The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1872-04-18

4 Saturday, April 18Th, 1872, marks al
+ epoch in the fire history Of Tifin tha
viii never be forgotten by those wh0
witnessed the terrible condagration.
THE FIRE.
Z At about two O'Clock aud forty min
utes the alarm Of fire was given il
theSecond Ward and in moment tn
Ere bells Of the city were ringing ou
the loud ciamOr of danger. Durin.
+. the day tine wind had been blowing !
= gale in a nOrth-sasterly direction anC
when the alarm was given it wa:
r seemingly at its hight The different
fire companies hastensd to the Second
/ Ward, together with the citizens gen.
orally. Nearly everybody started i'm
mediately in the direction where the
fire was supposed 10 be, with a seem
ing intuition that there was work to
be done that would require the assis-
tance Of all
Upon reaching the ground it was
discovered that fire was burning on the
roof OF Mrs. A. Rawson's dwelling on
Miami Street, and the roof Of the
store occupied by A. MeNeal on San
dusky street, all connected with each
other.
The engines were Immediately Dut
to work, one az cistern near the en-
gine house and another nearly oppo.
site McNeI's store. In a few min
utes the engine in front Of the store
had 10 move from the cistern after
working hard, as the heat was unen-
durable. Tie other engine got to
work Immediately and was doing
good execution when the water in tue
cistern gave out. This necassitatsd a
change in these two engines with their
hose, and gave the fire free field,
with but one engine TO work on it
The wind seemed to gain fierceness,
and the building was one mass Of
flames. A large number Of citizens
bad been in the meantime carrying
out and saving all that was possible
Of the furniture from the house, and
goods from the store.
On the opposite side Of Sandusky
street, right directly in the face of the
wind and fire, the Hook and Ladder
companies and citizens were on the
roofs ofOgles' store, and the dwellings
in the rear, busy with buckets of water
TO save them. The fire ragged higher
and iereer and these bindings had to
be deserted as the heat was too In
tense t0 be borne in this world.
Just at this time-ablut fifteen
minutes after the fire was discovered
the word went around like magic
that four barns were in flames a-few
rOds in the rear and little to the
north Of Ogle's store. So intently was
the attention ofevery one directed to
the first building on fire and saving
those near, thai these barns were not
discovered until every part OF them was
on fire, and the flames were shooting
up nearly one hundred feet. This |
changed the whole face of every-
thing. It was found that the build
ings first on fire and those near had to |
be left TO their fate and attention |
turned to saving the property ahead
Of the fire. All became dire confusion
among those most likely to suffer i'm
mediately from the flames. Attempts
were made to save the buildings by
buckets of water, and the removal Of
furniture began. Women and chill
dren were crying with fright, and the
owners Of property, with pale, CON-
pressed lips, saw the impossibility of
saving their houses.
Scarcely had the FIRE in the barns,
above mentioned, been discovered,
than flames were seen Ieaping up
from LeBaron's Save factory, sixty
rods or more distant. This burned
fereely, and the wind from a gale be-
came almost a hurricane. Burning
shingles, boards, Goals and sparks flew
in every direction and ignited every
thing they touched. Fires were light
ed in every direction and at this time
twenty-five minutes after the first
of fifty buildings
were blazing furiously. The flames
leaped from building to building,
dense volumes Of smoke covered the
doomed ground ami it seemed that
short OF an interposition Of
could stay the destruction.
In thirty-eight minutes after the fire
started, the rOcf of the house Of Mr..
Singer, on the East side OF Washing
ton street was nearly burned off, while
everything iniammable between that
and McNeal's corner was in flames.
It was impossible to keep track of the
as they caught fire, for the
fires seemed to start in every direction
with the regularity of the ticking Of
q clock. Earnest, terrible fighting
was done in every direction, but the
heat was intense, and the shower of
fire so great that the people were help
less, in what is now the burned dis
triet.