The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-14 00:00:00

GREAT FIRE AT BROMLEY.

Yesterday evening, between the hours of five and six,
a fire broke out at Claussen's Patent Flax, Hemp, and
Jute Company's mills, situate at Bromley, near Bow new
church.
The property covered a large extent of ground, and
comprised the principal mill, the machine-houses, the
devil linesrooms, the drying-houses, and a large warehouse
probably 50 feet wide and nearly 80 feet deep—whilst in
front of the premises were packed in the open yard,
under marquees, several heaps of hemp, jute, and flax,
each stack being as high as a common dwelling-house.
The last-named property was worth some thousand
pounds, and the principal portion has been reduced to
ashes, besides the destruction of machinery and goods in
the mills.
The fire was first discovered by a boy who was em-
ployed in the mill, and who stated that his attention was
directed to an exceedingly small body of fire in one of the
front warehouses. At that time the fire was travelling
along the ceiling and appeared to be feeding upon the loose
dust that had accumlated round the joistings. The boy at
once sounded an alarm, and in the course of a few minutes
a strong body of police belonging to the K division came
up from the Bow station, under the direction of Mr. Su-
perintendent Howe and Inspector Ellis. The police and
the various hands employed on the works at once made
a vigorous attempt to get some of the many bales of
goods in the warehouses removed to the open yard,
in which endeavour they succeeded ; but unfortunately
their exertions were of little avail, as nearly everything
they could remove has been consumed. Information of
the outbreak was sent per the electric telegraph to Lon-
don for the aid of the engines. The moment the mes-
sage arrived, the brigade engine stationed at School.
house-lane, Shadwell, started for the scene, but, on its
arrival, the whole of the warehouses, the machine-
rooms, and drying compartments, were enveloped in
flame. The engine was set to work from a good
supply of water, but the fire continued to spread with
amazing rapidity. The engines from Wellclose-square,
Jeffrey-square, and Watling-street, the West of
England engine, and the company's firemen, next
arrived, and by this time the flames were issuing from
every window in the warehouse and mills, and when
the roof fell in a tremendous shower of sparks rose high
into the air, and, falling upon nearly a dozen stacks of
jute and hemp in the yard, as well as the greater portion
of the goods previously removed from the premises, set
fire to the whole. The wind at the same time blew stifly,
and very few minutes elapsed before the various stacks
of hemp and other articles looked like so many dwelling-
houses on fire. The engines above enumerated, as well
as that of the parish, were worked with full vigour, but
as late as midnight the fire was far from being entirely
extinguished, although all danger of any further exten-
sion of mischief was fortunately at an end.
The firemen succeeded in saving from destruction the
engine-rooms and bleaching-houses at the east end of
the mills, but the other portions of the works may be
described as being entirely consumed.