St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-08-18
BIG FIRE AT MCINDOES.
The Connecticut River Lumber Company
Sustain Big Loss

Fire was discovered in the box
shop of the Connecticut River Lun-
ber Company at McIndoes at 1.3O
Tuesday morning. Before the alarm
could be given the whole box shop
was ablaze and for the next six hours
the flames devoured the big piles of
lumber where were stored from
100000 to 100000 feet, most
of which was already sold.
The loss is from $4,000 to 100000
and the insurance 100000.
The fire was discovered by Night
Watchman Emery. He'visits the box
shop every hour of the night and had
gone down to the mill to eat his lunch.
AS soon as he saw the light he hasten
ed to the box shop, but before he
reached there it was all on fire. The
alarm was quickly given, but with
no means of fighting fire the people
were powerless to stop the progress
of the flames. Help was summoned
from Barnet, Woodsville, ST. Johns
bury and Lyndonville.
The Barnet company drove down
in 80 minutes and were the first fire.
men to arrive. The St. Johnsbury
company were ready to go at 3
O'Clock, but were delayed here two
hours because there were no fat cars
in the yard Chief Bragg and about
so fremen, with the Deluge engine
and Hose cart No. 5. and the Tiger
engine and hose cant from Lyndon
vile with about % men, reached
McIndoes at about 5 O'Clock, and
together with Barnet and the
Woodsville companies did val
liant service. About all they could
do was to deluge the houses adjoin-
ing the lumber yard, which would
undoubtedly have been burned if the
engines had not been there, and even
then the house belonging to the Sui
livan estate caught fire once. For
tunately there was no wind TO drive
the flames towards the river where
the company's mill is situated, or
towards the village which lies west
of the lumber yards. There was
also dense fog, and the houses were
covered with dew. 1t was over II
hours before the big piles of lumber
had burned up, and Wednesday night
the timber was still smouldering.
The cause of the fire is unknown,
though incendiarism is limited at.
From the fact that it caught so soon
after the watchman was in the box
shop, and only a few hours after
Supt. Philo Van Dyke had started
for Beattie, Me-, some think it was
set. # it was not set it probably
caught from a hot box in the ma
chinery, a frequent cause of fires III
mills.
The Connecticut River Lumber
Company is one of the largest in New
England and has mills at six places
along the Connecticut river. They
will rebuild the box shop, though fol
a time their business here will bt
greatly hindered. The mill was built
in 1876 and this is the first fire they
have had here.
The insurance on the property wa:
$4,000. George NJ. Stevens & Sor
Of Lancaster carried $4,000 as fol
lows: Royal Insurance Co. of Liver
pool, $25OO; Pennsylvania Fire In
surance Co. of Philadelphia, $500
Granite State of Portsmouth, N. H.
$25O0; Hamburg Bremen of Germa
ny, $1,000; Travellers Mutual o
Concord, n. H., $500; Peoples o
Manchester, $1,000; Queen o
America, $1,000. P. D. Blodgett & Co
of St. Johnsbury carried $4,000 il
these companies: Springfield o
Springfield, $25OO; Phoenix of Hart
ford, $25OO; North American o
Philadelphia, $25OO; Etna of Hart
ford, $25OO; Guardian of London
$500; American of New York
S25OO; Home of New York, S25OO
Continental of New York, $1,000
Mechanics and Traders of New York
$500; Hartford Of Hartford, $1,000