Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1892-02-05

Supicu 40 a teneinenJ NY b' D"hiciS' ihio
was cleared of its contents very quickly.
1t didn't burn, though, nor was 1t in Sc
rious danger at any time. AS soon as
the pumps at the station got fully under
motion three good streams were fur
nished. The chief difficulty was to get
the water to the fire. The whole build
ing seemed to be filed with it. Within a
short time after the alarm smoke was
pouring out of the tower. out through
the boarding and from between the states
on the roof. The tower formed regular
draft tube and it was the first part of the
building to burst out in flames. The tim
bcrs supporting it were, however, of oak
and burned slowly, but finally they be-
came too weak to support the spire and
it came tumbling over top first into the
street. 1t looked for while as if it must
smash the old parsonage when it fell, as
the wind was in the northwest, causing
the timbers on the south and east sides
to burn more fiercely than the rest.
Luckily it was carried by the wind in its
The tower fell at about 6 o'clock. Next
the roof gave way, and by o'clock little
remained of the building except portion
of the side walls. The streams not
needed to keep down the flames on the
east side were directed to cooling the
masonry, which received little If any
harm in consequence of this precaution.
The firemen were on duty till past mid
night, when the woodwork of the struc-
ture was pretty thoroughly consumed
and what was left was thoroughly soaked.
When it became clear that there was
no hope of saving the building, VIM. Jack
son climbed up ladder to one of the
main windows of the audience room,
smashed it in, and, entering through the
opening thus made, saved the pulpit fur
nture. How he managed to stay in there
long enough to get it out is mystery.
The furniture is not badly damaged. The
varnish is scorchcd, but the upholstering
remains intact. The rooms in the base
ment were also cleared of their contents
by others. The property saved includes
all the settees in the Sunday school room,
a cabinet organ, a lately-purchascd case
for the library and the 400 volumes of
the library.
The firemen did all that could have been
expected under the circumstances, or I'M
der any circumstances. Chief Engineer
| 81 10
the members of the two companies, and
all worked hard and well till there was
no further call for their services. The
roofs in the vicinity were covered with
snow, or there might have been more
trouble, as the wind carried fire-brands
in considerable quantity to the south
ward. But no other building caught, and
as fires 90. this one was. on the whole,
fortunate. The church itself was doomed
from the first, but the wind was light
and it was comparatively easy task to
keep the fire from spreading.
ORIGIN OF TIE FIRE.
Just how or where the fire caught il
is hard to say. The furnace was startet
up as usual by the janitors about
o'clock p. M, and when they left the
building everything appeared to be al
right. 1t was at first assumed that tn,
fire originated from the furnace pipes
but the present condition of things dOe'
not warrant such conclusion. Jus
, back of the furnace is a cupboard; this
is intact, as is can of oil which stood
there all through the fire. The coal il
the furnace is not burned, nor does tn,
furnace itself show signs of having beer
subjected to an extraordinary heat. Th
most plausible supposition is that TIN
fire began in some unaccountable way il
: the wooden box which brought the colt
y air down from the audience room. Thi
is entirely consumed, and it Is the onl.
g thing about the heating apparatus whicl
= is destroyed or even much damaged,
e this box was where the fire started,
{ is easy to see how it got into the roor
t above. On the previous Sunday tn
choir, who had seats IN the gallery owe
. the main entrance, opened ventilato
n up into the tower to let out the heat, an
:, it is probable that this fact accounts fo
:. the early appearance of the fire in tn
!, tower. The fire must have been in pro
e gress for some time-perhaps for a
e hour-prevous to the alarm. Mrs. Dan
l. ies says she smeled smoke at least tina
n length of time before she knew where
v came from. DR.. smith, who passed til
e building 10 or 20 minutes prior the alarm
lie detected smoke in the air and spoke of
st to his driver.
2 THE LOSS AND INSURANCE.
n The church people valued the buildin
lie and its contents at $4,000, so that Il
h loss exceeds $4,000. The building W;
T. insured for $500 through the agency
II Messrs. Eldredge & Slade. The adjust,
4, was here on Tuesday and paid the flu
ct amount of the policy, together with 81