Middletown transcript., 1892-08-18
DELMAR In ASHES.
The FIoursfihs town or 500 Tnl1abits
ants Completely Destroyed,
OVER Sixty HOUSES BURNED.
THE Loss WILL PROBABLY REACH
S125, 900, ON WHICH THERE is AN
INSURANCE OF 500, 900.

The thriving town Of Delmar, situat-
ed on the boundary line between the
southern end of Delaware and Mary
land was burned to the ground on
Tuesday. Thirteen acres Of ground
covered by handsome stores and fine
dwellings are to-day covered with
ashes and several hundred people are
made homeless. Delmar is important
from the fact that it is the terminus of
the New York, Philadelphia and Nor
folk Railroad from the South and the
Philadelphia, WILMINGTON s Baltimore
from the North. All the employees of
the former road and many Of the latter
had their homes in this place.
The alarm of fire was sounded at
2.30 O'Clock by the blowing of the
whistles of the many engines in the
round-houses. The blaze was then in
the postoffice building on the Delaware
side of the town, and might have been
extinguished in few minutes with a
| bucket of water. In a short time the
entire building was in flames.
A strong wind was blowing from
the north and in about ten minutes
the flames had communicated with the
large store of Cooper & Wilson. It
xvo a thar d;anovara1 Ahct 4bo ont;ra
town was doomed if help did not come
from somewhere. A telegram was
sent for the Salisbury fire department,
and in forty minutes the engine and
men were on the scene. On the arrival
of the engine it was found that there
was no place to get water, Delmar
being an inland town and three miles
from pond or water.
The question of water was soon
solved. The railroad companies have
a large pumping-house near the scene
and locomotives were put in line. AS
fast as the tank Of one engine was fill
ed it was run down near the fire. The
fire engine was attached and when the
tank was empty another engine was
run down. While this was being ar
ranged the flames had communicated
to the handsome railroad station, and
before the water could be turned on it
was burned TO the ground. Many Of
the valuable papers and documents of
the railroad were destroyed with the
building. On the arrival of the fire
department the residents Of the town
ceased to fight the fire and turned
their attention to saving the furniture
from the burning houses. The pro-
cess was slow one.
The buildings being for the most
part frame, made an intense heat, and
this, coupled with the heat from the
midday sun, made almost a hell on
earth. The wind increased in violence
and the flames would leap twenty feet
and catch building that was standing
almost alone in vacant lot. Mothers
stood by and saw their homes burn to
the ground without being able to save
anything. Everybody was for self
protection, and persons who were fort
innate enough to have friends and
wagons contrived to get some Of their
household goods out, but many of
these were afterward burned by sparks
being blown into them.
The fire burned twenty houses on the
Delaware side and then leaped across
State street, the dividing line between
Maryland and Delaware, and burned
over forty houses on tine Maryland
side, making a total of over sixty
houses destroyed.
OF course it is impossible to tell ex-
actly what the entire loss is, but it
will reach over 100000, with not
$4,000 insurance. The entire place
was so thoroughly burned out that
there is not store of any character
left standing, and nothing to sell in
the town except what provisions the
people may have who escaped the
fiames
Many families have gone to Salisbury,
Laurel, Seaford and other places
where they might have friends. The
most Of the houses burned were COM
paratively new, having been built
since the completion of the n. Y, P.
and N. r. R., eight years ago. The
loss falls heavily on the railroad en-
ployes, who had built their homes in
this place.
THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRE.
The general supposition is that the
fire originated in the post-office corridor
by a small boy throwing lighted
cigarette into basket of waste paper.
Another theory is that it had its origin
in the upper story of the Knights of
Pythias hall. Be this as it may, the
fact remains that one of the most pros
porous manufacturing towns on the
N. Y, P. & N. railroad, in the south
ern part of the peninsula, is almost
swept from the face of the earth.
After the fire had spent its fury a
number of persons were reported miss
ing, and it is believed that one fireman,
named Charles McCann, and an inva-
lid named Mrs. Ann Rogers, so years
old, were burned. If they were their
bodies have not been recovered. Con-
sidering the magnitude of the fire the
personal injuries sustained We're slight.
Not serious case is represented, but |
there is no telling what will be disclos-
ed when the debris is cleared away.
AID FOR THE FIRES VICTIMS.
: In response to call for aid from the
Delmar sufferers, issued by Mayor
Wiley of Wilmington large meeting
was held in the council chambers yes
terday morning. Mayor Wiley was
elected chairman, Edgar Z. Haynes
secretary and Daniel w. Taylor treas
urer. The chairman's s request for cash |
contributors was met with an imme-
diate response to the amount of 50 900. |
By four O'Clock the committee had |