The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-12-17
HALF A MILLION LOST
BY the Ravages of Fire at Prov
idence, x. l.
A Magnificent Business Block and
Its Contents Completely De-
stroyed.

The Occupants Had barely Time to Es-
cnpe with Their Lives. While Two Men
Were Injured by FAiiiag walls.
PRovIDENcE, R. l., Dec. 16.-Just be-
fore $3.50 o'clock Saturday afternoon
cash boy employed by the j. b. Barnaby
Clothing Company, corner OF Westmin-
ster and Dorrance streets, saw smoke
issuing from the cellar. He investigated
and came rushing up the stairs, ex-
claiming that the whole house was on |
are. In few minutes flames burst
from the foor on the 6rst story In every |
direction. Even the occupants OF the
first floor had to hurry In order to es-
cape with their lives, so quickly did the
| FIRE spread. Three alarms were sounded
In quick succession and the flames
mounted upward with such rapidtty
that the occupants Of the second and
third floors had barely time to reach the
FIRE escapes. Women clerks In the cloak
department and customers stood at the
windows paralyzed with fright but they
were encouraged and hurried out BY the
firemen. The Are was so fierce that
fourth alarm was sounded, as 1t was
rapidly communicating with adjoining
buildings. r
The Barnaby company employed 100
persons In the building, some Of them
women in the cloak department on the
second floor and the cutting rooms on
the fourth floor. Alderman Henry b.
Winship, the head OF the Arm, was In
the private office and endeavored TO pre-
vent panic while assisting clerks and
customers to make their exit In the
quickest manner possible. A fire es-
cape had been put on the Middle street
, side Of the building a week ago, and but
for this device many lives would have
been sacrificed In thirty minutes after
I the discovery Of the blaze, the entire
fire force Of the city was fighting the
5 flames and offers OF aid from Pawtucket
and Johnston had been accepted. On
\ the west OF the Dorrance building was
: the smaller Il 7. Root building with
: freestone front, and its roof was twenty
], feet lower than the Dorrance building.
This wall projecting above the Root
d building was the first to fall and II
n crashed in the roof OF the Root building,
wrecking the workshop OF the Plymouth
I Rock Pants Company. in the uppel
!, story.
The roof Of the Dorrance building fel
In soon after and as floor after floor gav'
way It was seen that the long east wall
" fronting on Dorrance street. was likel.
TO fall. One hook and ladder truck wa
4. taken out OF danger and down Westmin
" ster street just in time. Truck No.
however, could not be taken out and tn
h. wall fell into the street with thunder
I'd GUS crash. smashing the truck into inol
70 bits.
Orrin Mowrey, member OF truck Nc
~ Q, and an unknown man were struck b
AZ AZ the falling wall. Mowrey's right le
10 was broken and he was injured In th
20 head and chest The unknown man ha
scalp wound.
u. Soon after four O'Clock the fire wa
~ under control and 1t was then evider
- ~ that it would be confined to the Do
n ,.s rance building. The losses and insu
,.' ance are: Building, loss $4,000, insu
80 ance 500, 900; J. B. Barnaby & Co., lo
10 $500, 900, insurance $500, 200; Taylor, 10
10 =, $4,000, insurance $500; Clarke, 10
IT,, IT, $1,000, insurance 5000. The II. 7. Ro
81. building was damaged to the extent
'ho $1,000 by the crushing OF the roof and
In. water; insured.