Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1891-08-05
A CHURCH FIRE.
The Methodist Church Partially De stroyed by the Overturning of
 Lamp.

About ten minutes past eight o'clock last night, inst after services had commenced at the Methodist church, a large Rochester lamp,
 used in Illuminating the building,
 was noticed to be sending flame
 far above the glass chimney. A
 member of the congregation arose
 to adjust the flame, and scarcely had
 he touched the lamp until the brass
 top, which had apparently been
 melted, came of and the lamp over
 turned. spilling its contents of 8
 gallon of burning oil on the seats
 and carpet underneath, causing
 panic. Women screamed, and the
 entire congregation. with few excep-
 tions, stampeded for the doors. A
 few of the men had presence of
 mind enough to procure such mea- ger articles as were at hand and at tempted to smother the flames, but without success. In the overturn-
 ing of the lamp, part of the burn ing oil was spilled on the back of the coat of man named Sharp, who was sitting in the seat immediately under the lamp, and as the flames al the end of the seat prevented his egress there he started towards the front of the church with the flames shooting up his back and higher than his head. In attempting to get his coat of he sustained serious burns to his hands, while his back and the back part of his head was blistered from the burning garment. With the assistance of NIT. Evans, a member of the choir, he finally suc- ceeded in getting his coat of, thelat- ter being coniderably burned about his hands and head also. One of the members of the choir whose at tention had been attracted to the lamp before it was overturned, leap ed through an open window near which she was sitting, alighting on the outside about the time the blaz- ing lamp struck the floor. As the accident happened in the north aisle of the church near the door, the congregation was left with only one door through which to escape, but the audience being small all managed to get out without any accident except those mentioned above.
 J. NJ. Aitken, a memher of the Dudes hose company, was present at the time of the accident and imme- diately gave the alarm and rushed to the company's hose house, and with the assistance of two others succeeded in getting the cart to the hydrant on the corner of Marina and Gurley streets, where a connection was made and stream WAS soon on the building, the flames by this time having spread through the roof. The other fire companies were also at the scene in very brief time and three streams were at work on the burning building, while the hook and ladder company were do- ing effective service also. Fears that the water supply would give out be- fore the flames were subdued, were but happily were not re- alized. Considering that the com panies all had an uphill pull. they reached the fire in remarkably quick ] time, and many were the comph- ments paid to the department for their quick and effective work. Had the flames made any considerable progress on the outside, A. Eman- uel's residence, which is near the l church, must have suffered, but as it was it escaped without any dam ! age. The framework of the church | is but little damaged, but the inte- rior of the building and the roof is total wreck.
 The church was the oldest one in own, having been built about ;wenty years ago. While an insur- Ince policy was carried for several rears on the building, there has not ,een any on it for the past five or 'ix years. A meeting of the mem ,ers of the church and all others in crested will be held at the parsonage his evening, to discuss the question ,f repairing or rebuilding the struc- .ure.