Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-16
TWO THOUSAND HOMELESS.
Fire Which Started in the Ball Park
Does Great Damage at Boston.


Over a million dollars worth of Boston
property is in ashes, over five hundred fam
lilies of the medium and poorer classes. con-
sisting of over two thousand people are
homeless. and many of them who had not
time to save a portion Of their household
furniture last night slept in the open air.
The fire covered a space of twenty acres.
and. as far as can be learned. six persons
have been injured. but none fatally. The
fire started in the Boston league ball park
in a pile of lumber. which was lying under
the right-field bleachers, directly back Of
first base
In a moment it had leaped up to the seats
and. famed by brisk breeze, swept to-
ward the grand stand. So rapidly did the
flames spread that before the occupants
of the grand stand realized it the fire was
upon them and they were forced to flee.
The left-field bleachers were next ignited
Meanwhile the sparks had fallen upon the
houses on Berlin street and the flames
surged on toward fremont street, reaching
out to the right and left, until the entire
square between the ball grounds and Ire
mont street and extending north from Wal
pole street to Burke street was a mass of
burning buildings. The Sherwin Kinder
garten school house. a brick structure.
checked the progress of the fire for only a
moment, and that. too. was quickly num-
bered among the structures consumed.
The buildings on the south side Of Walpole
down toward Coventry street on that side
OF fremont nearest the ball grounds. They
swept on in this direction for three squares,
as far as Burke street devouring the homes
Of the men and women who were working
with frantic energy to get out their house
hold goods and even before they could re-
move these to a safe place the walls burned
and crumbled down.
At o'clock the entire block along the
west side of fremont street from Walpole
to Burke was brilliant mass of flames,
which swept across to the opposite side
and soon engulfed the buildings for four
blocks
Shortly after o'clock several steamers
arrived from Lynn. Salem, Beverly, Brook
line and Lawrence. and every effort was
made to stop the fire at Cabot street. But
It could not be checked, and not until it
had burned from Cabot street half way
through to Warwick street and north TO
Burke street was the limit of the burned
district on the southeast side of the ball
grounds reached .Ir
While the fremen were fighting on this
side the fire was spreading from Walpole
toward MILFORD place on the southwest side
of the ball grounds. and in half an hour all
the buildings in this block were in ruins
The fire burned on until 1t reached Ruggles
street at one point and consumed the
houses on both sides OF Chapel street and
laid low the structures on Sudbury street.
At Ruggles street on the west and Cabot
street on the southeast the fire was practi-
cally stopped, and at 1870 o'clock 1t was
under control and in no danger of spread
ing further. 1t is estimated that about
100 buildings have been burned and about
500 families rendered homeless.
The new houses of ladder company No. 81
and hose No. Z, on fremont street, We're
destroyed. Alderman Bryants residence,
on Walpole street, and his store, on Ire
mont street, were also destroyed.
A special meeting of the board Of alder
men was called last evening to take action
upon the exigencies of the case, and 1t was
voted n SurnlnS hald
by the trustees of the Johnstown flood for
the relief Of the two thousand people made
homeless by the con1agration yesterday
afternoon. The meeting was adjourned to
today, when some further means will be
devised to aid those in distress.
Prominent insurance men place the loss
at rising of a million dollars and the in
surance at about two-thirds of the loss.