Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-01-03

Fire broke out in the Artisans Savings
Bank, No. 500 Market street, about 8
o'clock Saturday night and for time
the Clayton House building was doomed
to destruction. The presence Of mind
Of the attaches of the hotel, their cool
Judgment and the promptnoss With
which they succeeded in applying the
hotel hose to the fire, is worthy Of com.
mendation and prevented what might
have been a serious contlagration.
The Artisans Savings Bank is just
above the entrance to the Clayton
House running back and parallel with
the main corridor until it reaches re-
cess IN the corridor at point where the
layatory begins From this recess on the
north side of the corridor which is util-
lied MS news stand, the office Of the
bank can be easily seen from the rear
window. II was in this part OF the bank
and Immediately joining the news stand
that the fire occurred saturday night.
There are large windows running up on
either side the recess in the corridor so
that the reflection from the fire was
easily seen from the hotel.
When several of the guests went into
| dinner at 6 o'clock they thought they
smclled smoke. Manager Willis was
| notified of these fears and he set about
to discover the origin without avail.
The fire could not lie found. Later on
| some of the hotel attaches smclled
smoke and set ont TO find the cause of
ii. Benjamin +. Shaw, the plumber,
together with John II. Herdman,
steward of the hotel, went down into
| tho basement about 8 o'clock to look at
the heating apparatus. When they
were coming up they too smelied smoke.
BY this time Night Clerk j. Writ Willis,
Day Clerk Winks, who were in the
Office, and several guests of the hotel
were all looking for the fire. Messrs.
Herdman and Shaw confined their
searches 20 the basement of the hotel
while the others were continuing the
hunt upstairs.
Finally one of the soarchers got il
into his head that the fire was in the
wine room and Writ Willis started to
get the key TO unlock the wine room
door downstairs. He WIS Just going
down the stairway when Harry Winks
looked through the recess in the CORR.
dor and saw u blaze in the rear Of the
bank.
"lIero's tic fire" lie cried. Then
there was stampede to the scene OF
the contlagration. Writ Willis ran out
to sound the alarm, the hell boys were
sent to notify the guests, while Clerk
Winls darted up the stairway for the
line Of hose which Is on the first sleep
ing floor. II took but few minutes &c
get it unwrapped and then several
other employees came to the aid of inks
and sent the hose flying down the stair
way. One OF the guests turned on the
water when he got the word to do so.
BY this time a sheet Of fame shot ou
from the rear Of the bank, just over The
news stand on the north side of the
corridor, threatening the bed rooms
overhead. The smoke which arose from
the iirc was sitting. Great, denst
clouds rolled out Of the burning build
ing into the hotel corridor, from which
place it made its way to tho uppe
) stories. The smoke was so dense oil
: the first and second sleeping floors as t
: make them almost impossible. Not
} withstanding this fact the guests of tn
hotel showed great presence of mint
and made haste 10 take whatever yalu
/ ablcs they had and hurry to place o
safety. Most Of them ran to tho lowe
!. end of the hall, where they remainej
c in safety until all danger was ovel
G The employees Of the hotel, togethe
: with several guests, were in the mean
n time fighting the flames with the hote
hose, and by the time the tiremen a!
: rived the lire was entirely under contro
! The department did not go into service
: The hotel attaches put out the DANES.
The lirrmen forced an entrance to til
d bank by bursting the glass in the fror
u doors. BY this time Captain Kane an
a Sergeant Buylcy, together with squa
of officers arrived at the bank and r,
IL rused to allow the tiremGn to run the
n hose in the bank. The fire was out al
Il the streams of water would have playC
e sad havoc with the building had Il
IS liremcn turned their hose into the ban
The loss TO the bank is about $1,OO
81 fully insured, There is no loss To Il
(. CLAYTON House.