The Portland daily press., 1892-01-19
INTO Thu SMOKE.
How Mr.. ]. II. Wolf and His Family
Were Awakened Last Night
WHILE THE STORE BENEATH THEIR
DWELLING WAS BURNING.

Mr.. Wolf is tho Manager of the Massa-
chusetts Clothing Company OH Middle
street-Total Loss a Stock Worth
S10.eOO-Young Men Discovered the
Blaze and Aroused the Family None
Too Quickly.
A crash of heavy plate glass as the big
windows fell out onto the sidewalk. fol-
lowed by puff of smoke and the light
of fire attracted the attention of several
young men on their way home from a
dance at shortly after II o'clock last
night, They found the flames having it
all their own way in the store of the
Massachusetts Clothing Company at No.
Iii Middle street. The store occupies
the front of the ground floor, the upper
stories of the building being the resi-
dence of the manager and principal own
er of the clothing company, Mr.. j. H.
Wolf. The young men who discovered
the fire didn't lose much time in getting
up over the long flight Of steps at the
side of the store to the doorway of the
house above. They rang the bell but got
no response, and then one of them, Mr..
j. III. Donovan, broke in the door and
ran into the house, which was filed with
dense smoke. He made his way up
stairs, and aroused the family. Mr., and
Mrs. Wolf, their seven children and
servant were sleeping in the upper sto-
ries. Five of the children are young.
Mr.. Donovan took one, and the grown
members of the family took others of
the little folks and without waiting to
make laborate toilets, made their way
down stairs to the kitchen which was
comparatively free of smoke. The ser
want who slept in the back of the house
was reused last "a moment more"
said Mr.. Wolf, who had come down
strirs attired in a pair of trousers and his
night shirt and had completed his cos
tune by borrowing Mr.. Donovan's over
coat, land she would have choked in the
smolSe.'' Mr. VOLTS eldest son had also
completed his toilet by borrowing an
overcoat being supplied by Mr.. Martin
Haley who had assisted in rousing the
family Messrs Ward and Quinn also
rendered assistanceaog+Th younger of
the children, one OF them severely i'll
with the prevailing influenza had been
taken to neighboring house by officers
Webster and Sparrow. Owing to the
fact that his shoes and stockings
were up in the smoke Mr.. Wolf was
obliged to receive reports Of the progress
of the firemen's labors from the people
outside. His son was in like fix.
While all this was going on the de-
partment had responded to the alarm
from box AZ and put out the fire, which
had practically ruined the stock of cloth
ing in the store and done much damage
by smoke to the house above. The blaze
seemed to have started in the back of the
store on the west side, running along the
wooden ceiling and burning up into the
flooring of the parlor above. The cloth
ing, lying in piles ON the counters was SO
charred that it crumbled when lifted. In
addition 1t was thoroughly soaked with
water. The woodwork was badly
burned. The origin of the fire could not
be determined last night. The clothing
stock Mr.. Wolf said was worth $4,000 or
$4,000, and as near as he could recollect
was insured for $4,000 or $1,000 in the
agencies of Prentiss Loring, Morse &
Guptill and Dow & Pinkham There
divided between the agencies of Prentiss
Loring and j. H. Webster, and $1,000 on
the furniture in the house. Locked in
the safe in the store was $500 worth of
jewelry. 1t is presumed twas not much
injured.
tNSnI NENNV COiIRT