The leader., 1889-12-07
GREAT FIRE IN BOSTON.
4 Fearful ConfIagration in the
Heart of the City.
Nearly Two Acres of Valuable
Property Burned.

the ringing of bells not in thanksgiving, but
In warning, heralding to the business men in
all parts of the town that flames were raging
in the midst of the most valuable
commercial district of Boston and that
some of the terrors of 1872 were again before
them. For nearly four hours they saw costly
buildings and merchandise go up in flame and
smoke they saw structures that have been
erected in comparatively recent years. with
every improvement and safeguard against
fire. splinter and crash together as though
they were of the most inconsequential mate
rial; and it was only after this long fight
of the firemen who were made desperate by
the fearful odds against them, and after rein
forcements had come from more than score
of the adjoining towns, that the fire was con-
troled
There stood at Bedford and Kingston streets
solidly built six-storied granite building,
owned by Jordan, Marsh & Co., the great
dry goods house, and occupied in part by
them and in part by Brown, Durren &c Co.,
wholesale dealers in notions, and the Woon-
socket Rubber Company. 1t was regarded
as thoroughly fre-proof. Not very long
after o'clock A. NJ. a letter carrier
saw a glare in the upper part of the building
and scarcely had heard the roar of the fire
within before there was an explosion in the
upper story. and. with fash like that of the
discharge of field of artillery, the flames
burst through the shutters and sasheS Of the
There was no time for hesitancy, but it seems
that there some for the alarm
from the fire-alarm box nearly op-
posite the burning building was not rrng in
for several minutes after the discovery OF the
fire. 1t was raining as hard as Boston has
experienced in many years, there was very
high wind blowing, and rything was fav-
orable for a rapid extension of the blaze.
Great buildings were all about, jammed
with valuable merchandise. The flames,
which, it was subsequently ascertained,
started in the elevator shaft, had
full opportunity to obtain pow
erful draft, and in almost as short time as
it requires to write it the interior of the
eCGfice was as a furnace. There was nothing
human which could stop the progress of the
flames northward through the party walls
of the adjoining building of the Shoe and
Leather Exchange, and which were making
this structure as dangerous to the surround
ing property as the first one proved to be.
Meanwhile few engines had arrived but
for some reason the firemen did not seem to
appreciate the enormity of the danger. They
first sent in an alarm for assistance but it was
not until the destruction of the Shoe and
Leather Exchange was inevitable that the
firemen were aroused. Thus the fire had a
headway of quite half an hour before a
force Of firemen which would have been
adequate at the beginning Of the confagra-
ton arrived on duty. The high wind famed
street, a distance of not more than seventy
feet, where they were damned by the corner
building and forced again westward across
Kingston and along Bedford street to Chaun-
cey, where the fire was stopped for time
in the store of Farley. Harvey & Co., the
upper stories of which were burned. Three
stores along Chauncey street were also de-
Stroyed. On the south side of Bedford street
the flames leaEed across Kingston street
from the furnace that still ragged in Brown,
Durrell & Co.'s building to the big sandstone
structure owned by f. l.. Ames and occupied
by Taylor Brothers, completely destroying
it.
1t was not long before steamers from Wal
than, Cambridge, Maiden, Melrose, Law
renee and Haverhill arrived. and some time
after the Providence fire laddies made their
appearance with one engine. Then Waltham
sent in its quota, and it was with full ap-
probation of the pathos of it all that
the engine from Lynn arrived. There
was a cheer which went up when
the boys came in and went to work, though
they haG scarcely had time to recover from
the great calamity which had visited their
own city. But the effect OF their pluckiness
was contagious. Men who had not done
more than their share up to this time bent
their backs, and, with whoop and hurrah
which meant all things save defeat
the firemen, many 90, OF them them badly
with will, and assisted by the storm, made
further progress of the fire unlikely. Up to
this time the number of available men was
TOO small TO surround the district and to fight
the flames from all quarters. The heat from
the flames, too, was more than 1T was possible
for human flesh to withstand, so that the,
battle for the salvation of property was con-
tinued with the flames always in the van and
the firemen in their rear endeavorlng to
quench them from the most unlikely point.
The scene in Bedford street at II o'clock
PrsIal al-c fTnn foil lie
covered the street to a depth of five feet, and
two helpless engines and q water tower
which had fallen victims to the great ava
lanche of stone and brick mutely told
of the terrible struggle which had taken
place to stop the progress of destruc-
ton. AT that hour the fire had supreme
possession of many massive buildings, and the
large freestone block occupying the northwest
corner of Kingston and Bedford streets was
in an extremely dangerous condition. The
firemen worked in and around it at mo-
mentary risk of being engulfed beneath
the tottering walls OF its upper story.
At o'clock thefir was confined to the upper
stories of the two large stone buildings at the
corner of Bedford and Chauncey streets,
occupied, one by Farley, Harvey q Co., and
the other by Smith, Hogg & Gardner. At
times it burned out for a moment, but under
the well-directed streams Of the firemen was
soon Subdued. The fire was then completely
under control.
A careful estimate of the area burned over
before the fire was under control places the
number of square feet at rs, 900. or about one
acre and three-quarters. Seventy buildings
were burned, most Of them being mammoth
wholesale business houses of stone and brick,
fortified by every known modern appliance
for the prevention of loss by fire. The aggre-
gate loss is variously estimated at from 81,
900, 600 to Sc, 10000
The scene of the fire was identical with
that of the confagration of 1872, when the
total Of losses were SIS, 000, 900. The alarm
was rung out, too, from the same box, No.
50.
During the fire fourteen fremen were
knocked down in Kingston street by frag-