The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-30
CHEMICAL WORKS BURN
S. p. SHOTTER 81 CO.. S ROSIN OIL
DISTILLERY DESTROYED.

hing ana several flTeInen ONeICOLue
How. the Fire Started-The Works
to Be Rebuilt at Once.
S. +. Shotter & Co.'S chemical works,
near the Bay street extension, west of Mus
grove creek, burned Yesterday forenoon.
The fire broke out about 1885 o'clock,
and the mill building proper and one
warehouse were destroyed, which, with the
added damage TO machinery, stock and
stills. will entail a loss of from $1,000 to
$780, on which Mr.. Shotter estimates a
net loss of between $4,000 and 5000 over
and above insurance.
The fire was first discovered by Mr.
LOTUS, foreman of the factory, and as it
was a running stream of burning oil, it
required great haste to escape from the
rushing flow of burning fluid. The fore
man said that it was ali as quick
as a flash. He Immediately telephoned
in an alarm Policeman Hartigan
an Ocean steamship policeman on duty
at the wharves, saw about the same time
dense column Of smoke issue from the
works, and he turned in an alarm from box
AZ, and simultaneously Sergeant Rely
turned in an alarm from box u, which
brought out the entire fire department.
CHIEF Fernandez was at No. 2 hose com
pany's headquarters, on his daily round,
when the alarm was turned in ana whom
he reached the fire he sent the No. engine
and the Protection hose company and reel
back to firemen's headquarters to be pre-
pared for an emergency in case fire should
break out in any other portion OF the city.
LONG LINES OF HOSE.
A line of hose 2, 400 feet long was at
tached to plug" in a ditch near the ware
house at Bay and Wadley streets, and
stream of water was soon playing on the
flames, No. l, No. and No. 3 reels combin-
ing to make up the long line required. En-
gines No. ! and No. 2 were soon on the
bridge over Musgrove creek and four lines
of hose-two of 800 feet, one of 1000 feet
aud one of 800 feet-were attached. A
Sianese connection was attached, and soon
six streams of water were brought to bear
on the flames. The heat from the sun was
great aud added to the intensity of tue heat
of the flames, rendered it perilous at times
for the flreInen.
The iiemen were attempting to carry a
line Of nose up a ladder to the roof of the
main building when an oil tank exploded,
and only through tho greatest efforts of
those who were about to scale the building,
and those who were handling the other
hose in the rear, were the lives OF the fire
men i'll advance saved. The ladder was
abandoned and consumed in the flames, but
the men brought away their hose without
damage, although the burning oil ran
rapidly toward them, and blazed up in
their faces. The firemen in the rear turned
the hose on the advancing wall of burning
oil, and spouted water on the men to cool
them and saturate their clothing, and got
them out of the danger; but the heat was SO
intense that some were overpowered and had
to be taken TO the rear. After brief rest,
reaction took place, and they we're again at
the front, where, for four and a half hours
they battled to bring the fire under control.
FLAMES RISE MOUNTAIN HIGH.
1t was a rapid and stormy fire. south
breeze famed the flames, and the smoke
was SO dense that it clouded the north invest
ern sky. When the oil tank exploded great
sheets of flame shot up for hundreds of feet,
and darted through the cloud of smoke
like sheet lightning In thunder storm. 1t
would have been a picturesque scene by
night.
The fire crossed the road several times
and was communicated to Goodwin's barn
and six or seven small tenement houses, but
the firemen of Hook and Ladder No. with
axes and buckets of water aided by voluu-
teers, kept the fire from burning a single
building north of the road. The main body
of the fire department sought to cut off a
portion of the fire, abandoning all hope of
saving the main building and one warehouse,
and this they did, giving four or five gangs of
men opportunity to remove quite lot of
stock and empty barrels from the ware
house before the heat became so intense as
to necessitate an abandonment of their
work. The tiremen had to work in relays
1t was impossible for them to stand the heat
long at a time and when they began to fall
back, stubbornly though it was, foot by
foot, others took their place at the hose and
it was only in this way that a portion of
the shed rooms and the office were saved,
and the n ii Of ha
street kept from being consumed. Three or
four sections of hose broke, the long dis
tance of the line requiring higher pressure
than is ordinarily necessary.
BIG DUKE TAPS FIRE OUT
At 3:45 O'Clock p. M. the one tap of the
"Big Duke" was the signal that the fire was
out, and the fremen dragged the heavy
hose through the sand, reeled it up and re-
turned to the city.
There were between forty and fifty of
the fire department out. and never did men
Deserve to be COMMUNICATED more for hard
work than the tiremen OF yesterday, who,
with the burning oil under their
feet and the hot smoke almost sitting
them under the midsummer heat of
the sun, never hinched, and when
overcome and taken back to the rear, raj
lied and went back to their post of duty.
They deserve special MENTION said Mr..
Shooter to a MORNING NEWS reporter last
night, and Chief Fernandez said, IF ever a
body of men deserved credit the fremen OF
the city of Savannah earned the right TO
have it said of them that they deserve
credit. No men can ever go through
much more fiery ordeal and live.n
ORIGIN OF THE FIRE.
Mr. Shooter said to a MORNING NEWS
reporter that he could not tell with GER
tainty what was the cause of the fire but
from the description of the suddenness with
which it broke out, and the character of il,
he is inclined 20 the theory that one of the
pitchcocks burned out and let out the oil
from one of the retorts, the oil coming in
connection with the oxygen of the air
causing combustion. Mr.. Shelter thinks
that the hoiler. pumps and the greater
portion of the machinery is not very badly
damaged, but Others believe that they
could not stand such an intense heat with
out greater damage than Mr.. Shooter
thinks Mr. Shottsr said that most OF the
stock was rolled out OF the warehouse before
it was burned. He estimates his loss in
piping alone at 81 200 About 200 barrels
of turpentine and 5000 gallons Of oil were
consumed.
The works we're Of ten still capacity, but
the stills proper were not destroyed the
walls and pillars are intact the piping only
being warped, and VIII have 10 be replaced.
The works employ twenty hands. Mr..
Shotter said that he Vas TOO tired from MS
a.