Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-02-24
DANTILLE,S ZIG BLAZE.
Sewn Buildings Desroyed-One Life Lost


Correspondence OF the Rich mond Dispatch.
DANvILLE, February %, 1885.
Yesterday morning about 4 o'clock
the alarm of fire was sounded; about
! the mass of brick buildings. the pro-
perty Of the late William Robinson,
was a pile Of smoking ruins. These
buildings were occupied by James +.
Schooliield & Co., hardware merchants
NJ. Somehow. clother il. Pritchett&
Co., dealers in forage; T. II. Boswell. dry
goods and grocer merchant; j. b. Rob-
ertson, hotel-keeper. Schoolfeld & Co.
lose about s25, 900; Pritchett & Co.
lose about 5000; Somehow puts his
loss at $4,000; Robertson loses the
furniture of the hotel, valued at 81, 200.
The goods of Boswell are much dam
aged by water from the hose. and his
loss has not been estimated. The
buildings are insured for $4,000, but
that will hardly cover the loss, even
though much Of the material may he
USED III rebuilding.
One man was killed by the firc--Mr.
7. NJ. Prebble, formerly from Campbell
county. 1t seemed that he had gone to
bed in a room to himself, and was suf-
located and then burned. The remains
were brought down in blanket, ugly
and charred. Several men made narrow
escapes from the hotel. Some of them
John W. Wills, j. l.. Young, from
Franklin county, and others. when
it was found that the flames prevented
them from getting to the door, let
themselves fall from the third story
down on the frame of an awning over
the door Of the first story and then
slid down on the street. Others swung
themselves around from a window of
the third story down upon the roof Of
the store Of Graycly & Burton, and
thence got down to the street. 1t
does not seem now that it would
be possible to do that. One man,
who has. no bruises, declares that
he jumped down on the street
from the third-story window. Our es-
teemed citizen DR.. George A. Carter
had got to one Of the doors Of the hotel,
but found that he could not get it open,
and could not go back for the flames.
and was saved by men from the out
side, who burst the door open. As soon
as the house was discovered to be on
fire Mr.. Robertson aroused his family
and hurried them out to the street.
The cause of the fire is not positively
known. 1t commenced in the hotel,
which is at one end of the block, and is
supposed to have been caused by the
explosion Of a kcrosene-lamp in the
coOking-room.
The insurance on the property de-
strOyed was distributed as follows:
NJ. Somehow, in Fire Association of
-, 1000; Royal Insurance Com
pany, $1,000; Germania Insurance
Company Of New York, $4,000.
James |. Pritchett & Co., in Liver
pool and London and Globe Insurance
Company of London, $4,000; Niagara
Insurance Company of New York,
81 600; London Insurance Corporation,
$1,000; Western Insurance Company
of Toronto, Canada, $1,000.
j. f. Schoollield & Co., in Sun Fire
Office of London, $500; Virginia Fire
and Marine Insurance Company, 81, 500;
Phenix Insurance Company of New
York, $1,000; Royal Insurance Com
pany, $500; Liverpool and London
and Globe, 50, 800; Fire Association of
Philadelphia, $500; London and Lam
cashire, 5000. T. II. Boswell, in I'M
perial Insurance Company of London,
$1,000.
The buildings in London and Ian
cashire, $500; London Assurance
Company, $1,000; Royal Insurance
Company. $1,000; Liverpool and Lon
don and Globe, 81, 800; Fire Associa-
ton of Philadelphia, $1,000; North
British and Mercantile of London and
Edinburgh. $1,000. Total, s55, 100.
ALPHA