The evening world., 1895-08-12
In the Densely Populated Frank.
lin, Willow and Callowhill
Streets.
FOUR FiReMEN ARE INJURel
Two Girs lump from the Secon
Story Of Factory-The
Buildings Are Old.

| PHILADELPHIA, Pa, Aug. l2 1saSU III
Philadelphia was visited this morni ~
with the biggest confiagration expcA
| enced IN the past twenty years. Oy ~
| twenty-five dwelling houses were gutteSN
as well a many stores and factories.
1he district visited Is one of the mosN
densely populated in the city, the dwell 4
ings are old and caught like, tnder.
| In less than an hour from the first
alarm half the BLOCK was in flames.
The general alarm was rung fifteen
minutes after the flames were first dis
covered
| The fire originated about $50 O'Clock
this morning in the rear of Brown, Bal.
ley & Browns paper box factory, on the
corner of Franklin ard Willow streets.
The first intima lion was a high tongue
of flame which shot up, and in few
moments the entire factory was ablaze.
The surrounding dwellings were soon
| in the same condition. Nos. 40, Ala
4l6, AIS, 42O, 422 and 42i Franklin street
were mass of ruins when the flames
changed their direction and four small
houses on Willow street shared the
same fate
| From this point the flames increased
in fury, and this prevented the ilremen
from doing efficient work. Willow
street. which is very narrow, could not
| be approached; and the flames leaped
across the street, setting fire to the
| dwelling-houses opposite.
In the mean time the big picture fac
tory of Buck e Co, a five-story build
ing. caught fire and detied all the ef-
forts of the firemen to control the
| flames. The fire spread on the upper
part Of Willow street with alarming
| rapidity, and soon burned through into
Callowhill street, where the firemen for
, the first time were able to get a good
stream of water on the burning embers.
House after house was, completely gut
| ted. but the Department was handi-
capped. The heat was terrific, and the
factory of Buck & Co. was a mass OF
ruins thirty minutes after the flames
| first caught the building.
! Three small stores adjoining on Eighth
street were quickly burned to tho
ground before the fremen We're able to
stop the progress of the flames in that
direction.
At the time of the fire the factory Of
Brown, Bailey & Brown contained many
girls, two of whom in alarm jumped
! from the second story, but escaped un-
hurt. 1t is not thought that any OF
, them were burned.
1t is reported that three mem were seen
to come out OF the factory while 1t was
abldze and return again. They have
not been seen since. Owing to the con-
fusion that exists it is impossible to
confirm this.
Four flremen were injured and con-
veyed to the Hahnemann Hospital. An
engine was overturned while proceeding
to the fire, but the firemen were not
seriously injured. Several of the fire
men were overcome with smoke, and 70.
ce.ved immediate attention fro Police
Surgeon Andrews and his assitsants.
who arrived on the scene shortly after
the fire first broke out.
The damage at the present time can
not be estimated. Brown, Bailey h
Brown place their loss a $l5O,O0O. while
Buck & Co. will lose in the ne.ghbor-
hood of 100000
Shortly after 1870 the wind, which
had been blowing strongly from the
northwest, died down and the fire was
soon under control.