Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-10-25
FIERCE FIGHT With FLAMES
A Fire That Caused Firemen
Much Trouble.
THE LOSS WILL REACH $4,000
Dressed Beef, Hide and Tai
low Destroyed.
Serious Fire Friday in the Wilmington
Abattoir-.A Tnliow Factory and slaugh-
ter House Also Burned--i.oss, 100000,
Fully insured--GOOd Work by the Eire-
tnan


mon.
Fire broke out in the slaughter house
adjoining the establishment of the Will
mington Abattoir and Cold Storage Go.
shortly after last Friday evening, and
burned with such fury that the build
ing was partially destroyed before the
tiremen arrived. As far as can be
learned the fire originated from a
dynamo and was communicated to tho
building by means of revolving belt,
which extends to the machinery in the
engine room. The flames were also
communicated to the elevator shaft at
the southern extremity of the slaughter
pen, and the fire shot up the shaft with
such rapidity that the building was
soon enveloped in mass Of leapin5
flames
Charles Miller, the night engineer, was
the first to notice the flames. He says
he heard report much similar to an
explosion, and looking towards the
building where the dynamo was located
he says he saw the flames bursting out
through the elevator. Soon the blaze
broke into coniagration and he real
lied that the building was in imminent
danger of destruction. He notified
Officer Kelleher, who in the meantime
had noticed the flames, and turned in
an alarm from box No. 212, at Third
and Tatnall Streets The officer says
that when he reached the box to turn
in the alarm the fire had reached such
proportions that the whole sky above
the burning building was read with the
reflection of the flames. A first alarm
was deemed insufficient to draw out the
fire department, and second and then
third alarm was turned in. This
brought out the entire fire department,
and the changing of the bells and rattle
of the engines brought hundreds of
people to the scene of the contlagratlon.
The fire was difficult to reach when
the tiremen first arrived. The cold
storage department and the slaughter
house of the Wilmington Abattoir and
Cold Storage Company are located south
of the large alley which runs east from
Tatnall street between Second and Third,
half way to Orange. North of this
alley are all the offices of the company
and other departments used by the firms
interested in the cold storage establish
ment. The fire did not get above this
alley. 1t was confined exclusively to
the buildings below the alley, but the
damage done was considerable.
The slaughter house and the cold stor-
age department adjoin one another, and
are situated almost in the midst of the
block bounded by Second, Orange, Third
and Tatnall streets. The one-story build
ing of the Wilmington Hide and Tailow
Association starts ut Tatnall street and
nj MN tltis Io-
partment and the engine rooms is
the elevator shaft and the dynamo,
about which the fire occurred.
The slaughter house runs back
to the alley leading off Tatnall street,
and forms an l., with the building of
the Wilmington Hide and Tallow Asso-
citation. The cold storage department
begins at the engine room and runs
south toward Orange street. tits reached
by an alley-way running in from Second
street. The fire, it will be seen, was
hemmed in by buildings on all sides
and was difficult fol the firemen to
reach. Besides. the houses on Tatnall
street extend back to the westerly side
of the slaughter house, and these were
| in danger of destruction at one time.
The tiremen were handicapped by rea-
son of the unfavorable location of the
burning building.
The fireman aimed their streams at
the burning building and, after some
difficulty, succeeded in getting the
| flames under control, but not until the
building was partially destroyed and
the machinery in the engine rooms
partly ruined. While the fire was raging
the occupants of the ratnall street
dwellings were busily engaged in carry
| ing their articles of furniture to the
westerly side of the street, where they
were left until after the fire was over.
Some Of the articles were stolen during
the progress of the flames.
Tatnall street, between Second and
Third, was crowded with people. Chief
of Police Delan, Captain Kane and a
squad of officers were on hand early
and did all they could to drive back the
crowd. Ropes were stretched about the
burning buildings and at the end of the
alley-ways and no one allowed to pass
the line but persons wearing fire badges
and newspaper men.
The iiremen struggled manfully with
the flames for fully an hour and by
their interchangeable efforts much Of the
| plDllClbJ hHo ouNSAs
building OF the Wilmington Hide and
Tallow Association was filled with
thousands of pounds Of tallow, and
hundreds of hides were in the burning
building. The tallow, being Of an i'm
tlamable nature, burned furiously, and
made it difficult for the firemen to eX-
tinguish the flames. In the cold stor-
age department II number of the
butchers and merchants OF Wilmington
have goods on cold storage. In the
beef department 100 dressed cattle were
hanging up and were smoked and
scorchcl by the flames. The principal
loss will fall on Sawdun & Thomas and
Joseph Gould. Quigley & Mullin had
several hundred pounds of butter in the
cold storage department, some of which
was not damaged.
1t was difficult to obtain an accurate
statement OF the loss on saturday, as
the members of the company could only
furnish an approximate statement Of
the damage. The total insurance on
the buildings, machinery and contents
is 100000. An appraiser said Saturday
morning that the loss on the whole
would be about $50 per cent, or $4,000
Something About James Boyd.
~ not f,f tho Tnnet