New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-29
BIG BLAZE IN BROOKLYN.
THE LOSS ABOUT A MILLION.
SMITH, GRAY co.'s CLOTHING STORE GoNIe
OTHER STORES AND HOUSES DE-
S,cPQYEn ANn AMAZED

SrRoYED AND DAMAGED.
The eghtstory clothing house of Smith, Gray
& Co., at Fulton-st., Flatbush.ave.. and Nevlns'
ST. Brooklyn, was totally destroyed by fire ycstcr-
day afternoon, and several adjoining buildings
were partly or entirely burned. The Kings
County Elevated Railroad structure was also badly
damaged. The total loss amounts TO nearly
s., 100000. Edward Conner. the proprietor of a
liquor store at Nevins and Lvngstonst.. was pass.
ing through Fulton-st. at 1888 p m. when he
saw smoke coming from the basement grating Of
Smith, Gray & Company's store. Policeman
Byrnes sent out the first alarm Engines Nos 2d
and responded. The fremen found that the fire
had started in the basement, and that the whole
stock of goods stored there was in flames, and
after pouring stream OF water into the base
ment they sent out second and third alarm
without delay.
The building had generally been supposed to be
| iireproof but it proved not TO be so. 1t was
pentagonal in shape, and had total frontage OK
176 feet in Nevins-st., Flatbush-ave, and Fulton
ST. The depth from Fulton and Nevins sts was
90 feet The first three stories Of Nova
Scotia stone and the upper five of terra Gotta.
yellow burnt brick and iron At the extreme west
Of the building on the Fultonst. front was a tower
twenty nine feet square rising 10G feet
above the sidewalk. The building was
DullJ III lsSS-oJ. Formerly al bnc
floors were of wooden joist. Afterward
freproof floor of brick arches put between
the third and fourth floors The building be-
longed TO Milard F. Smith and w. G. II. RAM
doph, who are members of the firm of Smith,
Gray & Co. Above the five floors the building
was occupied by the Fulton & Flatbush Storage
Company of which Mcssrs Smith and Randolph
are the principal members. There were 400 rooms
devoted TO storage, and 800 of them were rented
TO different persons and were filled with great
variety of goods
When the fremen reached the burning build
ing in response to the third alarm, the flames had
reached the clothing on the first floor, and
dense mass Of smoke filed the whole place. driv-
ing out the men. No flames appeared on the
outside OF the building for two hours after the
first alarm. Streams Of water were turned into
the windows on the three street fronts but there
was no possible access the other sides. Two
elevator-shafts supplied vent for the flames.
One the Nevns-st. side, went to the top Of the
building, and carried the flames through the whole
eight stories. The other, on the Fulton-st. side,
went up only to the third story. The shafts car
ried the fire quickly from the ground to the upper
floors above the iire-wall and the stored furniturc
there caught fire. Then the flames burst out Of
the windows on the Nevins-st. side, and soon tho
whole building was a mass Of fire. Two mora
alarms were sent out and nineteen engines were
soon at work.
The Johnston Building, at the opposite corner
OF Nevins-st and Flatbush-ave., caught fire. near
the roof, and was with difficulty saved To tho
south OF the building in Nevins-st. the three
story brick stables Of /. f. Tillotson, Eleven
horses were taken out before it caught fire. 1t
was. totally destroyed. The stable belonged To
Joseph jefferson, the actor lie refused $4,000
for it within a year. lie also owned the adtoin-
ing building occupied by A. Mclean as vet
erinary hospital. which was also badly damaged
As the flames spread the tower caught fire,
The sight was a striking one The clock kept
running while the dial illuminated by the
fire within. It ran 10 :35 p. m, when the
hands dropped of Five minutes before this the
walls on the Nevins-st side began to fall into the
street Five minutes later the tower toppled
and fell The top went into the building, and
on 10 the adjoining store completely crushing IT.
The middle of the tower fell into the street, strik-
ing the Flatbusb-aye. station of the Kings County
Elevated Railroad The side of the house was
Knocked in and the platform was almost totally
destroyed The mass of bricks falling on the
elevated structure broke down one of the main
girders Of the south track for about fifty feet.
The girder fell into the street and lay the
cartracks. The south stairway was also broken
down. The north track was not damaged, and
after an examination had been made traffic, which
had been suspended because OF the heat was re-
sumed few trains being run by switching all
trains on to the one track at that point. The
Fifth-ave elevated trains on the Union Ele-
waited road were not stopped. The loss to tho
Kings County Elevated Railroad Company
amounts TO $4,000
When the tower fell it crushed the picture-store
Of w ri. Cooper, ir The building one OF
five four-story brick stores belonging TO the Cox
estate, which were occupied by Cooper, the Vienna
Bakery John c. Grcnnell's paint-store, Charles
Websters liquor-store, and Wheeler a wilson's
sewing machine rooms. The upper floors were
used for dwelling apartments. All the stores were
damaged. Coopers place and the bakery were
destroyed, and the iremen had hard work to
keep the pantstore from going. George IOckitt's
grocery store and William Berri's Sons carpet
store were damaged by smoke. row Of houses
in the rear OF these stores, fronting Grove Place.
was damaged, and "a wooden house belonging to
William Berri WAS almost wholly destroyed.
Cinders carried the fire to the houses on the north
side of Livingston ST. block away, and several
families moycd out.
By o'clock the big building with the two
stores on each side of it was nothing but maSs
of smoking brick and iron from which rose pieces
of the wall in some places six stories high.
Two iiremen were seriously injured Be1ore
the flames broke out of the building, Charles
Shea. of Truck NO. 3. was OH ladder trying ~
get a stream into one Of the Fultonst. windows.
No one held the ladder. IL slipped, throwing hlin
TWENTY-FIVE feet to the ground. His head struck
on a mass of broken glass which penetrated tho
skull inhicting compound fracture lie was
taken to the Brooklyn Hospital James Mallon,
If No. zoo Pearst., assistant foreman OF truck
No. :. was struck by the falling wall in Nevins-
ST. and broke his right leg. He was taken to the"
Brooklyn Hospital.
Thomas Burns twenty-seven years old, OF No:
i94 IIicks.st a fireman on Engine No. 3, fell on
the roof Of a house in GROVE Placc, ana received
Peters Hospital
Joseph Sheppard, thirty-threc years old. of No.
I3s Hudson ave- fireman, was overcome by