New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-09-08
AN EXPENSIVE BLAZE.
OVER A MILLION DESTROYED.
FLAMES DEvoUR LARGE SUGAR REFINERY
IN wILLIAMsBURG-THE ORIGIN OF
THE FIRE UNKNOWN

THE FIRE UNKNOWN.
The sugar refineries of the Dick e Meyer Com
pany, which front on the East River, between
north Seventh and North Eighth sts Brooklyn,
were destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon. At
ABOUT :l5 o'clock, just after Gustav Prost
lhe superintendent of the works, came back from
luhcheon, he heard loud explosion the fifth
MOOR oil the new refinery. He rushed into the
building and found the fifth floor blazing.
lhe iames shot upward through the elevator
Shalu and soon the upper part of the structure
was burning. Prost turned on the water mains
tIat were in the building, but the fire had already
optalned TOO good a start to be put out in this
way One of the workmen sent out the alarm of
pre-, and afterward, as the fire spread to the
ADJOINING buildings, two more alarms were sent.
some thirty worlmen in the refinery when
the nre started, but most of Them escaped without
uihculty by going into the old refinery, which
aulolned, and thence going down the stairs.
several OF the men, however, had narrow escapes
from being burned TO DEATH two of them receiving
slight injuries while fleeing from the buildings
Martin Schmidt, OF No. 81 North Eighth-st was
burned about the face, and John Keller, of No.
44o heap-st., was severely burned about the head
ana hands. George Swallar, Of No. 77 Van Cott-
ave, another workman, afterward had his hand
cut by brick from falling wall. The ambulance
surgeons from St. GATHERINGS and the Eastern
District Hospitals tool, the injured men home
and dressed their wounds
In the meantime the fire had passed from the
new to the old refinery, and thence to the filter
house in North Seventh-st. AT about . 80 o'clock
the roof and walls of the refinery fell in, and
then the flames continued their march toward
the river, and soon had set ablaze the lln-house,
the engine and boiler houses and three large filter
houses The frebOat Seth Low and some half
dozen tugs began to play on the flames and pre-
vented their advancing all the way to the waters
edge, thus saving few sheds.
Seventeen engines had been summoned by the
successive alarms, but the firemen, who were
der command of Fire Chief Nevns, could do little
but prevent the flames spreading beyond the build
ings Of the refinery At first it seemed that the
warehouse containing 5000 barrels of sugar, which
was separated from the refinery proper by mar
row alley, could be saved, but at about o'clock
smoke began to pour out of the windows of the
warehouse, and in a few hours its contents were
total loss. The fire burned brightly well into
the night, and will probably shoulder for several
days
The origin Of the fire is not known, as nobody
was in the when it started. The fifth Hoor
OF lDe new re1neTy contains TWO large machines
which grind the granulated into powdered sugar.
and il surmised that the fine particles Of dust
which filled the air were exploded by spark
caused by the crushing of some foreign substance
in the machine.
The details Of the loss and insurance could not
be learned as the Office Of the company, which is
at No. 10 Wall-st., was closed yesterday after
noon. John H. Meyer. who is connected with the
company, however, thought that the loss would
not fall far short of 81 100000. There were in
the various buildings altogether some $4,000 bar
lels of refined sugar, aud 900 barrels in the
cess of refining, all OF which were worth some
s400, 000 The machinery, which included thirty
large horizontal tubular boilers and twenty-elght
engines is the greatest item of loss, as it is eX-
ceedingy somplira1bd and expensive AS
all Of it was destroyed or ruined,
the damage will not fall far snort
of $500 900 The loss on the build
ings will foot up to nearly 100000
as there were nearly dozen different structures,
most of them from seven to eleven stores hlgn.
The amount Of the insurance could not be learned,
but il was said by person connected with the
company that the damage would De more IMAM
half covered by it,
The firm of Dick Il Meyer was organized SIX
teen wears AGO on a small basis, and the business
prpw until two years ago articles Of Incorporation
were taken out and the new refinery and hitter
houSes were built. William Dick, who lives az
Islip. L. l., is president Of the company, cora
Mpyer is vice-pre>ident, and j. ii. Dick Is secre-
tary and treasurer. u.;..-
fbe refinery. when running at its full capacity,
emnlovs some 300 men and rcfines l,OOO,OOO
nornds of snnar day. When the cOnllngratl0n
took Dlace the works were running only aJ h'll
their fuIl capacity, and not more than l2O men
we're employed The officials OF the company
could not say yesterday whether they Woulu IT.
build at once or not