The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-12 00:00:00

DREADFUL AND DESTRUCTIVE

FIRE.

(From the Liverpool Mercury of yesterday.)
Since the awful calamity which destroyed the sugar-
works of Messrs. Brancker, in Harrington-street, Li-
verpool has not been visited by a fire so alarming in its
nature, and so destructive in its effects, as that which
occurred last night, and which has resulted in the total
destruction of the works of Messrs. Macfie and Sons,
sugar refiners. The building, which is now a blackened
mass of ruined walls, is situated in Bachelor-street, Dale-
street, and runs from Bachelor-street to Orange-street,
bounded at the south end by Hale-street. With the
exception of one sugar-house in London, which is en-
tirely fire-proof, this was considered the safest in the
kingdom. It was well and substantially built, and with
machinery, cost the enormous sum of 40,0001..

The fire broke out, as near as can be ascertained, about
half-past six o'clock. The workmen, we believe, had
either left the premises or were preparing to take their
departure ; and what renders the origin of the fire a
mystery is, that five minutes before the 'flames were dis-
covered, Mr. Thebaven, one of the managers, who re-
sides in the presmises adjoining, states that he went
through the works about half-past six, and at that time
he perceived no light, the men having left work at dusk.
It was not the practice to use lights in the top stories.
He then went into his own house, and in the course of
three minutes an alarm was given. Rushing again into
the works, he found them in flames. There was-a hose
on the premises, but the flames had proceeded so rapidly
that it was impossible to connect it with the cistern.
Although not a moment was lost, and the engines
were soon got into play, such was the inflammable
nature of the materials inside the sugar-house, well
stored as it was with sugar and molasses, that the flames
had considerably progressed before any attempt could
be made to prevent their spreading. In a very few
minutes the roof fell in, and the flames rapidly extend-
ing forced their way downward from story to story with
increasing fury.
The building is seven stories high, exclusive of the
cellar; and as floor after floor burst through, the flames
roaring like a mighty torrent, rose to an immense height,
threatening destruction to every building in the imme-
diate neighbourhood. Explosions occasionally took plus,
and were followed by the emission of dense masses of
black suffocating smoke, against which the poor firemen
struggled with more than prudent perseverance.
Of course it soon became apparent that nothing of the
building itself could be saved, and the only satisfactory
way in which the efforts of the fire-police could be di-
rected w'as in protecting the surrounding property.
Immediately opposite the fire, both in Orange-street
and Bachelor-street, are situated a number of low-built
houses, with courts at the back. These are tenanted
by some of the poorest of the poor, principally Irish,
who are crowded together in very miserable-looking
hovels. The streets are very various and confined ; so
much so, that the operations of the firemen were muck
impeded.
So alarmed were the poor .people at the anticipated
spreading of the fire, and the consequent destruction of
what fragments of furniture they possessed, that they
shortly after the outbreak began to throw their things
into the street, those on the west side passing them
through the courts and over the wall into Moorfields.
The confusion and alarm which prevailed was great.
Women in desperation rushed into their houses, calling
for their offspring ; regardless of self, they passed
through thick clouds of smoke and burning cinders to
rescue their children, whilst their husbands tried, many
of them in vain, to snatch from destruction a few articles
of bedding.
The whole of the streets for some distance off were
lighted up as at noon day. The face of the exchange
clock appeared' as if illuminated, and even in Lord-
street the reflection of the flames was distinctly visible.
Occurring at an hour when the workmen were at
hand, a considerable quantity of, property was saved.
Parties acquainted with the premises continued to work 11
as long as it was considered safe in the lower stories,
and a large number of casks of molasses were taken
away.
Too much praise cannot be given to the fire-police for
their great exertions. Mr. Dowling, the chief -constable,
was early on the spot, exerting himself and directing the
energies of the force under him in the manner best cal-
culated to save life and property. Mr. Hewitt, who
may be considered the practical superintendent, was, as
usual, exceedingly active and energetic. Messrs. Whitt),
Swinton, Boult, Barry, Dawson, Brodie, and Sutton,
deserve special mention for the exertions used by them
on the occasion.

Mr. Macfie was also in attendance, and whilst' the
alarm was spreading that the walls were likely to fall,
he expressed his belief, so substantially were they built,
that they would stand. His expectations have been
realised in the result. He displayed praiseworthy con-
sideration for the poor fellows who were risking their
lives in preserving property, and urged the officers of
police to be exceedingly caut,ous, and not needlessly
throw themselves in the way of danger.
As we have before stated, the building and machinery
cost 40,0001. Taking its present value, however, at half
that sum, and calculating the stock at 40,0001., which we
believe to be pretty near the mark, it will require
60,0001. to cover the entire loss, to say nothing of the
destruction to the furniture of the poor people, and the
loss to the workmen (100 in number) who will unfortu-
nately be thrown out of employment.
We believe the premises, stock, and machinery, were
fully insured.
On no occasion do we remember seeing so many per-
sons crowded together to witness a fire. Moorfields,
where an excellent view was obtainable, was literally one
moving mass of persons, whilst Dale-street and Tithe-
barn-street, were perfectly impassable. In North John.
street, a large concourse of persons was attracted by the
flames, which rose a great height above the lofty build-
ings on the north side of Dale-street.
Although, at one time, it appeared beyond the reach of
human power to protect the houses on each side from
the raging flames, we are happy to say that, at the hour
of writing, there is no likelihood of their extending be-
yond the building in which they were discovered. To
the stability of the walls this must be attributed • for,
had they given way, the vent thus given to the dames
must have proved destructive to the whole of the houses
on either side. The consequences of such a calamity
are too dreadful to contemplate.

Although there were several rumours of personal ac-
cidents, none of them, so far as we could learn, have any
foundation in truth, and this is very remarkable, consi-
dering the narrow space for the operations of the fire-
men, the men working the engines, and those engaged in
preserving the property from the flames.