The daily gazette., 1881-08-29
A SOUTH SIDE FIRE.
Fire I'm q Tar Shed Communieate
to the Lumber Yards and Causes
Serious Damage.

Fire I'm Tar Shed Communicates
to the Lumber Yards and Causes
Serious Damage.
About $50 o'clock, last evening, fire
was discovered in an old shed adjoining
Geo. Churchman'S lumber yard, just
south of the Market street bridge over
the Christiana. The watchman gave the
alarm, but before 1t ould be communi-
Gated TO the fire department an alarm
WAS sounded on box %, Second and
Shipley streets, by Councilman VIM. Ii
Black, who was standing close by and
happened to see the heavy volume of
smoke that a-ose from the burning tar
shed.
The fire department quickly responded,
but a. the water had to be drawn from
the Cbristiaua, and the tide was low, 1t
was some tine before the engines could
get into service. The immense crowd
Of people that gathered within the fire
limits also greatly impeded the efforts of
the aremen.
Meanwhile the tar shed and its con-
tents burned completely down, and the
flames communicated to piles of lumber
In the lumber yards of George Church-
man and q. Wesley Weldin, immed-
ately adjoining on the east and south.
Mr.. Wsldin's lumber being most con-
tiguous suffered the most, and large piles
OF lumber principally pine flooring were
badly damaged and In some places bur-
ned to charcoal. Ris coal shed also
caught fire and one end of 1t burned
badly, Int the flames were extinguished
before the coal was damaged.
Of Mr.. Churchman'S stock of lumber,
only pile Of laths, valued at about 500,
caught 6re, and not more than one half
Of them were burned. In his yard ,hov.
ever, was stored 24,O0S feet of dressed
pine flooring owned by Emlen hughes.
which was burned and charred almost to
total loss.
The fire gained good headway, but
the active efforts ofthe firemeD, after they
got fairly started, soon suppressed the
flames and kept them from spread
Ing to the adjoining buildings and to the
many other valuable piles Of valuable
lumber on the wharf and elsewhere
around the yard.
The frame shed In which the fire
originated was owned by E. /. DUPONT
q Co., and was not worth more than
500, for which amount it was insured
in the Delaware Mutual Fire Insurance
Company Of this city. Mr.. Atkinson
lost wagon valued at $25 or $50, and a
stock Of tar roofing materials worth prob
ably $500, on which he had an insuI Ance
Of $3.50 In the same company.
On that portion of Mr.. Weldin's lum-
ber touched by the fire there is an in
surance OF between $4,000 and 81 900 in
the Farmers aud New Castle County
Mutual Companies of this city, the
Hanover OF New York, and the Guar
dian Of London. The loss cannot be
accurately determined until the burned
lumber is taken out, but Mr.. Weldin
estimates 1t at about so per cent. of the
Insurance.
Mr.. Emlen Hughes burned lumber
was worth $500, and II is doubtful If he
can save more than 500 worth out OF
the entire lot. As be was uninsured he
Is really the heaviest looser by the fire.
As no fire Is allowed about the tar
shed, where the confagration started,
there Is no doubt 1t was the work of au
incendiary. Tramps frequently lounge
about the yards, and two men were seer
by the watchman leaving the tar shed 9
few minutes before he noticed the fire