The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-12-07
GEORGE w. CHILDS' LOSS
Public Ledger Building Badly DAM
aged by Fire Last Night.
WILLING HANDS TO THE RESCUE
Grand Work by the Firemen Prevented q
Total Loss = But $3.50. 900 May Not
Cover the Damage-The building II nd
Been Extensively Repaired.

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. THE Public
Ledger building at the corner OF Sixth
and Chestnut streets, was badly gutted
last evening by fire and water. The dam
age by fire was confined almost entirely
to the composing room, situated on the
top floor, but torrent Of water poured
down through the building, flooding
every floor. The loss will probably be
between $3.50, 900 and 100000.
The building is ss feet front on Chest
nut street and 237 feet depth on Sixth
street, and Is q five story brown stone
with mansard roof. About quarter OF
six one Of the clerks in the business Office
detected the odor of smoke.
Firemen who had just extinguished a
fire in the prothonotary's across the way,
were called in and they found the cellar
beneath the business Office to be a mass OF
flames. That part of the cellar had been
the building to store their tools in and
was filled with rubbish OF all sorts. The
fremen turned in an alarm and began to
fight the flames.
The rubbish fed the flames and the fire
swept through to the back and burst out
building. The flames sprang up this
chimney and
Burst Into the Composing Room
on the fifth floor through the windows.
The few compositors at work had already
escaped to the street. Meanwhile dozen
steamers and hose carts and trucks were
arriving at the scene.
As the fire gained headway every one
around the establishment, volunteers
from other newspapers and the police, be-
49, salx Ill t..Ix 4
burning structure. The files Of the paper
were all saved and the many rare and
costly articles in Mr.. Child's private
Office were carried out. A dozen streams
of water were turned on the fire In the
cellar and the flames were soon extin-
guished. The flames In the composing
room, however, created great havoc and
and o'clock the flames burst through
the mansard roof and shot up in great
column.
At about this time Mr.. Childs and
friend, Anthony J. Drexel, the banker,
arrived at the scene. Mr.. Childs watched
his building go up In flames. He told
his employees what to do In the way OF
providing for issuing . paper. Engine
after engine kept arriving and q deluge
OF water began to fall upon the roof OF
the building. Fortunately the wind was
light and the flames did not spread very
rapidly.
A high cornice on the Sixth street
front acted as a wall to prevent the flames
spreading along the roof to the south,
and on the west the solid wall of the
Land Title and Trust Company's build
ing stayed the progress of the flames. The
fremen got the flames under control by
7.30 o'clock.
Torrents of Water.
however, had poured through the build
ing and the interior was flooded. The
water ran down through every floor into
the press room and ten inches of water
rose about the presses. While the FIRE
was still burning Mr.. Drexel made his
way to the rear OF the fifth floor. When
he came out he announced that but little
damage had been done In the rear OF the
building. The firemen were spurred to
greater efforts by the announcement that
Mr.. Childs intended to distribute $1,000
among them for preventing the total de-
struction OF his building. The greatest
destruction by the fire was done to the
composing room, which was completely
burned out, and the roof went with II.
The ground floor front was occupied by
the business Office and Mr.. Childs' private
Office. The handsome business Office suf
fered badly from water.
Recently Mr.. Childs had made extensive
alterations and repairs to the building.
With the exception OF presses, the Led
ger has a complete newspaper plant at AIS
Locust street. Mr.. Childs accepted the
offer Of VIM. NJ Singerly to print his pa
per from the Records presses. The bus-
ness department Is now operating in the
Drexel building. The cause of the fire is
unknown.