The Express.
London, England, 1861-06-24 00:00:00

INCIDnMi OF THE FIRE.

At this outset the smoke emitted from the burning pepper,
more cepecially from the cayenne, nearly blinded the
firemen.

Great fears were entertained that the Custom HOLM
would take fire from the sparks, and men were stationed
during the whole of the night to guard against such an
event. The garrison of the Tower were also on the alert,
and a considerable quantity of stores was actually removed
for safety to the Tower ditch.
When the explosion occurred whioh caused the death
of Mr. Braidwood, the flames rushed through the walls with
such violence as to oblige the crowd who bad assembled
at the North Kent Beltway station to beat s preeipilate
A boat containing five men put off on the river for the
purpose of collecting some of the tallow floating on the
surface ; but the craft becoming ignited, the whole of the
occupant, of the boat are supposed to have been either
burnt to death or drowned. One body only had been found
up to yesterday evening. Morris, formerly of the fire
brigade, attended with the engines of the dock company,
but two of the men who were at work fell into the river,
and, it is said, were drowned. A man named James Sykes,
of Bermondsey-wall, also fell into the river, and met with a
watery grave.
Yesterday nearly all the bade for miles down the river
were besmeared with grease, and bore conclusive testi.
roomy to the extent to which this plunder—for it
deserves no better name—was carried. We heard of
one crew who sold for no Iwo than 181. the tallow they had
collected in the course of a few hours. Along the shore,
too, barefooted juveniles were paddling about engaged in
the same traffic on a more limited scale, fishing the grimes
up with their hands and depositing it in old tin pots and
canvas bags.
The unmet consternation prevailed amongst those on
board the numerous craft on the river in the vicinity of the
fire, in consequence of the thick showers of sparks and
burning materials which fell incessantly. On board the
steamers lying at Brewer's-quay the fire-engines were got
out, and water was thrown upon the masts and rigging,
while similar precautions were taken with respect to most
of the other vessels. _ _ . _ _

At the outbreak, a large number of land engines bad
taken up a position in Tooley-street, and were prepared for
action ; but the firemen being unable to obtain a supply of
water from the mains, most of them good idle for quite an
hour before water was obtainable from the eine At nearly
all the large fires which have occurred in this locality there
has been the same inadequate supply of water, and to which
may be attributed, in some degree, the extant to which
those conflagrations reached.
Mr. Braidwood's life was insured in the Westminster
Insurance Office. _ _

A gentleman named Charles White, connected with the
County Fire Office, in assisting to convey the hoes of the
steam floating engine, had his left band impaled upon one
of the iron spikes of • house in Tooleyatreet.
A poor Irishman, named Sullivan, was brought to St.
Thomas's at 9 o'clock with his neck broken by the chain of
the tinting engine getting round him. Four men were also
brought to St. Thomas's badly injured—via., John May, a
g lealonstable, with John Deana, George Fraser, and
Ramon—ell badly burnt, the LOW dreadfully so.
At Guy's one person was lying badly injured by • fall.
Her Majesty the Queen sent during yesterday morning
two to the sceueof the fearful catastrophe, to know
whether r. Braidwood had been killed or not. The Prince
'el Wales also visited the some yesterday, and Sir Richard
Mayes, Captain Harris, Captain Labelmondiere,with Super-
intendents Branton' and Gernon, and Impactors Moore,
Reid, Mackintosh, Mackenzie, Gibson, sod Fermon, risme
upend took possession of the principal thoroughfares lead-
ing to the premises, by which means the immense crowd
was kept out of danger. Wooden barricades litre likewise
thrown &MOM the various streets, which sago tended mate-
rially to keep the populace hack.
The Lord Mayor was soon in attendance, and gave some
judicious instructions to the firemen and police. His Iced-
ship being the mon-in-law of Mr. Alderman Humphrey,
the owner of most of the extrusive premises in which the
fire wee raigeg, of awn. felt greatly interested in the
ravages of t e fire.
At 11 o'clock (writes an eye witness) the railway
station seems doomed. None can see how the fire
is raging, eo dense is the mass of smoke and sparks
that sweep towards the railway. The engines are
withdrawn from their useless contest with the burning
houses near the timber yard, and begin to play upon the
stacks of timber themselves. The clouds of steam that rise
front these piles as the water falls show that the precaution
is not taken an instant too soon, even if it then avails. Just
at this most critical period, the slight wind gradually changes
and blows from the station out toisitrae the fire, rolling back
the mingled clouds of smoke and sparks and flame again in the
direction of the river. The ruins amid which the fire rages
become then distinctly visible from the entrance to the
Woolwich station, overlooking Tooley-street, and the
sight disclosed is one which it is impossible either to de-
scribe or forget. Spreading far and wide amid gaunt rube
of walls, cracked and riven out of shape, lies • perfect sea
of fire, almost as white as snow, from which the rod
flames spring in massive leap,and scatter like
explosions myriads of charred embers high into
the air. Now • puff of wind will act on the ruins
far and wide, like blast through • furnace, and they
spring into a whiteness to which the glare: of sun-
light is mere darkness. While these gleams last the
spectacle is tremegdous. On every aide are only great
vistas of rugged and white gleaming streets, the very
pavements of which give off a livid glare that is blinding
to look at. The walla sill standing, but white with heat
and cracked in all directions, seem like pillars of fire, against
which, as the breeze drops, the flames rise again, and,
licking up their sides, seem to flap against them, and bring
the glowing bricks down in long streams. On every side •
great mar of flames is struggling. Nothing can be seen but
• town of falling ruins, with great rafters swaying about in
fiery tangles before they fall headlong down—nothing heard
but the roar of flames and shouts of excited thousands,
which drown even the incessant dull thumping of the eu-
gime that are working in all directing.
Moored alongside Chamberlain's Wharf was a small sloop,
which, as soon as the wooden sheds took fire, waslouked
upon as doomed. At first might be perceived upon the
cordage of the rigging • few small specks of fire like little
blue blisters, which gradually became larger until they ran
into one, and then the mast begun to blaze. Then on the
sides of the little vessel, and then upon its deck, other little
blue blisters burst out where the beat of the burning
wharves bad ignited the tar, and very soon the sloop was all
on fire from stem to stern. While she was burning, there
came a barge, with flowing sails, borne on the rising tide.
The eddy drew it too near the conflagration ; the huat--which
scorched the faces of people standing on the landing-stage '
wt Billingsgate—was insupportable, the three men on
board became alarmed, they lost all control of them-
selves, the barge drifted inland, while they raised their
hands and shouted for help. A boat rowed out and
I rook these three men off, and in less than two
minutes their barge lay with its broadside to the river
of fire next the shore, and was blazing from one end
to the other. Later in the night • small skiff, rowed by
a single man, was drawn close upon the vortex of the fire
in the same way. Another boat ran out, took the man off,
and conveyed him to • place of safety ; but it is said that •
monad boat, pulled by a single rower, which went in shore
with the same object, met with • different fate, being itself
drawn in too far. The man was rendered powerless by the
best, he lifted his hoods for help as the man had dope he
had thought to aid in saving ; but he had gone too far to be
rescued, and it is rumoured that he and his boat were both
burnt together. Then there was a second beige ignited by
the floating blazing tallow, but that being further removed
from the heat, was scuttled, and so took no great harm.
It should be added that when the boatmen took the three
men off the barge • tremendous cheer burst forth from the
spectators sod almost drowned for a time the roar of the
fire. Instances like these created au intensity of excite-
ment which can hardly be imagined by these who were not
witnesses of the scene.

The following is the official report of damage :
" 4.30 p.m. of Saturday. the 22nd of June, lftGl, a fire
broke out in the premises belonging to Messrs. Scovell,
wharfingers, known as Cotton and Dept Wharfs. The
cause of fire not known. The fire was extinguished by fire-
men with water from the Southwark Company's mains and
the river Timmy'. 11 warehouse, containing jute; No. 3,
gum ; Nos. 2 and 1, containing cotton, with H H, Nos. 4,
3,2, and 1 floors, cud warehouse, containing colonial pro-
duce, destroyed ; 0, H, J, L, T, and 11 warehouses, con-
taining tallow, jute, cotton, and rice. The warehouses were
divided by douhle iron doors, but left open. The engine'
present were those of the parish, those of Hodges distillery
and one of Mr. Roberta's, of Stillwell, the floating es es
of the St. Katharine's and London Docks, and those belong-
ing to her Majesty's dockyard at Deptford. Mr. Braidwood,
the superintendent, killed by the falling of the warehouse
in the Depot Wharf.
"Ditto, Mews. Elcovell and Co.--Shed communicating
with Cotton's Wharf destroyed. Insurance unknown.