The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-07-31
YESTERDAYS FIRES.
TIE BELLS WERE KEPT GOING
NEiRLYALL THE AFTERNOON.
Many Small Fires Originated from the Fig
Conhagation of tho Ice Houses
row Escape of H. ose IL Man.

ycsteTduy aiNefuoou, anu Nue",
after five alarms hal been rung
in rapid succession, huge
cloud OF deos, smoke was noticed hover
ing over the southwestern ptrt OF he
city. tue residents began to grow excited
aud started out post -hnste to the scene of
tie supposed general conflagratlol.
A terrific blaze In the old icehouses on
Long Pond WAS the ciuse Of all the ex-
element, which did not abate until the
collapse of the buildings.
Shortly before 4 o'clock Yesterday after
noon nan named Frank Staples saw
dense cloud OF SIN ike arising in the air
aud thinking the fire was near by hs
pulled box :l2 at the orner of Oakland
street and Potters avenue. lhs box, a.
though a considerable distance -fren,
the blaze, did not throw the firemen off
tie track AS the smoke proved an admir-
able guide, and the department were
,oon ut the scene.
A Second Alarm Rung.
About three minutes later a man
named Thomas II. Miley rang in an
alarm for the same fire from box 365, at
tie corner OF Jackson avenue
aud Day street. This alarm brought
out additional apparatus, but when the
buildings were burning fiercely
and it was soon seen that any attempt TO
save the structure would be useless, and
the Efforts OF the men were expended
in protecting the surrounding property.
A liyey breeze stirrel up the
burning emi and waited
brands or the blazing wood through the
air. Several houses near by were set on
fire by the burning brands and were
quickly extinguished by the firemen.
Other Alarms Rung In.
Ten minutes later an alarm was sent in
from box 21s for blazes on t he roof Of the
Warren street school house and
On the roofs OF sundry houses near by.
The damage To the schoolhouse will nos
exceed 800 MarSaret Gallagher's house
at IA Ierkins street, WAS badly burne
on the roof: 500 damage being
done A house occupied by Mar
Dngap, IA Peace street, was damaged
slightly. Burning brands fired the roof
oi the house at 10 Perkins street, owned
by j. Dsvine. William o. Woods house
at % Westfield street. aud X. A.
Irsh's house at 22 Sprague street
were also fired and slightly damaged.
The house occupied bv NJ. Ii. Fowler at
IS Wilson Street was threatened with
fire but with the loss of few shingles
was not damaged materially.
Box a,s Pulled
Officer Pioneer sounded an alarm from
box 272 at the corner of Broad and Pearl
streets shortly after the first tumble
Of alarms had ceased sounding.
and such OF the department. as
was not busy on the ice houses
responded and extinguished blaze
on the roof of Caleb Maun's
residence at l67 Pond street. The dam
were there the firemen put out small
blayes on the roofs of houses on A, c, and
Munro streets. which resulted from the
flying embers.
Then Came Box 7e.
Then as general windup to the small
fires box 72 was sounded and blaze on
the house Of John Hopkins was extin-
guished but slight damage re-
sulting, At "a Arch street. III. ):
Capron's house was fired but liberal
douche of water killed the blaze. A
hammock in NJ. L. Munson's yard at As
Arch street was destroyed by tired fire.
brand resting therein.
But, mean while. the ice houses burned
merrily. The flames roared and licked
up the entire structures darting fierce.
yellow tongues here and there and every
where in mad efforts TO satisfy the in
atiable appe tite of the fire fiend.
One of the Buildings Collapsed.
Suddenly the spectators saw a wild
bu st of flame from one of the
buildings. and an instant later
one Of the buildings collapsed.
A cloud of sparks. sprang upward
from the ruins and darted of on
the breeze seeking new fields of action.
The members of Hose IL were in the
building at the time OF the collapse, but
managed to get out without serious H.
jury.
Then followed crash after crash as the
other. buildings fell in burn
ing heaps, each crash accompanied by
dense upheaval of sparks and smoke un-
til all the buildings were fiat on the ground
The attention Of the men was then
gwen to the huge beds of bot ash,s, aud
streams or water were 'pt play
ing on the ruins until 8 o'clock
when the recall was sounded.
who Owned the buildings.
The buildin1s were owned by Robert
Knight, and were erected twenty years
ago. . late years they have been
unused, and il was the attention of the
owner to demolish this structure this
week. Last week an incipient blaze was
extiuguished in one of these buildings.
During the collapse OF one or the build
ings William Orr of Hose il
badly burned on the wrist. Fred
III. Wallace of Hook and Ladder stepped
on nail and sustained asevere aud pain
full injury to his foot. Hose III was on its
way TO the fire in answer to still alarm
when the general alarm began to ring In.
The fire was evidently caused by n
tramp. Captain Harrington OF Hose IL
went over the building Sunday morning
and found tramp sleeping In one or the
sheds. 1t Is thought that the tramp
dropped lighted match in the piles Of
tnnbarK and the blaze sprang from this
source.