The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-12-04

learning where the fire was. and
under the direction of Assistant
Chief Denmead and Battalion Chiefs
Geriton and Hogan were quickly at
work on the Exchange place side of
the building.
Under the leadership of John Bren-
nan. Fire Marshal of the Pennsylvania
| Railroad, a dozen lines of hose
were run into the train shed
| in the rear of the new
Office building and the flames
were thus checked in the spread to
the roof of the shed. Superintendent
Brown was on hand and assumed a
general supervision of the work.
When the fire was first discovered
the employees of the company inn
mediately got out the chemical ap-
paratus, but the flames spread so
rapidly that they were of little
use. With all these forces at work
| upon the fire it was not long before
the flames were checked, but they
continued to burn fiercely for some
time.
TRAFFIC SUSPENDED.
During that time travel on the ferry
| and by horse car through Exchange
place and also out of the depot by
train was entirely suspended.
The milkmen and newspaper
men were obliged to cross
the river by the Pavonia ferry,
while horse cars were run through
Hudson street.
The first train left the depot at 6:35
o'clock. 1t was the Philadelphia and
Washington train and was eight min
utes late.
The police arrangements were com
plete, Superintendent Smith, Chief
Murphy, Captains Farrier and Kelly,
and the reserves from all precincts
were on hand.
DAMAGE TO THE NEW STRUCTURE.
A space about 100 by 40 feet in the
roof ofthe new train shed was destroy
ed and a large number of the heavy
glass plates in the roof cracked and fell
to the floor in fragments. About
40 feet OF the sheathing OF the roof Of
| the new waiting room was burned
and the entire old office building and
the entrance to the Desbrosses street
ferry is in ruins.
The greatest damage, however, was
done in the handsome new brick
office building just west of the old
ferry house. The entire eastern end Of
the building is gutted. The western
half was saved by the iron doors
which divide the two sections and
which Janitor Monahan had the fore
sight to close and securely fasten last
evening.
EXTENT OF THE RUIN.
Unfortunately the part DESTROYED
was the part occupied, the officers
having just moved in. On the top
floor was the Engineering
Bureau of the Maintenance
of Way Department.; this is
entirely destroyed. On the fourth
floor were the offices of Gene
raj Superintendent Jackson and
Superintendent Hayward, Of
the motive power department,
These offices were also destroyed.
Superintendent Crawford and Super
intendent Ellinger and the telegraph
department occupied the third floor
with their offices, which were
also destroyed. The second
floor was occupied by the post office
and its contents contents were saved.
The ground floor was occu-
pied by the baggage room.
Baggage Master Duke says
there were only fourteen pieces
of baggage in transit and that was all
saved. There was. however, large
amount of unclaimed baggage which
had been on storage for months.
This was almost destroyed, and the
sidewalk in front of the building was
Uttered with a fine assortment OF
half consumed wearing apparel
RECORDS ARE SAFE.
All the train records, pay rolls and
books OF the company are safe in the
great iron fire proof safes in both
~ = ~kot ArtK1