The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-11-14 00:00:00

DESTRUCTIVE FIRES IN NEW YORK AND
BROOKLYN-DAMAGE 400,000 DOL
LARS-LOSS OF LIFE

About 6 o'clock on Sunday morning, the 30th ult., a
fire was discovered in the upper part of one of the build-
ings in the block at the corner of Fulton and Nassau-
streets, known as Fowler's-buildings. Some accounts say
that the flames first broke out in the building No. 123,
Fulton-street, while others assert that the fire commenced
in No. 121. It is probable that the flames had been smoul-
dering for some time in the interior of the building, as the
fire had attained great strength when it was discovered, and
although the alarm, raised by the police and the insurance
watch, was promptly responded to, the flames were raging
in three buildings, No. 121 and No. 123, Fulton-street, and
96, Nassau-street, before the firemen could commence effec-
tive operations.

While the main body of the fire department exerted them-
selves with the engines and other apparatus to quench the
flames, some of the members joined the police and insurance
watch in saving the goods, and a great quantity of clothing
from the store of Mr. Rogers in the corner building was
conveyed to a place of safety. The men engaged in this
duty were subject to the greatest peril. The beams of the
third floor having been burned through, two heavy iron safes
fell with a tremendous crash on the floor below, and the
whole mass sank into the cellar, bearing with it several of
the brave men who were inside labouring to secure the
goods.
John Carman, of engine • company No. 5, and Michael
O'Brien, of hook and ladder company No. 11, were descend-
ing the stairs, when they were caught by the falling mass,
and buried beneath the ruins. It is also thought that a
young man named John Van Alen shared the same
fate.

About 2 o'clock this morning, the body of John Carman
was recovered and taken to the station house. It was so
badly crushed and burned that it could only be identified by
his gold watch and chain. The deceased was 25 years of
age, and leaves a wife and child. Michael O'Brien was
unmarried. Among the injured were Messrs. Burke and
Charles Kent, of hose company No. 6 ; John Woolsey, of
the insurance watch; and policemen Snodgrass, Rich, and
Gaffrey.
Meanwhile the c onflagration continued, and the three
buildings mentioned were entirely consumed. The build-
ing No. 98 Fulton-street was also burned out. The flames
caught the roofs of the adjoining buildings, and of the
Herald newspaper building on the opposite side of Nassau
street. These structures however, were saved, though no t
without great damage to the contents by water.
TJte buildings consumed were owned by Mr. Jonathan
O. it owler, °Tocer, or orreenwicti street, whose loss is esti-
mated at $40,000 ; insurance $28,000. The ground is
leased to him by the Reformed Dutch Church, to whom it
belongs. The block consisted of six stow es, oilo of which
was not harmed. They cost $BO,OOO, and were insured for
$50,000, as follows : Grocers' $15,000 ; Broadway, $8,000;
Merchants' $18,000; Irving, $9,000. These are the in-
surances on the whole block belongng to Mr. Fowler. The
losses of the companies on the buildings actually destroyed
are, of course, much less : for instance, the Merchants' has
not lost more than $6OOO.

The stores No. 123 Fulton, and No. 96, Nassau-street,
were chiefly occupied by P. S. Rogers, clothier, whose loss
is estimated at $165,000, on which there was insurance to
the amount of $50,000, as follows :
Mercantile Insurance Office, $5,000; North American,
Philadelphia, $5,000 ; Union Mutual, $5,000; Beekman,
$5,000; Astor, $5,000; Irving, $4,000 ; Building Association
$5,000 ; Empire City, $5,000 ; Niagara, $6,000 ; Two or
three others, about $6.000. Total, $50,000.
It is said that Mr. Rog•ers has made arrangements to re-
sume business immediately. at No. 138, Fulton-street.
The third story of No. 96, Nassau-street, was occupied by
Messrs. Salisbury and Arrowsmith, and Jacot and Cour-
voisier, jewellers. The first-named had a stock valued at
$75,000, on which there was an insurance of $57,000. It
will probably be recovered from their sate. Messrs. J. and
C. are said to have removed their stock in safety. In the
basement, Mr. McJilton had a restaurant, and lost $l,BOO
--no insurance. No. 98 was occupied by T. W. Strong,
engraver, stationer, &c. • Mr. Strong's stock was valued at
672,000—insured to the amount of s2s,ooo—in the Nia-
gara, $5,000, N. Y. Fire Marine, $5,000, Etna, $5,000, Stuy-
vesant, $5,000, North West of Oswego, $5,000. Total,
$25,000. Three thousand dollars of the amount of the po-
licy issued by the Stuyvesant Company on the stock of Mr.
Strong are re insured in the Lorillard office.

On-Fulton-street—the next building was occupied by
Bunnell and Price, booksellers and publishers. Their loss
is $2,000 ; not insured. In the upper story, James H.
Lent, military equipments, $l,OOO. The basement of No.
121, Fulton-street, was occupied as a store-room for paper,
by Hannah and Beebe. Their loss is $4,000 ; insured for
$3,000 at Hartford. Above, Sebert and Robinson, litho-
graphers, lost $5,000 ; insured at the New York City
office, to the amount of $1,500. John Broad, restaurateur,
in the basement, total loss $2,000 ; no insurance. The
Military Aryus office was in the same building, and its
materials, &c., were destroyed. Loss $2,000. Published
by John Crawley.
The stock of -Messrs. Hudson and Smith, 119, Fulton-
street, looking glass dealers, was badly damaged. The roof
of their building was partly taken off.
The total loss by this fire is probably not less than
$350,000, about one-third of which is covered by insu-
rance.

About eleven o'clock a.m., while the above described
conflagration was raging in New York, a fire occurred in
Brooklyn, in the storehouses of Messrs. T. Shortland and
Sons, on the North Pier of the Atlantic Dock, recently
occupied by Messrs, Verplank and Chambers. The fire
broke out in the engine room of No. 33, and extended to
the adjoining stores on either side. The buildings and
machinery were greatly damaged, and the contents, amount-
ing to nearly 70,000 bushels of wheat and corn, were
partly consumed and partly spoiled. A portion of the grain
was insured in the New York Corn Exchange for $2,500 ;
and the buildings and machinery were insured for
$25,000 in the Etna and Protection.. offices of Hartford, Ct.,
and a -New York office. The total loss, probably, exceeds
$BO,OOO.

THE BURNHAM MURDER.—We observe in the Times of
Wednesday, that at the inquest held on the remains of the
female recently murdered at Burnham Abbey, in answer to
the question as to the probable length of time the body
might have been burning, Dr, Robinson, after giving his
opinion, is reported to have observed that " Pass, of Leices-
ter, burned a body in his rooms, before a large fire, and it
took several hours to consume it." There is a great mistake
here. Mr. Pass was the murdered man. He travelled at
the time referred to on his own account, as a bookbinders'
tool manufacturer. On one of his business visits to Leicester
lie called at the workshop of a man of the name of Cook,
who murdered Mr. Pass, cut up the body in a shocking
manner, and then attempted to conceal the horrible crime
he had committed by burning the whole. Mr. Pass was a
respectable tradesman, carrying on business in London, and
was well known both in Liverpool and Manchester, and in
many other parts of the country.
RAILWAY SIGNALS AND COLOUR BLINDNESS. • The
majority of colour-blind persons are able to distinguish red
from bright green when these are bright, near the eye, and
well illuminated; but the power of distinguishing diminishes
with great rapidity in proportion to the distance they are
removed from the eye, The coloured day-signals on rail-
ways—especially the flags, which alone are available in some
of the most pressing emergencies—soon tarnish and darken,
and consequently diminish the distances at which the two
danger signals can be distinguished. Railway directors
have, therefore, an emphatic interest in this subject. They
should invariably ascertain that the men in their employ-
ment really and truly know one danger signal from another,
or danger signals from ordinary signals.—Dickens's House-
hold Words,