New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-07-11
NETWORK TRIBUNE.
The PhiIadeiphia fire
f,oa tAs Ffrn PagsJ

I'D NO s1ong and proclaimod that the frc. had
.veot every thing before It rs lar as In
40 another fixed ITS southern limit hs 70" ~ 80
=. Chestnut The reality was osd enousn' ~
81, roeption these matters TO sho" the oAo'o
ehy 80, nj exrggerstion rhst are aptto pre-
81 noon snch occasions IL was not oeioro
o'c'oct hat the evidence became G. az, 'nA' ~
w,r,b of he dsvoUring element "Onu DC 49, -,
,nd then il was sscertained that toout lou s"5
~ bpii6ires had been wholly or par 1Vh;i, :,
IL luits being from New s. 70 Ciio"u.I -
"a g., tbe vbsYyes TO Second st-an1 tne run
Der Of buildings betreeR tro and MLes 49, a..
III Estimate ii property destroyer - over O,le
,alili0n dollars. These are Of ooaso' 49, 49,
rrs,s, made NJ late hour smhsI nicu eA-Ise'
-, I'd win many conflicting statemens IN CIR
n1"' "' We believe that every FIRE company IN
.s;s .,d comfy was in active operation, while
sa,s,ai were also in service from Camden and
Cs,msntown The buildings along Water'st be-
low Vine, were, many Of them, occupied by P2or
fsm,Tes-snd he distress must be great. Let tnen
go couraee however, Philadelphia is generous
c;,y ana liberal assistance viii be freely rendered
The mechanics and storekeepers who have suffered
will also be dealt with in kindly spirit, at least
we bore So sDd we thus curly throw oas this sog-
pesiion 70 their creditors.
From the North American.
The FIRE originated about AZ O'CLOCK tDls N'sr-
poop in the upper part OF the large do9'ie ,ro'e'
bop,s on the south sida Of Water 81. below Vine,
merchant TIE building runs all the way tnroogh
10 Delawsreav. and is occupied 10 the dhereot
,pArtpen,s and stories by Gordon Berger nay
merchaIts; JACOB Leyering, molasies dealer
Nbampole Shennon, sail makers; John Keller
hotel ard bowling saloon; and by John BLOCK. lor
the tiorfge Of Baltpeue.
The ire ragged with great fury, and the f'emen,
who were promptly on the spot, notwithstanding
tbc parrowness OF w ater St. which rendered It
drcuL IN reach the immediate scene Of the c0niia-
st,tier y oud have succeeded in mastering II oat
10, ttfio'e eTyloSOn which occurred about nan
fp hoo, eft.rt'e fire began To give an ldea OF
lie scsns that folio wed this calamity Is lmpos'lo'e
A soon As the flames had reached toe saltPeEre
in the ,tore.room of Mr. Brock, several successive
reports were heard, and finally TREMENDOUS e1-
Ilosion took place, spreading terror end ussnuc-
zion around. The force OF the explosion was iate-
raj sbatterirg the walls OF lne oanoias' out sp's
itself principally ia an upward direction carrying
with il into the air, TO the height OF three hundred
feet. large burning masses OF oOmbashbes, with
b.ick, josts etc.
A heavy eirder was thrown sheer up about one
hundred feet and fell upon one OF the opposite hou-
ses in Frontst. breaking through the root and
buryiDg and iDjuriDg some OF the inmates, who
were engaged in removing their effects At this
moment there were about three thousand people
on the ground and the spectacle OF fright and con
fusion, and the waing and screaming oil women
and children made up scene OF horror beyond de-
scip,ion.
In Water st. where the fremen were chiefly COL
lected the houses Immediately adjoining Brooks
building were completely demolished by the ex.
plosion while those situated on the west side OF
Wster-st. and east side OF Frontst were instanta-
psously set on fire by the fakes and ciDders which
were ing in all directions. Many OF the tiremen
were brown, with their pipes in their hands, from
thc roofs Of the surrounding houses, and others
Knocked down from the engines, and some OF them
burned or lacerated in dreadful manner.
The Io,ce Of the explosion, and the intense heat
nd inTJ Of the fire, as it burst oat on all sides,
were attended with lamentabe loss OF life. sew
ersl men, women and children were instantly killed.
Plumbers irig htiuy scorched, and dreadiuly burned
aud maDeled while many others were hurled int0
the docks some of whom we're drowned. Ga Del
sware.sv. there was very large crowd o. specta.
tors, and when the panic seized this portion OF the
multitude great number oil them sprang into the
river utterly unconscious OF what they were doing
Pen fails to depict the scene that succeeded
The dead and dying were borne 10 the nearest drug
stores and Police stations, or to the Hospital The
wind being fresh from the south east the flames
spread in q northwestern direction and before the
fremen had recovered from the bewllderment &C.
casiontd by the explosion they obtained fearful
headway. The buildings were nearly all old aud
copbostibe " it'll shins td roofs The fire, in spite
OF almost superhumsn exertions on the part Of the
fremen continued to make the most alarming pro-
press, and for six hours it baffied all attempts to
check it,
At ten O'clock the hour at which we commenced
ptnDing this report, nearly the whole of the pro
perties embraced within the boundaries OF the
Delaware river, east, the east side OF Second-st,
west, the north side Of Caldwell at. north, aud the
south side OF New st. south, including Delaware
avenue Water Front, Vine, and New Msrketsts.
with the intermediate small streets and alleys, are
involved in destruction.
The area contains about four Squares, and some
twelve blocks, in which there were perhaps three
hundred buildings. The locality was one OF the
most densely populated in the city, and ia,g se
amount Of suffering is immense The houses gen
,rsuv were among the Oldest in Philadelphia; yel
mere were many valuable business stands, and
soDe Of the fnest Of our ansiquated Quaker
mansions.
The following details are taken from the report
Of The lnqwirer
We proceed to give details as far as possible
r,nsrtirg that 1t was utterly impossible to ascer
tain the names Of the unfortunate sufferers by this
sad calamity.
The names OF the dead and dying, it will be seen
are only few in number, as far as names are con.
cerned. We lear, however many are buried in
the ruins. whore remains will never be found.
The FIRE commenced ia the fourth story Of the
byick building on Delaware sv below Vine st. oc-
cupied by Messrs. Gordon Berger -four and hay
merehapts The place extended through TO Wa.
Ter az The lower part was occupied by Hill KEEL
Ter A. tavern. The adjoining building, No 80, to
the north. at the corner, was occupied by the LIE
bish Transportation Company VIM. Heilmsn, Aoul
INSPECTOR, and Messrs. Vineyard Il Shindle, as n sal
lok. To the south, the two large stores, occupied
nv Messrs. Ridgway & Buda -four factors, were
totally consumed, together with 5000 barrels o
honr and large quantity fgrain.
The buildings were owned by John Brock. This
latter gentle man had large quantity of ssltpetrs
,tored in the lower part OF the promises OF Messrs
9ordon Berger, and the moment the flame:
reaohed the article, n tremendous explosion fol
lowed, resulting in the loss Of many lives The
~ha,f was crowded with spectators, and not less
than fhy or hundred people were thrown into
the water. Several are known to have beer
drowned.
The steamboat Trenton on her upward trip at :
oclosk rendered good service, and saved the lives