Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1894-06-08
BURNED 8 ACRES.
LaCOnia, n. H., Visited
by a Big Fire.
LaConia Car Works and Foundry
Nearly Wiped Out.

4 lire that hrpk" out at 3 O'rlork "a. m. at
the Larunia, y. H., Ear Works destroyed
over 100000 worth "f property. Th" car
rompany's loss ia ui"~ tire" large buildings
IN the passenger ear department, their entire
mallrahlr iron foundry plant with patterns,
"tr. also two small dwelling h"Us"~.
Considerable damag" wAs don" To- Il large
tenement building and other shops. and sew
raj passenger coaches and electric street cars
IA the process of construction aud nearly
completed were burned.
General Manager l"lrlry Putnam estimates
til" value uf the property destroyed at ?75,-
0OO on which was an insurance OF :i9. 500.
\ large refrigerator hulding and office,
owned 10y the swift Beef Company, IS II total
loss, with contents valued at -l0. .O00 and in
-urrd for S5,JOO.
thrcr-story tenement. owned by Orvillc
\. Atkinson 81 Boston. is also II total loss
value r.timated at : 800 insured for about
$1,000 in Ma-sH"hu.ctts.
The fire started IN the paint shop at the ear
works There ar" Indications of incendiar-
ism. n the watcEman iu~pr ted the building
ju-t previous to thu discovery OF the flames.
Manager Putnam state, that the ear works
and foundry will b" rebuilt at once.
The fire was the most disastrous that La
"pniu has cNpcri"nr ii IN years. Only the
fact thai heavy showers drrnrhrd adjoining
bindings saved the city from Il general con-
hagratiOn.
chief Engineer George 4. Sanders huding
the fire spreading beyond control trlegrnphed
to Concord for aid. \ steamer ana hose car
ringc with thirty men. Chief Davis aud As
Sistant Engineer Brown came on special
train making the run ut twcnty-cight miles
in thirty-iivo minutes. The SOuth-bound
Canadian express was he'd AT Laconia to
keep the line clear.
The Concord ilrrmcn were not needed,
however, as the flames were under control
when they arrived. In aIiitiun to the losses
already reported. SruIry Of wOrkmcn in the
rarshopS lost valuable kits Of tools. the in
diNiiua LOSSES IA 'rmc cases running as high
~ 5000 on which there was no insurance.
Nearly all II tn" furniture and household
goods in the Atkinson tenement block We're
. cpnSumrd. ~ the fire spread so rapidly that
there was no tim" to remove the goods, which
| ware not inSuirl John Kelley and James
: GIpatrick. tenants In the premises adjoining
| thr pant shop where the fire started lost
everything. their families barely escaping
with their lives in their night clothes.
cottage near the Swift Beef Company
| building, owned by Charles W. Stevens, was
damaged by water loss, $500.
The most serious blow Is the destruction of
| the mallrublr iru" foundry, which was
| crowded with ord"rs. 4 temporary struc-
| tu"r has been erected over the large ovens,
ilIll Inc NIlbl' Nv ,tlubl' lOF'tNlll Ih' put
work Immediately to crar the debris. Orders
! for lumber are already given and and it is ex-
pr Ted that til" work OF rebuilding will COM
| mrncc in a day or two.
Tine burnt territory covers eight acros,
| from Water street to the Concord 4 Montreal
railroad trail About lj0 men are thrown
ont Of employment; This i the third fire
| which the ear company has suffered within n
| few years.
Among the lircs Of property destroyed
| were two narrow gauge ears for the Wor-
! rcslcr 4 Shrewsbury railroad, and one pas
Srugcr coach for the Montpelier & Wells
! River railroad. finished aud ready for ship
| mont Six electric street cars for the Brook
! Ign street railway would have been com
| plctcd In n few days. and others were in va
| riOus stages OF construction.
Wallace Brothers. contractors, had Just
| commenced work on u large iOur.stOry brick
! addition to the mallrablc iron foundry. This
was damaged by the burning OF doors and
window frames. etc. to the extent Of $500.
Thousands of spectators visited the scene
Of the conilugratiOn. There Is considerable
discussion and fuult-'lndng in regard to the
scarcity Of water from the hydrants when the
| lire broke ont. tn managers Of the water
works claim there was plenty Of water in the
reservoir hut for some reason the force was
| aot sufficient to thruW n stream more than Il
inct There was also much d clay In summon
ing .lrcmrn from the Ward 6 department
which IL only one mile away. The city coun
eli will probably now take action to extend
the ilrc alarm service, as urged for some
months By Chief Engineer Sanders.
The thrca-4tory building ncn: the passen-
ger department. which is crowded with hun
lrcdS Of tenants, caught several times, but
was saved, although In Il damaged cOndi
ton.