New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-07-23
A PRINTING-HOUSE BURNED
GEORGE MUNROS BUILDING IN FLAMES.
NARROW ESCAPE OF SEVERAL FIREMEN-THE LOSS
ESTIMATED AT $4,000.


The Munro Building is a large nine-story struc-
+nre extending from Vandew ater-st. to Rose ST.,
and facing on both streets. 1t is the publishing
2 2srsrV " and The Fresdo Companion Yesterday
afternoon at quarter past one flames were seen 10
leap out of the sixth story For sbort d time
smoke, but presently they we're observed
to leap to the roof and it was at once evident tDat
from the height of the structure serious nte ust
result The lire started in a hallway on the west
side of the sixth floor which is used as Iro escape
John Griffin an employe who was near Dy, nau ~ -
descend five PAIR of stairs before he could reac a
ment, and all the time the ire was gaining ne"u'
way ..u .o strrc+nres
one of which faces Vande water-st. and the otner
Rose-st. Tue Vandewater-st. building is Only
eight stories high. Inc Two and seventh stoIies
liz was In the Vanderwater-st Dqllding tnat .nS
fire was. The too floor of tnis building Is occupies
by George Munros tSe door beneath are the
Munro stock-rooms and the oince Oh the G TSs
Novelty Manufacturing Company occupied
%nI Teveoy. Son e. Co.. electrotypers The flames
soon spread fro the 70 the
rooms above. Here they licked ro9hd sne Sn ;nto
eouthwest corner OF the DulIdng anu ohno0" law
the press-roOms and on to the ROOF. A.. .,or, III.
The first engine to arrive was that from VIC
Chambersst station Dus 5a'c .nrronndn districts
were on hand under the command Oh Oiei pa.es,
who said that 1t would be extremely uimcuit "
~ bnldiop is the eight-sOry publishing
bonse of Norman Munro, brother OF George Munlo.
The tirsmen entered the building, dragging me nose
af ar them Az the same time a tower was holsteu
In the rect and streams OF water presently began
TO NAV from the upper windows OF Norman MunrOs
building and Tom the tower, f nT xast d. sJ
os labor had been expended on the iron doors ana
shutters George Munro is at Halifax, out MS son
William watched the flames from Norman MuLr0s
windows Lovejoy and his son also watched the
fire from the same windows The vast volume OF
snoke issuing from the windows swept down
Vandewater-st. as lar as Pearl-st ana inade Tue
whole narrow street as dark AS midnight Inc hre.
men and police crept, coughing INTO doorways and
ALLEYS and rubbed their eyes. Inc horses began 10
get excIted at the darkness, and at tue same timc
Two sectons of hose burst and the street was
flooded. -. ...o. ~ .l,o ;ra;a.
and this for time prevented the wafer from reach
mo the fire. When the steamers began
to play the body Of IT. r; Ire three s9e
complstey Quilted. At o'clock the roof tell IN.
The fire began to attack the Rose-st. building IN
the rear, which unlike the onor Was pu nnd I ire
,hisf damage hat this building suffered was from
water shortly after o'clock the presses fell from
tSe eighth story to the fifth Story, winch is
occunied bv 4. Anderson printe ami the Nulcanlte
JeWeIry Co At the same time Lovejoys batteries
and hydraulic presses maue h"oh :; as
NOT finally extmguIshed till early this morning.
I'm the Rose-st. building John Cashmann, fore
Of Ensi9e Co. ~ ana xep eS"s steiner men, S Ss
Gu. VI ~ 70 The eighth story aud let down
roof line to the fourth floor. where they were met
NV an extension ladder in The Vandewater-st
bxIdinc much more serious cutting OIL occurred
IN William Tuite and eleven men OF Euglne CON-
pany No. and Hook and Ladder s1 COMPANY ny
tbs eighth floor. The others picked hun
nm and carried HIN down flight OF STAIRS and left
him With his head thrust IRON wInd0w JusI
then thev perceived that they were cut of by the
n mes Chief Gicquel, of the ON Battalion, heard
them shouting 4" Hoip, for Gods sake tie hastily
vth sry and the men escaped to IT by rope, leaving
Iuie behind. One man. however returhed In a
moment aud saved hun: Another fireman on the
fire-escaDe of Norman Munr0s building got a nozzle
showed IN his face and was dashed into the room
and jImmed against the wall by the
water. In Pearl-St. some burning paper from
an engine got lodged In the slxth-story
window of c. Riessuer a. Co., stove manuiac urers.
It looked as IT there 10 be second ire, but men
assembled iron the basanen. ana eXtlngu sheu H.
Sundays A fire broke out IN LOveJoy ~ Sons some
three Years ago. 6enzne Is used IN the electrotyp-
inq process On that occasion the summer sun.
heating in through the window, heated can OF ben
zlne sufficiently Tor II 10 expand, ana the escaping
yapOr was lgnlted by coal stove IN the next ROOM
Mr. Ioyeioy SAID Yesterday that a similar explaDa-
non could not be given IN this case as there were
nor more ban two cans III the building, and these
were nearly empty. -
The bull inI fronting on Vandewater-st. was
built by Ir Munro ia 1877. 1t was about one hun
dred and twenty feet III iength built OF Haverstraw
BRICK. with facing o. rh"deipNNa oT T7 IL Oc
SopP1,l hraced with iron beams 1t had been re-
o ,rded as an almost hreproof building and Mr..
MunrO had so much confidence In lts safety from
fire that he did not think 1t necessary TO insure Its
comparatively new one. 1t was was built G
in tue cD9;ed ,p Nav of the same year Mr. Munro
believed that il was absolutely hre-proof. lt was
built Of much the same material as the otner
sithongb some few architectural adOrnments III
the shane of towers were added it. In this build
ing were all the most va uaOIe II Mt MnnrOs ma
chlpery On the buildings was a mortgage OF
S25O 900 held by the equitable ASSURE Co society,
when was projected against loss by iu insurance
AS tine walls remained firm ana only the upper por-
ton OF the Vaudewafer-st. aud rear part OF inc
Hose-st mi dings were burned the damage will
probably not exceed $4,000; -,
On The eighth floor OF the Vandewater-st build
ago there were nearly th'rty printing
presses in the rooms, but oa last
,,', Rose-st bal dug With the presses were sew
erl type-settng machines which were valuable.
The loss TO Mr. Munro IN machinery IS about
500. 600. Occupying one-half OF the iloor was the
Huh Furnishing COMPANY, winch Iose 80, 900.
cred by insurance. On the floor below his press
r,orns y,r Munro hal his offices and stored a
Quantity of stock his loss there WAS Sl5 900. The
S75 600 in losses on the two floors ale borne by
Mir. Munro entirely. He had assumed that his
huIIding Us were hreprOOf and he had not either the
machinery or stock insured. The loss OF the Clay
Novelty Company. which rented portion OF the
seventh floor. was $4,000, not insured. Inc sixth
floor WIS occupied by the hrm OF LOye]oy, son a.
Co. engaged IN elrctrotyping. Their floor was
stored with machinery, chemicals aud their stock
OF paper. They occupied the SIKH noor IN the
was damaged only slightly. MI. Loyejoy valued
nus stock ID both buIldIngs at 100000 The only
Insurance on IL was $4,000 on the machinery on
the Vnndew aters st. side. In consequence Mr.. Love-
low loses 1000, part Of which Is not secured by
insurance. A. Anderson. a printer and the yul-
canite Jewelry Company, we're tenants ON the NTH
story The fire lost its ferceness after passing the
sixth floor. but Mr.. Anoeisons loss was about
$4,000, fully insured the jewelry company's stock
Ham
covered by Insurance. The progress OF the flames
was checked wheni they reached the fifth story,
and although every other tenant had MS stocK
damaged by water the los was not great and was
covered BY ample assurances. Inc damage 1run