Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-05-07
HALF A MILLION.
The Loss in a Big Packing
House Fire in New York.
Block of Buildings Almost
Totally Destroyed.

The Cause of the Conflagration Not
Known-When Once Started 1t Went
like a Flash Owing to the Grease
Soaked Timber and the Explosion OF
Burning Tanks ofTalIow.
NEW YORK, May THE whole block
bounded by First avenue and the East
river between Forty-ffth and Forty.
sixth street, and occupied by Schwarz.
child & Sulzberger, the extensive meat
dealers, was almost totally destroyed by
q fire which started at $3.50 o'clock Fri
day morning and ragged with the ex-
ception of a short interval until nearly
6 o'clock. The block consisted of a
series of buildings four stories high.
Origin Not Known.
The fire started in the tallow house,
but its origin can not be ascertained.
All the rendering is done by steam, and
there was no fire in the building. AT
first sight it appeared as if the flames
were the result of strikers spite.
Twenty-Five of the men employed in the
tallow house struck Thursday and be-
came so threatening that the police re-
serves were sent to the building, but
their services were not required, Mr.,
Sulzberger, Of the firm, said Friday
morning that the fire could not reason
ably be attributed to the strikers. The
difficulty had been satisfactorily settled
Thursday night and the men were to
have resumed work Friday.
Whatever was the origin, the fire
speedily gained Roadway and the seven
large watts in the talIow house were soon
in flames, while a muttled explosion fol-
lowed which scattered the boiling fat
all over the building, giving rise to in
Vulnerable small fires, 50 that in few
seconds the whole building next to the
river was a mass of flames
Soon dozen lines of hose from as
many engines, were pouring water ON
the flames, but apparently without any
effect. In very short time the fire had
pierced the walls, and running through
the adjoining buildings the whole
square block was soon sea OF flames,
the saturated greasy walls making the
structures easy prey,
In the basement of the slaughter
house, which was almost the last Of the
buildings to catch fire, wepe zoo bullocks
and zoo sheep, the property of the New
York Veal and Mutton company. AS
soon as the first alarm was sounded all
the cattle were let loosaoan4 turned pell
nell in droves into NE streets, to be
ultimately herded together and housed
in the stock yards III the vicinity
Broke Out Afresh.
At 4:30 the flames in u measure were
on the down and the tiremen thought
they had got them under control. The
lull, however, only lasted fifteen MIN
utes, when the cOufaGratjOn broke out
afresh, and with renewed yigor. The
firemen became alarmed and additional
alarms We're sent out until there We're
twenty-seven land engines and two
steam firebOats playing upon the burn
ing buildings at one time
BY o'clock the flames were under
control and Chief Bonner, who was in
charge of the fire department. satisfied
himself the fire could extend no further.
The Loss.
The damage cannot be correctly esti-
mated until the books of the firm are
examined. The damage done to the
buildings, which were mostly frame,
will not exceed $500. Mr.. Sulaberger
could not give any positive estimate Vt
the stock on hand or of the machinery,
but said the total loss would be fully
$500, 600 and that it was well insured
Two Firemen Injured.
Two fremen, Levens and Hannigan,
had their legs broken, by falling beams.
They were removed to the hospital.