Litchfield enquirer., 1848-08-24
Great Hire at Albany

One E,EhIh 0f Lhe esiy ia Rsins-IJOO Fam
 Iies reRdcsed Honlsiess - Probable Los
 S,0oO, 900
 Albany, Thursday, Aug. 7-6PM
 The Fire, (some particulars oi which have already reached you by Telegraph.) buoke out at haIE-past I2 o'clock this afternoon. in John sons stable, between Bleecker and Herkimer sts back of the Albion Hotel. There was a strong gale Of wind from the South, which drove the fire up Broadway, extending both s des of that avenue, and cross ing to Dallius st. The engines were promptly on the ground, but to no effect; and the flames continued to rage with unabated fury, driving toward State st. At thalf-past 2, the fire had already spread with such a. mazing rapidity that four steamers lying outside the piers, (the Hen dirk Hudson, Isaac Newton, Rip Van Wlnkle and Santa Claus had bare l, time to fire up aud escape from danger. The flames ragged uncon- trolled on the pier, totally destroying the whole range of wooden ware houses. The Basin was filled with canal boats in flames, with no pos sbie chance of escape = and the wind being rather on the incre 'se. five or six barges loaded with mer- chandize were also fired, together with several schooners, ,brigs and o'h- CT light craft. The two floats were destroyed-in fact all became one field of fire from the Basin to the Boston Ferry.
 Men leaped into the water to es- cape the raging flames, and perish ed thus among them are suppoe esed be number of emigrapts.s
 4 o'clock, assistss nos arrived
 ID Ta ana l,i Fire department
 an am na,,it,5olowing up buildings,
 surpl.lttle effect and less judg- znt. Had they destroyed five or six at once, it would have been suf- ficient to stay the devouring element at once; yet instead of this. they took one at time, and of course the flames immediately leaped over the comparatively small opening, and were not stayed. ...
 Men. women and children were fly,ng in all directions, carrying with them what little effects they were able to snatch as they escape.
 The f,e still continued with una bated fury, and the engines had but little effect; something like 200 hou- ses having been destroyed, the mer- chants in State st. began clearing their stores of goods.
 At 5 o'clock the fire had extend ed to the head of Hudson st.--all below being in ashes. A tempest had been rapidly gathering. and rain commenced pouring down in tor rents, but seemed only to increase the fury of the devourlng element. The wind just now began oh 'nging, and hopes were, entertained that Hudson st would stop the des'rnc- ton. This hope, however, was doomed to be blasted. The flames continued to advance, steadily and unbroken. until half-past five o'clock when they were within seven or eight doors of State st. The fire was fi- dally got under by blowing up the houses.
 Thus, within four hours 800 hou- ses were iaid in ashes, including the Albion Hotel, Eagle Tavern, Town send House, and the largest whole sale mercantile houses in the city, together with nearly 100 canal boats loading & unloading at the wharves seven or eight barges loading wlIb merchandise for New York, and six or eight schooners and brigs. Near lv one-fourth of the business part o1 the city is destroyed.
 The damage cannot fall much short of Five Millions of Dollars.
 Some succor should be instantly sent from your city to those render ed homeless. Many are entirely ru' ined. Our streets for ten or twelve blocks, parallel with Broadway. are lined with 1900 families, including large number of women & children, with with nothing to shelter them from the driving storm. Most of them, including many Dutch and Irish, have lost ali they possessed ir the world.
 @-e. r.