The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-04-23
DISSOLVED IN SMOKE.

The Office of the Buffalo, N. W Express
With Other Valuable Business Interest.
Destroyed Through the Car'essness of a
PcrteF--Loss S25O,OOO.
BUFFALo, y. Y, April l7.-About six
O'Clock last evening, fire was discovered
in the composing room of the Express
| building, on Exchange street, and in an
incredibly short space of time The entire
room was filed with smoke and flames,
which speedily shot through the en-.
trance connecting what is known as the
old Express building and the new, and
which leads into the editorial rooms.
By the time the fire department az
rived, the second floors OF the OLD
and new buildings were a
mass of flames, which bclched
out of the windows and ate their way up
ward and downward with frightful quick
ness. The acids and chemicals used in
the engraving ald etching processes on
the floor above, on which the fire origi-
mated, and also on the floor below, in
which were the engraving ana lithograph-
ing establishment of Dcmston & Co.,
helped the spread of the fire, and the fire.
men, while they worked with supeThu-
man effort, realized that they had all they
could do TO prevent the spread of the fire
and keep it in the locality from which il
started. Scarcely twenty minutes after
the fire started the immense liye-story
building was completely Quilted.
Il 4ef.y oil nF no
floors, and with them tnc large engrav-
ing presses, type metal and lithoIraphing
stones, fell with deafeninL roar, fol-
lowed by noise that sounded like the
reports of a thousand muske 5. The front
wall was seen to bulge, and orders were
issued to extend the fire lines. Only a
few minutes after This was done several
immense volumes of flames OF a peculiar
yellowish -red color puffed up from the
seething pit, and Immediately after the
wall was seen to topic, and the top story
fell outward with loud crash. FortG-
nately no one was hurt, although several
firemen were within deadly proximity,
and there was not an instaut's warning.
The building WAS occupied OH the
ground floor by the O'NeilI Carriage
Repository; the second floor BY G. II.
l'thiStO u W. putlS anu Nl-
grayers, and the three floors above By
the editorial rooms of the Express, the
bindery and engraving departments, and
the job printing rooms of Mathews,
NorthrOp & Co., respectively.
The fire was due to the cIrelcSSnesS OF
the porter, VINO was lighting one of the
lamps in the news room. JAS. Ross, i
printer, in endelvoring To put out the
flames, was badly burned, and also near
ly suffocated. lie WAS rescued with diff
Guilty. Mr.. j. w. Mathews was seated in
his editorial room, which is on the sec
ond floor, when the fire broke out. He
was utterly unconscious Of his danger
until his son, who had heard of the fire
from the business Office and ran up the
stairs through the fame and
smoke, rushed into the room and
hastily appraised him. Mr.. Mathews
came out unscathcd, but his
son was badly burned about the face and
neck. SO quick was the spread OF the
flames that the reporters barely had time
10 Chamber out OF the windows and drop
onto the roof of an adjoining budding.
Fifteen or twenty girls and men had to
descend the fire escape, the flames having
swept up both flights OF stairs. The loss
is estimated II $3.50, 0y0; Insurance,
$l9S, 600.