The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-15 00:00:00

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.

About two o'cock yesterday morning a fire broke out on
the premises of Mr. Kindon, floor-cloth manufacturer, at
the corner of Wellington-street, Blackfriars-road. On the
first alarm being given, the police were fully occupied in
calling upon the surrounding neighbourhood to quit
their beds. The engines from the Waterloo-road station
and Farringdon-street were soon on the road, promptly
followed by the various other metropolitan stations.
Owing to the unremitting exertions and undaunted per-
severance of the firemen, to whom the greatest praise is
due, the conflagration was happily confined to the factory
in which it first broke out, and which was totally de-
stroyed. At the first outbreak the inmates of the house,
known as the' Notorious No. 27," were seen escaping
in a state of nudity. The conflagration raged for some
time with uncontrollable fury, and at one time threatened
the surrounding neighbourhood with destruction. It
had, in fact, caught the back part of the contiguous dwell-
ing-house, but, owing to the plentiful supply of water,
the devouring element was confined to the premises on
which it first broke out, and which were completely re-
duced to ashes. At half-past three all danger of the
flames extending was at an end.

FURTHER PARTICULARS.-TWO FIREMEN

KILLED.

We regret to state the loss of two lives, in the persons
of William Webb, aged 24, and No. 78 of the brigade,
and Joseph Henry Packs, No. 61 of the same force, and
which has thrown a gloom over the whole neighbour-
hood. From the statement of Barrow, the deputy fore-
man of the West of England Fire-office, and who wit-
nessed the distressing catastrophe, it appears that during
the whole of the morning the bond timbers in the
upper part of building were still burning, and presented
what are termed -bull's-eyes ; and although no further
extension of the fire could take place, the two deceased,
anxious to show their efficiency, got the branch and hose
screwed on, and entered the ruins, from the entrance in
the Blackfriars-road, about half-past seven o'clock,
and continued there until the accident occurred which
deprived them both of life, although the danger was
pointed out. At a quarter to eight o'clock the upper
part of the north wall, and that which formed the back
of Mr. Truscott's premises, suddenly gave way, and fell
with a tremendous crash upon the two deceased persons.
As soon as it was observed that all danger was passed,
the men who were left began to clear away, and about
.nine o'clock the remains of Packs were discovered, and
about ten o'clock those of Webb were dug out. Shells
were procured, and the bodies were conveyed to the
workhouse of St. George the Martyr, in Mint-street,
where the bodies were examined. That of Webb pre-
sented a most shocking appearance; his arms, legs, and
thighs were broken, as well as his neck, and death must
have been instantaneous. Packs, on the contrary, pre-
sented not the slightest external injury; and death was
no doubt occasioned by suffocation. We regret to state
that both the deceased were married men,. Webb having
a wife and two children to lament his loss, and
Packs a wife. When the accident came to be
known the gloom which pervaded the faces of the fire-
men was visible to the most casual observer. This is the
fifth death of firemen within eleven months, and are as
follow:—Loader, who belonged to the Watling-street
station, was killed at the fire of Messrs. Goodhere's
sugar bakers, Ratcliffe-highway, on the 26th of Decem-
ber last; West, of the County, was killed at the fire at
Salmon and Moss, Piccadilly, about three months ago;
Wevelk, of the B or Chandos-street, was killed on yester-
day fortnight at the fire at the Tower; and now Packer,
of the A or Wellclose-square, and Webb, of the C or
Morgan's-lane. By a singular coincidence, four out of five
of the deaths took place on the Sunday. So reckless
are some men of their lives, that although the front wall
in Wellington-street was cracked, and shook at each
gust of wind, Howell, of the West of England, at a
subsequent period of the day had the temerity to stand
beneath the place kept for the purpose of attempting to
extinguish a small body of fire burning under the parapet,
and was only recalled by the men at the engine being
desired to stop working.
The following is the official returns of the property
destroyed and damaged :
Messrs. Kindon and Bathe's premises and stock entirely
destroyed ; insured in the Hand-in-Hand and West of
England.
Mr. George Craffer, solicitor, Blackftiars-road; back_
front wall and roof dangerously damaged ; furniture in-
jured by fire and water. Furniture insured in the Royal
Exchange ; building unknown.
Mr. Roberts, gentleman, ditto, similarly damaged ;
furniture damaged by water and removal. Building and
contents, Royal Exchange.

Mr. Trusjott, printer; the whole of the back premises
destroyed by the Minn- of the wall. Furniture and stock
in the Sun ; insured for 4,000/. : building in the Royal
Exchange. The damage done here is very great.
_ N 0.27, Wellington-place ; Mrs. Sarah Hichinbotham's
_ .

lodging-house, roof and back part of the premises de-
stroyed. Furniture damaged by fire, removal, and water.
Building and contents insured in the Phcenix.
Wellington-street and Blackfriars'-road ; William
Gould, greengrocer, seriously scorched by fire, not insured.
George Sharpcott, the back of No. 171, Blackfriars'-
road, hairdresser, seriously scorched, not insured.
No. 1, Wellington-street ; William Richards, private
front nearly burnt out, and furniture injured by water
and removal, not insured.
And, in Wellington-place, the backs of Nos. 25 and
26 damaged, and Mrs. Snoxwell ; none of them insured;
the loss about 3,0001.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

On Sunday morning, about two, the inhabitants of
Blackfriars-road, and those residing in the immediate
vicinity, were aroused from their slumber by a piercing
cry of fire, which was uttered by a boy, who happened
to be passing the extensive floor-cloth manufactory of
Messrs. Kindon and Bathe, situate within one door of
the corner of Wellington-street, and about a hundred
yards distance from- the Magdalen. The policeman on
duty immediately sprung his rattle, and, in a short
time, a good sprinkling aof the brigade were present ;
in the meantime, information having been given of the
outbreak of the fire to the Waterloo station, the power-
ful engine of that establishment was on the spot in
less than ten minutes ; the County, and several other
engines followed in rapid succession, and a plentiful sup-
ply of water having been obtained from the plugs, a
powerful jet was projected on the building. At this
time the upper part of the premises were in a complete
blaze, and such was the combustible nature of the
material, that in a short time the interior of the premises,
from the ground floor, presented the appearance of a
furnace, while the flames were issuing from every win-
dow, and nearly extending across the street ; so
great at this time was the heat, that the opposite
neighbours felt it sensibly. In a short time the roof of
the building gave way, not, however, in a body, but
piecemeal ; and nothing remained but the outer walls.
The fire now finding vent, shot upwards to an amazing
height, and illuminated the atmosphere for miles around.
There was an immense stock of floor-cloth on the pre-
mises, which burnt with terrific fury. Added to this,
the building appeared to be composed chiefly of wood,
and that of the lightest description, which materially
assisted in adding grandeur to the truly awful scene.
It was extremely fortunate that there was scarcely a
breath of wind stirring at the time, or the consequences
must have been by far more serious, for not only must
the houses in Wellington-street have fallen a sacrifice,
but those also in Blackfriars-road have shared the
same fate. At three o'clock the fire was so far got under
that no farther apprehension of danger was entertained,
though the mass of burning matter below appeared in a
perfect glow, and threw out dense volumes of smoke,
which, being acted upon by the gas issuing from a broken
pipe on the premises, a pale light was thrown on it,
which imparted a notion that the fire was still actively
raging. One individual was knocked down by an en-
gine, which, passing over his legs, crushed them both
in a frightful manner. We could not learn the name of
the unfortunate man.

At eight o'clock a portion of the inner wall fell with
a tremendous crash, and with a noise resembling thunder,
and in less than half a minute another immense ror.ss of
brickwork was also levelled with the ground, 'ourying
two unfortunate firemen in the ruins,

,
TORY COMMISSIONS.—It Sir Robert Peel
were sincere in his desire to obtain " additional facilities'
for " the commerce and manufactures of the country"—
if he did not oppose the late Government in utter igno-
rance of the principles ©n which they proposed to act—
he has all the materials at hand, all the information re-
quisite for preparing the measure necessary for such.
purpose. To issue a. Commission, then, is a mere exer.se
for delay—an attempt to deceive the public into a belief
that something is intended to he done in the right direc-
tion, when the real object is to gain time for o.e better
consolidation of the monopolists in the Calsk_iet.--:Car-
lisle Journal,

T/1 E SCOTT MONUMENT.--.TY.ere is still, we
understand., a considerable sum N.vautng to complete the
hitend.ca memorial of Scutiand:s greatest genius ;
and the Auxiliary Committee continue indefatigable in
their endeavours to make it up. Under their direction,
Mr. Kemp, the architect of the monument about to be
erected, has prepared a superb model, on a scale of half
an inch to theis
nowt .
on
hs
bwi
thi iocnh oi
n p
f itself
ri
Prince's-street
ei
tsrpe
ee
tn, did
a t
art,the monument. The admission is made so
the
ork s
iot
of
of
low that no individual in Edinburgh need be deprived of
the gratification of seeing and necessarily admiring it.
The proceeds of the exhibition are to be applied in aid
of the funds.—Caledonian Mercury.
LONGEVITY IN DEVON AND CORNWALL.--
It appears by the Third Report of the Registrar-General
of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, just published, that
there has been a progressive decrease from 1837-8 in the
amount of deaths in Devonshire, and a progressive in-
crease in the rest of England; and that the proportion
of deaths at advanced ages have been greatest in Devon,
Cornwall. and Dorset.—Plymouth Journal
A few days ago, a parsnip, measuring two feet in
length, and fifteen in circumference, was gathered that
had been grown in the garden of Mr. "William Madin
Wharf-terrace, Chesterfield,