The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-06-19
LAS ST
{ D|T ION.
Fire MAKES SAD HAVOC
Cushing's Machine Shop
and Tooker's MO1asses
Refinery Destroyed.
THE WATER SUPPLY scANTY.
Steamship Piers and Buildings OH
the Water Front Had a Narrow
Escape.

A disastrous fire. which at one time
threatened the entire water front be-
tween the Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Central Railroads, broke out last even
ing.
A few minutes after ten o'clock Police
man John Devlin, of the Gregory street
station, discovered flames in Cushing's
machine shop, on Morris street, just west
of Hudson.
He Immediately sent out IN alarm from
The signal box however, instead
of striking five rang off thirteen
This sent the engines to Bay
and Warren streets, almost a mile away,
thereby and much delay was caused in
getting to the fire.
ENGINES ARRIVE AT LAST.
When the engines finally got to work
the fire was well under way and the tall,
brick building occupied by the Gushing
Works was a mass of flames. 1t was
filled with elevators and otherlight stock,
through which the fire ran with great
rapidly.
Next to Cushing's works, to the west,
was large frame building belonging to
Tooker's molases refinery, which was
stored with barrels of raw sugar.
These proved an easy prey to the flames,
and before the firemen were fully at work
this building was also burning. Chief
Farrier Immediately saw that a large fire
had commenced and sent out second and
third alarms, which weresoon followed by
a general alarm, summoning all the en-
gines in the city to the spot.
WATER WAS SCARCE
When the firemen got to work new
danger was encountered in the INSULT
cheney of the water supply. Pump as hard
as the engines would, many of the streams
scarcely reached the second story of the
burning buildings.
Next to Cushing's works, on the east, was
the Vulcan machine shop, a tall, frame
building which alone stood, between the
fire and the wharf of the Red Star Steam
ship Company.
Fortunately a strong northeast wind
was blowing at the time, and it drove the
flames in the opposite direction, so that
the only damage the Vulcan works sus-
tained was from the falling walls of the
Cushing buildings. fB& aa48H
The tugs Mercer, America and Della
ware, of the Pennsylvania Railroad SER
vice, were called out and threw streams
on the river side OF the burning build
fngS
At one time it looked as though the
wind would change and sweep away the
Red Star, Inman and Netherlands -Ameri-
can steamship piers.
The Inman line steamship Pennsylvania
was lying at the Morris street wharf, and
N hose from her bow helped to save the
rear portion of the Vulcan Works.
The Pennsylvania and the Red Star
liner Westernland had steam up, ready
to pull out into the river in case of neces-
sity, and the tramp steamship st. Ronaus
was at the Inman pier.
Her fires were banked, but she was
Immediately made ready to push out into
the stream.
About midnight the gable roof of the
Tooker building was burning fiercely.,
The burning rafters in the dark night
I blazed into fantastic shapes and made q
beautiful sight. The glare brought q
large crowd TO the scene. which was adj
mirably handled by Chief Murphy and a
detail of the reserve police.
About one o'clock the flames were
under control, and shortly after Chief
Farrier began to dismiss the engines.
Mr.. Thomas M. Gopsil, of the Jersey
City Insurance Company, says that the
loss will not exceed S150,000: that Mr..
Culshing's loss is about $75, ,000, and that
Tooker's, with other incidental losses,
will not exceed $4,000.