Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1894-05-17
BOSTON'S Great FIRE
About Twelve Acres OF Ter
ritory Burned Over.

" lAtdIN COW on lIt lpbhNOll baNSbt,ih
grounds yesterday afternoon and result
the city was visited by the biggest fire since
Thanksgiving Day 1892, and a conhagra-
tion covering a greater area than any since
the memorable one of 1872. While the
financial loss is not a circumstance 60 tbSt
of either of the above mentioned fires, y&t
in less than three hours some twelve acres
of territory were burned over. The base
ball grand stand and beachers, a large |
school house. and engine house, l64 wooden
buildings and 10 brick buildings were
burned and some 1000 families rendered |
homeless. The loss is conseryattvely estl- |
mated at from $500, 600 to $500, ,0O0 although |
one authority puts it at 100000.
Indications are that the fire vas caused
by carelessness and mischief and became
beyond control through stupidity.
There could not have been better place
to begin blaze. The seats in the centre
field had been torn down since last season
and the only 25 cent seats left were those
occupying a triangular position in the eX-
treme right field. When these seats were
completed there were left a great many
shavings and loose pieces of wood. AS it
had not rained for some days, this spot fur
nished excellent ammunition for fire.
The boys set the fire and getting scared
ran away, and thus the flames got good
start.
An officer was told about the blaze and
tried to pull away some boards, but those
gave the flame the start it needed to make
a contlagration. Then it took long time
to ring in the alarm and to turn on the
water, so that it seemed all of 20 minutes
between the first appearance of smoke and
applying the first stream OF water.
The second series of games between the
Bostons and Baltimores had begun before
$500 spectators. But two and half in
nings had been played and the Baltimores
were to take their turn at the bat in the
last part of the third inning when the con-
test was interrupted by flames which
could be seen rising from the right-feId
bleachers.
The occupants of the bleachers feeling
the warmth under them jumped from their
seats in wild amazement and tried to ex
tinguish the flames by tearing the rubbish
and scattering it as best they could, but
the blaze refused to be extinguished and
gathered headway with a persistency
which surprised them, and in u few mo-
ments was exciting more interest than the
national game.
After five or ten minutes of unavailing
work someone suggested calling the fire
department
The first alarm was rung in at All p. NJ
This was followed by a second, third and
!ourth t4:45
The department was slow in getting to
work, and before anyone seemed to realize
ihe danger the flames were beyond control
1t fact, it was at first considered joke.
The spectators began to get impatient
hat such little flame should stop play,
and impatiently cried: play ball. play
oall.n
With the rapidity of a prairie fire the
DANES rushed along.
The ball players ran out toward the scene,
out it was not long before they were forced
pack The flames had gained terrific head
way and the spectacle, though awful, was
most beautiful.
After having thoroughly found its way
nto the 25 cent seats the flames attacked
;he house outside the grounds on the east
side and crawled along the fence All this
lime there was nothing done to protect the
inc grand stand. Not line of hose was
seen, not a drop of water to avert the
threatened danger. Everybody was indig-
lant that nothing was done to protect the
splendid structure.
The heat was so intense that the specta-
lors who had been driven into the left field
corner began to make their way out of the
grounds through hole in the center field
fence. Those who managed to get view
outside of the fence saw magnificent sight
As the massive towers tottered and fell.
Fifteen minutes after the fire was dis
covered the houses in the rear of the ball
grounds were attacked, and within an
hour the whole fence on the right-feld
side, all the seats on the bleachers, the
grand stand and the ticket office, with all
wooden structures contiguous, had been
destroyed. The fire had also burned
., L. tg,T
ceeding southerly had taken all the wooden
dwellings on Burke Coventry and Berlin
streets within its grasp.
Having practically consumed everything
on the right hand side of fremont street
it leaped across to the other side of that
thoroughfare and then proceeded with a
swoop in the direction of RoXbury cross
ing. The northerly boundary of the fire
was Benton street and its lateral bound
aries were Cabot street on one side and the
Providence railroad beyond the ball
grounds on the other.
At o'clock it had reached as far as
Walpole and Stirling streets, and was
burning as If not drop Of water had been
put on it. The district was full Of wooden
houses and the indications then were that
but few of those this side of Ruggles
street would be left standing
The sparks from the fire were flying all
over the northly part of Roxbury setting
fire In many different localities adding to
the terror and confusion which had been al
ready engineered by the blaze from the CEN
tral fire At least fifty houses in the i'm
mediate vicinity of Walpole and fremont
streets had blazing roofs. The occupants
climbed from the skylights with buckets
of water to the roofs, but no sooner had
they subdued a fire on one part than they
discovered one in some other locality, and
finally seeing that their efforts were fruit
less they gave up and left their home To
the fate Of the oncoming flames
When the houses on Berlin street back
of the ball grounds began to go before the
flames the scenes here beggared descrip-
tion. Children were crying for their moth
ers and mothers wailing for their offspring
and it was greatly feared that some of the
youngsters were lost in the flames
A number Of women fell on the street
from sheer exhaustion and had to be car
ried into the various houses in tho ,,icipi+v