The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-05-16

Boston, May 15.-By the torch of an
incendiary, tonight over a million dol
lars worth of property is in ashes,
over 500 families of the medium and
poorer classes, consisting of over 1000
people, are homeless. and many of
them, who had little time to save a
portion of their household goods, are
tonight sleeping in the open air.
Women with babes in their arms and
little children huddled close together
have only the sky for a roof, and the
few mattresses saved from the burn
ing tenements for bed, and no pros
poets of a breakfast in the morning.
The fire covered a space of twenty
acres. AS far as can be learned, six
persons were injured, none fatally.
The fire started in the Boston League
park, in a pile of lumber which was
lying under the right-field bleachers,
directly back of first base.
Famed by Il Brisk Breeze.
In a moment it had leaped out to the
seats and. famed by a brisk breeze.
swept towards the grand stand. So
rapidly did the flames spread, that be-
fore the occupants of the grand stand
realized it, the fire was upon them and
they were forced to flee. 1t was sew
eral minutes before the firemen were
at work. The left-field bleachers were
next ignited.
Meanwhile, the sparks had fallen
upon the houses OF Berlin street, and
the flames surged on towards fremont
street, reaching out to the right and
left until the entire square between
the ball grounds and fremont street,
and extending north from WalpoIe
street to Burke street, was mass of
burning buildings.
The Sherwin kindergarten school
house, a brick structure, checked the
progress of the fire for only a moment.
That, too, was quickly numbered
among the structures consumed.
The buildings on the south side Of
WaIpole street, were soon burned. The
flames shot down towards Coventry
street on that side of fremont near
| the ball grounds. They swept on in
this direction for three squares as far
as Burke street.
Sweeps Across the Street.
At 5 O'Clock, the entire block along
the west side of fremont street, from
Walpole to Burke, was a mass of
| flames, which swept across to the op-
posite side and soon engulfed the
buildings for four blocks. By this
time the residents of tenements for
nearly half a mile around had become
alarmed, and were moving their prop
erty into the streets and seeking places
| of safety. So rapidly did the fire eat
its way, however, that those in the
block adjoining fremont street did not
have time to save their household eff
fects and barely escaped with their
! lives. By 6 o'clock the conhagration
| had crossed FTraU1n1t GahO1
Shortly after o'clock. several
steamers arrived from Lynn, Salem,
Beverly, BroOkline and other places,
and every effort was made to stop the
| fire at Cabot street. But it could not
| be checked and not until it had
| burned Cabot street half way through
| to Warwick street, and north to Burke
street, was the limit of the burned dis
tricts on the southeast side of the ball
| grounds reached.
| One Hundred Buildings Burned.
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
| these blocks were in ruins The fire
burned on until it reached Ruggles
| street at one point, and consumed the
! houses on both sides of Chapel street,
and laid low the structures on Dun
| bury street. At Ruggles street on the
west and Cabot street on the south
east, the fire was practically stopped.
and at 1880, the fire was under control,
and in no danger of spreading fur
! ther. 1t is estimated about 100 build
| ings have been burned
Relief for the Sufferers.
The new house of Ladder Company
II and Hose Company No 8, on Ire
mont street, was destroyed. Alderman
Bryant's residence on Walpole street
and his store on fremont street are
also destroyed. Among the other busi-
ness places 1evelled were: ]. ]. Nc
Namara, wines and liquors, Cabot
street.; Daniel Bernhart & Co., ire
mont street, liquors.; Sterling Provis-
ion store, Sterling street; Gray's pho
tographing establishment, fremont
street; Gilmore's block of offices, Ire
mont street; S. c. McEttrick, provis-
ions, fremont street. Councilman Con-
nors lost his house on fremont street
and many Of his effects.
A special meeting of the board of
aldermen was called this evening to
take action on the exigencies Of the
case and it was concluded to use the
surplus of $4,000 now held by the trus-
tees of the Johnstown flood fund, and
which was collected for the sufferers
by flood at Johnstown, for the relief
of the 1000 people made homeless by
the fire.
The meeting was adjourned until to-
morrow morning, when some further
means will be devised to aid those in
distress.
Prominent insurance men place the
loss at 900 and insurance. at two
thirds of the loss.