The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-12-20
SURE WAR HAD COME
Explosion Of Pyrotechnics
Aroused Residents Of the
Heights from Their
Sleep.
THOUGHT IT WAS THE BRITISH FLEET
Charles Gerhard's Firework Factory
on the Meadows Damaged to
the Extent Of $4,000.

Every sleeper on the Hill was awakened
about three o'clock this morning by a
loud explosion. Then came half a dozen
smaller reports, followed by a sound not
unlike the rattle of musketry. When
Engines No. 5, 8 and 10, We're tearing
down Commu nfpaw avenue in answer 10
an alarm Of fire which had been received
The cause Of all this excitement was
a fire in the storage house of Charles
Gebhardt's fireworks factory on the
terminus Of the Hackensack draw bridge
The firemen got to work very speedily,
but could accomplish very ldttle The
rockets and Roman candles rendered the
work very dangerous. A second alarm
e eneIaas. 0 II a aa9fn severn geia cygci Sf Irb before ah Il
dering ruins. from which miniature
THIS h agfe a sP bad eff eject ON the nerves
of the firemen, and kept them ON the
lookout, for. a larger explosion. None
came, however, and a Thorough satura-
ton of the Sheap ~extingalished the last
The building was one Of nine which
feet g sanare. T Tne sn g bu9idings a are mere re
sheds of a single story and constructed
Of rough uimbers. 81 Standing three is9
rounding the plot Of ground, they, al
face towards the centre. Nos. Is and z.
as this salanty was named, though really
one building Is by rs feet, was divided
into two Compartments. OF these. No.
16 contained several HUNDRED packing
s D0Ess in while Taaf ii Nh the II e we're stored UsgS
crackers, Roman candles, rockets, bombs.
and other explosives. of q like nature.
gan, by what means no one knows. Nor
can it be determined when it began, .ex-
esspt that e~yeryThing !. vas : G right when p n
night. The flames shot up from the roof
at about ten minutes before three o'clock;
They shone into the windows Of a small
feet away, where Ludwig Markberger
was sleeping; Ludwig aToke ana saw
hard as he could to send the alarm.
Officer Beatty says no grass grew be-
a Fo him his Is f s sca as IS y e daR 7 te conaitio up
alarm at the time. He pulled box No.
65 and ran to the fire.
It is said today that q large quantity
of giant powder was stored in the build
ing. The single loud report would seem
to support this statement. Ludwig Mark
berger. however. denied emphatically
this morning that there was any giant
powder there. Proprietor Gerhardt was
he be seen at his home. No. 40 Glen
denny avenue. Neither his wife and
daughter knew anything but the bare de-
tails of the accident. They did not hear
the explosion, but were awakened by
Ludwig. who gaIloped up to the door on
a borrowed horse to report to his en-
ployer.
The building itself was completely
wrecked. The roof was blown to splinters
which We're scattered over the fields 70
the east for the space of seven or eight
hundred feet. The fence for a hundred
feet was blown to pieces. Within the
yard but little damage was done. a
few window panes were broken. and In
one house. No. 1. where the hand print
ing press is located, the sash went with
the glass.
Alarming reports that two or three
men had been roasted in the store-house
were circulated this morning. AT Police
Headquarters a story had it that the
bodies were lying in Speer's Morgue.
This was absolutely without foundation.
hi structure was used for storage pur-
poses only. The story probably had it's
origin in the fact hat three men slept
in one of the other buildings.
The sight of the fire was a fine one.
The air was filled with flights of rock
cts and Roman candles, while lively ex-
blossoms of crackers in the fires midst
kept the sparks flying. The air was full
of squihs and crackers. which were
blown UP by other explosions. All this
made a very pretty exhibition which
was too dangerous for the firemen's APP
probation.
The loss is placed at s.. 900 on the stock.
The building was practically worth moth
tpo