Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-02-20
FIRE FIENDS.
At Work in Several Rhode Island Cities
and Towns.
Providence Aga ain the Scene of an Ex-
tensive and Disastrous ConflagIa-
ton
PROVIDENCE. X. l., Feb. 10.

The Daniels building with the grocery
stock of Daniels, Connell & Co, and }. A.
Il X. A. Reid printers is on fire though under
control Loss S23j.0 900. The Lebanon
Mills, Pawtucket. are ON fire One mill has
gone and another is going. At the Riverside
Mills, ulneyville private alarm was sound
ed twice and the Atlantic Mills boarding
house and barn are known to be burning
Particulars will be given later.
SECOND DIsPATCH.
The third large fire of the past five days
occurred this afternoon on the scene of the
disastrous confagration of September 1877.
At l.. 10 O'Clock a man in brokers' office
on the second floor the Daniels building,
in Custom Sta structure which rose on the
ashes of the iron front building which melted
in the feryent heat eleven years ago-smeli-
ed smoke and looking about the landing
found the water closet all ablaze. The orig
in of the fire is not known, but incendiarism
is suspected
The only gas jet in place was fixed brack-
ct; there was no paper near 1t. The whole
room was ablaze when discovered. Just I'M
der the ceiling was a battery of gas meters
for supplying all the tenants on the floor.
When the connections melted there was a
great outburst of gas, which bursting into
u Hhlnes ulth Nut hbOis VI tiit
rooms. The fire spread quickly. The pro-
tectve department had time to spread covers
in the first and second stories but very little
was taken out of the bulling.
The Interior soon filed with pungent
smoke and the heat vas intense that the
tiremen could not work inside. The fire
was fought from the front where it couldn't
be seen from the ladders. The latter
reached to the several stories and streams
were poured in upon it but seemed to have
little avail. A second alarm Immediately
followed the first. When the flames ap-
peared on the fifth floor in the Custom
House street front half an hour afterward,
the third alarm summoned all the reserves.
The Johnston fire department sent in hose
company and the Pawtucket department was
asked to hold itself in readiness to render
aid The fifth floor was occupied by J. A.
& A. X. Reed, printing and publishing
house. The firm had four smaller presses,
cutting machinery, bndery and an extensive
lot of book type. This floor having been
burned over. the roof fell in upon it at
about 80 o'clock.
The tire was fought by score of streams
from the roofs and fire escapes of neighbor-
ing buildings, and only by dint of very
stubborn struggle was the fire confined to
this floor
1t was very valuable plant. The Reeds
lose the plates of the publications "Pictur-
esquc Washington" :. s Coxs book,
Three Decades of Federal Legislation" !"
Life of Burnside" Portland and Vicin-
itv" and illustrations in several other books
They have about three Thousand bound
books on han1, including six hundred of
Congressman Coxs.
one fireman was suffocated in the third
story and taken home in carriage. Ano.h-
er man. not fireman, had a serious fall in
attempting to shut off the gas connections.
THIRD DIsrATCu.
The total estimated loss to the occupants
of the Daniels building and to the building,
is S24s 600: insurance s2o5 900. All but
.22 900 was placed in very small amounts in
a large number OF companies. The insur-
ance of the Reeds amounts to s45 900. The
building was damaged about S25 900. Dan
iels, Cornell & Co.'S stock of groceries, was
valued at si75.000. The loss, mostly by
water is estimated at SIPS 600: insurance.
So .5Gn.
Other occupants of the Daniels building
suffered a total loss, the amount ranging
from one to three thousand dollars. Many
are uninsured.
/ The Lebanon mills are owned aud run by
Edward Thayer, situated three miles out of
Pawtacket to the northeast; they were
burned tonight. An old mill and water
house were totally destroyed. 4 new build
ing was badly damaged. Mills ran on rub
ber Innings and cotton yard The mill de-
stroyed was a four story wooden building,
filled with first class machinery. Loss,
sl50.O0o: insurance about $685. 900.
There is no clue to the origin. The mule
room was all ablaze at one end when the
watchman started on his rounds at O'Clock.
The excitement about the city tonight is in
tense. Hundreds from out of town have
come in to view the remains of "Wednesday
nights big fire. Thousands of people surged
against the ropes around the Daniel building
when the sky lighted up to the northeast and
it WAS learned that the Lebanon mills were
On fire in Pawtucket. The excitement wal
increased when two hours later, the private
box at the Riverside mills sounded double
alarm. Another alarm was sounded in the
vicinity and everybody became alarmingly
uneasy.
The fire at Riverside was only in the waste
wool house which was destroyed, but it Ii
UP the sky.
The loss is 5000. which is covered by in
!. surance.