Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-06-08
Fire Under the ||iIL.
Destruction Of Taft & Morgan's
Door and Sash Factory.
Shepard Il Morse's Planning
Mill Damaged.
Several Dwelling Houses Burned
Loss Nearly Covered by
Insurance.
Several Dwelling Houses Burned
Loss About $1O0,OO0-In-
surance About 500, 900.

lue ure Neuut Suay covered moro
ground than any previous fire in Burlng-
ton, and perhaps equalled i'll destruction
ofproperty any former conflagration in this
city, though fortunately the loss is chiefly
covered by insurance. 1t broke out about
eight o'clock in the dry house attached
to Taft & Morgaus extensive door, sash
and blind factory at the foot of College
street. From this 1t extended to the fac
tory, filled with lumber in various stages
of manufacture. This was almost instant
ly wrapped in flames, throughout its four
stories. The wind blew hard from the
South, and the fire at once leaped College
street. and caught the office of G. l.. Lns-
ley and the Baldwin Manufacturing Com
any an the ext 'nsive retail lumber sheds
of the Shepard & Morse Company. These
We're soon mass of II }ines. West of Taft g.
Morgan's factory is the great Shepard Il
Morse planning mill-one Of the largest in
the Union. The fire caught the roof of this
about half of Which was burned off ;
but thanks to the efforts of the fire
neui lut dSSlSltuCt Ol lue W llOOSkl
steamer, and the sprinklers in the build
ing, the machinery and contents of the
mill were saved and the walls and a large
portion of the roof are intact South of
Taft & Morgan's dry house the fire eX-
tended to their storehouses along Battery
street, and thence to the tenement house
owned by Miss Maggie Denning, to an
old house owned by Mrs. Catherine
Michaud of Brandon on the corner of
Main and Battery street, and to the
small wooden house of Mrs. James
Beatty on Main street. These were de-
stroyed, after being gutted of their con-
tents. The brick house of Michael Brown
on Main street, west of the Beatty house
took fire, but was saved, somewhat dam
aged. This was the southern limit
of the fire. North of College
street the fire extended from the lam.
Der sheds to the small brick house
on Battery street, owned by Mrs. Francis
McKeough, which was burned, and the
adjoining unoccupied brick building own
ed by Catherine Kirby took fire in the
roof but was saved by the firemen. Un-
der the hill, the fire extended in the lum-
Der sheds to Bank street, and was there by
hard work and great good fortune check
ed. At $3.50 the fire was under control,
having entirely destroyed the Taft q Nor
gan mill with its dry house and store
houses damaged the Shepard & Morse
mill destroyed Shepard & Morse retail
lumber sheds burned the offices of the
Baldwin Manufacturing company and the
coal Office of q. l., Linsley, and destroyed
five small tenements of small value,
causing loss of about 100000
about four-fitths covered by insurance
THE DETAILS OF THE FIRE-THE EFFECTIVE
WORK OF THE FIREMEN.
The spread of the flames was aStOnish,
ingly rapid owing to the infammable ma
ture of the contents of the Taft q Nor
gan mill, and although the fire depart
ment responded promptly by the timt
the first stream was playing on the struc
ture the entire building was wrapped
in flames. The telegraph, telephone
and electric light poles in thu
vicinity and on the opposite side
of the streets were almost immediatel.
ablaze and the heat became so intense tina
it was impossible for the firemen to ap
proach the Taft & Morgan mill The effort
of the fire department were first directed
TO preventing the spread of the confiagra
ton northward and good streams wer
soon playing on the retail sheds of th
Shepard & Morse lumber company, whicl
were burning fiercely on the south side
Their efforts were without avail at thi
point, however, and within half an hou
the flames at that point had full contro
in the sheds and piles of lumber extendin
to Bank street. Here was the firemen'
last opportunity. Should the flames lea
this street to the Pioneer sheds adjoining
no power could save the Pionee
shops ano mills and the extensiv
lumber district beyond, extending to tn