Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1895-09-13

The progress being so great In these c.rcum-
stances many Of the iremen were Of the
opinion that the fire must have been -moul-
derinS in the walls for hours before it finally
broke out.
First seen. the smoke was issuing from the
windows in the rear Boylston street corner.
1t was no longer confined to that corner,
however. when the llremen got into the
structure, but all over the upper portion Of
the place. 1t had been working in behind
ceilings and spreading throughout the hall.
The flames did not burst into the fire
mems faces as they got upstairs, nor
were many 10 be seen in thu different
rooms. but as time went on. and the walls
and ceiling were broken to get at the seat of
the flames. the smoke and blaze poured out
from between the plaster AID outside walls
in a manner that showed that their work
there had not been OF short duration, but,
rather had been steadily eating through for
long time.
Before the seat Of the flames was reached
the fire had gone all over the roof, front as
well as back and had extended to the rear of
the three upper portions. Below the roof
and banquet hall the fire did not get to the
front of the building at all, but the smoke
and water did. and caused the damage be-
low. lhe spread Of the fire was toward the
front. II it had been stopped in the be
ginning il would not have gone beyond the
centre OF the roof toward the west The work
of the iiremen was eXcellently performed.
The roof was covered with men. and lines OF
hose We're carried 10 adjoining buildings and
poured on the blazing pile from there Chief
Webber personally supervised the work from
the street, and he had seven district chiefs in
side. The work was done beyond criticism,
but at the same time much trouble
was experienced from bursting hose.
Probably more streams Of water broke
loose during the Temple fire than has
been the ease at half dozen large fires
previously. The fremen were consequently
handicapped in this respect. Either the hose
had not been properly cared for or else it
was OF a very poor quality. But this fact
rather added to than detracted from the
good work of Chief Webber and his men.
There was absolutely no confusion or delay.
Everything worked as smoothly Us possible,
and not portion Of the structure was left
uncovered.
The men OF the Edison Electric Light
Company. located just across the alleyWav in
rear of the Temple. have the honor, it is
stated, of getting the first stream on the fire.
The men of the companys amateur fire
brigade ran out a line at the first sound of
the alarm and hoisted IA hose to the roof of
the Temple. Then they turned on Il stream
from their standpipe, and it resulted in much
service to the remen.
At no time was there any great apprehen-
buildings. Nor was there much that the
fire would get below the upper stories. The
only time when, to the spectators below. the
condition of affairs seemed really dangerous
was when a Bangor extension ladder was
raised in front of the building coming several
feet short Of the roof, however. Two or
three courageous iiremen succeeded in
reaching the roof of the build
ing, and though their position was
one of great peril, they held on, until
great sheet of flame, which broke through
the top windows, forced them to beat a
rapid retreat to the adjoining roof. 1t was
peril0us work, as they had to creep along
the coping. and the crowd on the Common.
watching Their efforts, gave Il prolonged
cheer of encouragement.
The tiremen did away with what little fear
there may havs been in this respect. Tney
attacked the fire from every side. and their
points of vantage were continually being ad-
vanced until at noon almost every spark had
been extinSuished. At 2 30 the ''all OUT
was sounded. Three tiremen were Injured
though none Of them severely.
Chief Eagan. whose bravery has so
often resulted in severe injuries fell three
stories from the roof, though fortunately for
the Temple and his men, not until the fire
was under CONTROL and broke his ankle
Lieut.. John f. Madison of chemical was
knocked from that piece Of apparatus by the
water from n bursted hose and. strik-
ing on his head on the paving, received
severe scalp wound. anu it is feared, cuncus-
sion Of tine brain, Ladderman DENIM was
struck by a piece Of granite from the coping
of the building as he was standing on Boyis-
ton street, and was knocked to the street All
were taken to the Emergency Hospital Fire
Commissioner Russell called there later in
the day to inquire after their injuries. All
were doing well. An Emergency Hospital
ambulance was at the corner OF Boylston and
fremont, opposite the Temple during the
whole progress of the fire.
Few buildings in Boston contain so much
of historic value as the Masonic Temple. Be-
side that there were stored there at
the time of the fire something like 1000
regalia, worth it is fair to say, from 800 to
$3.50 apiece. Many of them were new. pur-
chased expressly for the conclave. The Scot
tish Rite reyalia was entirely destroyed. The
knight Templar regalia has deprecated in
in value not so much from fire directly as
from water, at least 33 per cent.
The relics throughout the building,
the portraits and, above all, the valu-