables glowed with the lurid light; but thsre
was less smoke; and at no time was the sky over.
head, pale with the clearness of the moon, to any
degree obscured.
Then the first fireman appeared—his brass helmet
shining in the light as he chambered over the dark
roof of the house beyond the flouter. Another sp.
peered. Both were now seen to be hauling after
them a narrow black line of hose, which as yet ,
hell no water ; and aim set at the same time
a third fireman made .his appearance on the roof
of the house which was ocoopied by those dusky
figures. The first jet of water visible was thrown
from below; and then a murmur ran round
: the crowded windows as the white stream rose
high in the air and fell, spreading itself out no
as apparently to lose all body on the wild mass
of flame and smoke. Accither chimney fell in.
The fire seemed to draw nearer and nearer to
the house on the top of which the few figures still
stood, and they were now at times almost now hidden
from eight by smoke ard showers of eptrke. Oddly
enough, the flames seemed at this moment to reach
some paper ot a light and combuetible nature, portions
of which, rescinding tongues of yi how fire were sweet ,
: upward amid the red showers of sparks' until the
spectacle really resembled some strange show of fire-
works, always with the roaring of the burning house
below. At this moment it seemed impossible to
, those standing near that the fire should be confined
wiiliin narrow limits. 1 here was little or no wind, it
, is true; but it did not require wind to mend the flames
close to the so joining gables; while the intense heat
was preceptible at a considerable distance. And if the
fire were once to seize hold of a few of the old and in-
flammable building about, who could tell when the end
: of the digester might be reached? So far as could he
seen, the refuses in the streets below were not
making moch impression; though one stream
etill shot high into the air and fell athwart the
glowing ruins, while another directed by one or two
firemen on the roof of one of the houses was
poured full on the walls of an adjoining building
from time to 'time, doubtless with the intention of
preventing the flames from catching at the wood-
work of the windows. By this time the dark figures
thet-ted been visible among the smoke and showers
of sparks had disappeared ; in their place were one
or two firemen, di-tinguieheble by the light re-
flected by their helmets. And still the fire swept
Ulla way and that ; the water rose and fell hissing
on the blazing ruins ; and the rapid ,throbbing of
the engines could be heard in tie street below.
Fortunately we were soon to have an end of this
fiery spectacle that had lit up the pale afternoon, for
by slow degree' the brilliancy of the flames subsided,
and the red glow of the fire deepened, while the white
jets of water could be conepicuotisly seen ponring
into the building. Those who were regarding the
fire from. adjacent roofs and windows began to
firol that it was escaping from them ; for the upper
part of the building had been completely burned
away, and all that rose int* the space which it had
occupied was the continual glow of flame and the
clouds: of sparkg, iatermingled with lirnee volumes
of smoke. The fire had clearly been got under • the
neighbouring houses were sale; London was spared a

conflagratiOn similar in extant to thous, that have in
former years cast a baneful light over her history, and,
in more recent dads, over the hietery of other
The crowds of people who kept thronging in fro* all
parts, and who were with thttioilty kept bock by the
police from the immediate height-v=ll°od ot the firs,
found Rites Awaiting their but a heap td
charred and rth.dy rube, into which thy
rag*s atilt poured ti.od .tot Matte.
14i r
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