Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1882-12-01
THE PIONEER SHOPS FIRE,
Some Additional Notes.


1t is the opinion of several of those lest
situated to Judge of the matter, that the fire
Of Tuesday night originated in some unknown
way in the harn of J. H. Booth & Co.. that
ii worked out through the side of the larn,
then ran by the shavings and light stuff
which covered the ground, to the sheds at
tnched TO the planning mill, in the northern
shops of the Pioneer shops, ard thence made
us way inside the brick walls of the shop.
This after it got fairly started would be the
work OF but very few minutes. A milrJad
car, loaded with lumber the evening before,
stood c,osc by the barn, between ii and the
p'aning mill but it IS hardly conceivable
that II fire could have stated in that.
There were four horses IN the barn,
three OF which were burned in il. The lOurlil
hose was got ont. SO hadly burned that he
had to bc slIoi. The Waterman, Henry IlAr-
ring'on, smcllcd smoke an hour before the
fire broke out, and made careful search for
the source oi It, ali around the shops; but
could find no fire, aud finally concluded it
must he harmless smell from the foundry.
We are sorry TO chronicle the fact that the
surmsc that DIR. Nicholas insurance mieht
cover his loss, was incorrect. DIR. NchD s
lad $40, 800 insurance on The vanGus shops
and their contents but Of this only Slj, 600
was on the porti ms Of the property destroy
cd. He had 5000 worth of machinery on
which there va, no insurance, destroyed in
the planning mill, alone; and he own.
cd more or less machinery in others Of
the burned bui dings. The immense recep.
taclc for Savings, 11jA15 feet and Al
ieet high, at the north end of the shops, cost
him four or five thousand dollars. 1t WAS
wholly d stroyed aud was not insurcd. The
shuvings in it, about half Of which were
burned, were worth $1,000. DIR. Nichols
estimates his total loss at $40 600 or more,
and his loss above his insurance is no, less
| than S25 900.
I Mr.. Wing had Is, pairs Of shoe lasts stored
over his last fac Dry, not one Of which were
saved. In TACT all that WAS sIved from his
factory was Il lathe, or rather II portion OF a
lathe, which was in such place that the
fire did not reach it. Mr.. Wing has made
arrangements with the Ferguson manulac-
turing company Tor part of their building,
and hopes to start his last factory again in
about two weeks.
The engineer Of the City Water Works
started Tie pumls at 1913 Il. m.
and pump d 1900 gallons minute, into the
|
by the way, was dong pretty well for
| pumps put in a number Of year ago, aud
only warranted to pump 1909 gallons min.
ute, when bought In aud ton to tins large
supply from the pumps, The water in III
reservoir was lowered five feet aud 8 inches
measured on The Inside slope, beng an ahso-
| lutte lowering OF bttwceu Two aud three {, ct,
! of the water. Nothing short OF such a foot
OF water, could have checked the progr, s, If
he flames, amid sucn quantities OF intensely
tombustlblc materials.
When the Pioneer shops were rebuilt,
twenty years ago, they consisted of three
brick shops, each 100X50 feet, aud fifty feet
apart These spaces were afterwards filled
by wooden buildings. Mr.. Clapp's dry house
was in the southern one of their wooden con-
nccliOns. The roof was mostly burned OIL
AMI the contents, OF pine curaln rollers, got
well on fire, yet here, in this nest Of finder.
the progress of the fire towards The sou h
was stopped, leaving the south brick shop
and its contents unharmcd. lIa this, which
is surrounded hy VIC, DIN buildings, flied with
lumber in various stages of IN ,nuf ,cturc,
burned everything in that part of The lIu-
Der district, incl ding PERHAPS Shepard Il
Moses great lumber sned-, and other iopcrty
wonld probably have burned.
The storpa;c of tie fire, there, aud the
saving of the Dloigctt nil, on the month,
srem little short of mIaclc, Had the
| night not been remark ibly still one, it
probably could not have been accomplished.
But it was n speudid piece Of work on the
ptrt of the iiremcn.
DR.. Nichols had his machine shop running,
with his auxiliary engine, in six hours after
the fire.
A very earnest hope finds general express
sion throughout our community, that DE-.
Nichols Will sc his way clear TO speedily
rebuild til" burned shops, ami ena lc Il e
manufacturers und the hundreds Of work.
men in tn ir employ, to rcsumc work at the
earliest possible momcnt. The shops were
| filled with 20 ii tenants. all Of whom VT re
doug u thliyiug business.
The great engine and boilers which fur
nishcd The mo i've power for al, could, it is
| bought, he put in running order in two or
three weeks. 1t would seem to be u pity
that The buildings should not he at once re
built, aud thus enable this hive of Industry
To start again DR.. Nichols las, IS he las
shown b,fore the needed enterprise and
we trust he will not be allowed 10 lack the
means, TO rebuild the SHOPS, with the least
possible delay.