The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1890-07-19
PARALYSIS OF TIE WIRES.
FIRE DESTROYS THE GREATEST TELB-
GRAPH CENTRE IN THE WORLD.

western Union's Lofty Operating Room and
Battery Room "a wrecE-ShvinE Life aud
Fighting Fire 1S5 Feet Above tho street
"A Spectacle That damned broadway,
md - Loss That Crippled Business Like
tho Biiz1ard-D Did nn Electric Light Wire
start Nt-PIenty OF Water, Luckily
FIrst Use of tho Fire Gun for Life Saw
InE-The Company Thought tho Building
was "Fireproof 4" - starting Up BIg
Branch OnceH 20 do tho Work, aud nor-
rowing Electricity From Out OF Town.
From the day In 1872 whom tho Western
Union Telegraph Company began business at
lg5 Broadway its ten story building there has
been o sort OF nerve centre Of tho Cnitod
States. Into Its rooms ran 1000 wires that
reached. either directly or by connection with
lesser centros into every inhabited place OF
the globe. Once all those norvcs ceased throb-
bling. That was on Blizzard Monday, 1888
After o few days the many lines OF wires were
restored to their full activity. Yesterday they
we're paralyzed again. fro born Of tho
same electricity which gave them life. twisted
and melted them. destroyed the great switch
board that directed their energies and the ap-
paratus which made them vocal. and ruined
utterly the three floors OF the building In
which the far reaching telegraph system was
centred-the greatest telegraph centre OF the
world.
How the fire started no ono can explain eX-
cent as n guess. Two men who were in the
battery room on the sixth floor little before 7
o'clock in the morning saw flame running
along wire In that part Of the room near the
western windows. These men we're james
Larrisey, q 70-year- old Waterman and james
Dowd, q battery tender. From what Dowd
tells his supeIiors Of how the fine line OF fire
ran along the wire. fed hunErily on the rubber
and paraf1lne insulation, and could not be put
out BY water. hand Grenades or patent ex-
tinguishers. It Is believed by tho managing
officers that the wire must have been crossed
somewhere by an electric light wire. At any
rate. 1t carried more electricity than Is sup
Piled to O telegraph wire. and 1t burned the in
eulation fe:cely and fast.
Telegraph wires entering the Western Union
building are not sheathed with any insulating
substance except inside the building. II they
were the insulation ut tho point Of contact with
the electric light wiro in the ST. eet-r erlaps
miles away-might have been set aname. and
the damage would have begun and ended
there. AS it was, the supercharge OF the cur
rent had nothing to make fire Of until it
reached the battery room at 195 Broadway.
But there 1t had plenty of material. The bat
terry room was one mass OF wires and tho lttlo
FIRE which Larrisey and lowd saw consuming
this particular wires insulation soon spread
to tho rubber coats Of the other wires and then
the fame rose to the floor OF tho room above.
This was the operating department 1t ex-
tended the length and width OF the seventh
story There were 500 tables there. some nav
ing more than one transmitting instrument. SO
that In oil there were 1000 instruments. In
the centre Of the big room was the distributing
ring table whence messages were distributed
to the operators. Near tho ring was tho
switchboard, the largest in tho world.
HOME TALENT SOUGHT TO CHECK THE FIRE.
Some thirty photographers were in tho opcrat-
ing room. 1t was Just in tho lul between tho
changing OF tho night force for the day force.
Work was slack. Perhaps there were n hum
dred small messages In hand for out OF town.
Tho door at tho Broadway ond OF tho building
at what Is called tho eastern staircase was
open. but as yet none OF the mon on tho day
shift had come. Tho door ut tho other end
leading 10 tho western staircase which Is used
exclusively by women, was open, too. and
through 1t had come three women who begin
their work Mt A. NJ. instead OF g. and thus get
away earlier in the afternoon. These women
were Mrs. NJ X. Adams, Miss Emma Anderson,
and Miss Anna Foley. They had Just got in
and were not yet Mt their places when Operator
A. NJ. Lewis smeed rubber burning. Neither
he uor any of tho others in tho immense room
had been warnel bv either DCwd or Larrisey
who wero down stairs Vninly fighting the fire.
Soon after Lewis shifted tho unmstakable
odor OF burning rubber it was detected also by
Others Then they saw smoke coming up
through the aperturcs in the floor through
which the wires passed from tho battery room.
Lewis and Night Manager Tobin ard Watch
grenade, and smashed them on tho floor in tho
flames. 1t was OF no avail. They tried tho FIRE
extinguishers. but they were useless also.
Next they got the fro hose. and. aided by
Others tried to throw water on tho growing
fire. Some OF tho hose pipes were SO old that
the water burst theni.
All this time the OF hers in tho room thought
that the fro would DO of little consequence.
The women stood by and encouraged the ANA
teur fire fighters in their work.
FIREMEN SUMMONED At LAST.
fre.ty soon though. they all saw that thoir
efforts were not sufficient, and then Tobin Or
dered Messenger Martin DoyIo to hurry down
stairs and have an alarm sent ont. poylo half
tumblod down the winding staircase that runs
from tho seventh floor to tho fifth and thcn
took the slraiGhtor flights that 70 down tho
rest Of tho building. IIe yO!od Fro" at every
landing and his voice WAS tho first that raised
the alarm and told tho cleaners on tho various
floors OF the danger. Doyle finally reached tho
street and from tho open box at tho corner
sent ont tho signal.
Several other reoplo learned OF tho fire just
about nj this tImo and sent out alarms i. j.
DouGherty. tho night man in tho American
Di-trici Messenger oillce, On tho tist floor Of
Tie Western ntOn building, sout ont ore;
Messenger Boy ISi, Dennis Gum, aud Mos
senger Soy i23 Timothy Mccarthy. Of tho lioy
street ofico, scuTrIed 10 Broadway and Maiden
lane. and Gum pulled tho hos there; A. g.
WicKs, shipping clerk ut &c Cortandt street
ran to tho engine house ut Fulton and Church
streets, and Il Is said that TWO or three police
men also used tho signal boxes. Any way, it was
1907 \. VI. whom he first alarm WAS sounded,
and Tery promptly there WorO engines az tho
MIGRANTS near by.
While DOVE. tho messenger 10y sent by
night Manager Tubin on tho most important
errand hO had eyer ha l. was making his fast
tglp TO tho alarm box. Tobin ana mis- men and
tho three women were making w their minis
10 cel out Of the operating room. Tho women
went down lhelr staircase all right. though tho
smoke that blew Into 1t from tho battery room
was almost sIihing. Most OF tho men went
down the eastern staircase safely. 1.-Two. how
ever. who fingered to save some records. found |
Mlt mo ilIo had Reached cut to the staircase, so
mat they could nor down that way. he |