The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1896-02-06
A CONFEDERATION.
The Quaker City Visited by Dis.
astrous Blaze.
The Hsseltins Boildins, Americas Baptist
Publication Society, Dry Goods store
Of Homer L. BouSslier . Co, and
the Hotel Lafayette Damaged.

PHILADELPHIA, Feb a-The fiercest,
most stubborn and most destructive
fire that has visited Philadelphia in
years originated at $3.50 Sunday morn.
ing in the cellar of the Hazeltine build.
ing Nos 1416 and 141s Chestnut street,
and before IL had been subdued
the Hazeltine building and the
American Baptist Publishing So
eiety's building at Nos 1920
and 1922 Chestnut street were destroy.
Cd, the dry goods store Of Homer, LIE
Boutelier 3 Co., Nos. 1412 and 1414
Chestnut street was badly damaged,
and the rear Of the Hotel Lafayette,
which faces on Broad street, was dam.
aged to the extent of $75, ,OO0 The ap.
proximate total loss by the fire is 81
OTIS, 900, the greater part Of which Is
covered by insurance.
The cause of the fire is not definitely
known. When the flremen arrived the
Hazeltine building was already mass
Of hameA The building wa. several
stories In height with an ornate front
of brick and terra Gotta It was very
substantially built, and at first the
Aremeu thought that they could con.
hne the fire within the walls. The
flames, however, spread through the
building with great rapidity, and the
hre was soon beyond the control of
the department
The rear stories of the Lafayette
hotel lowered high above the Hazel.
tine building and the flames poured
over the wall toward the hotel. By
this time most of the guests in the
hotel had been awakened, and as the
building seemed in imminent danger,
they were warned to leave. Scantily
clothed men and women poured out
into Broad street, dragging with them
their trunks and baggage.
The fire in the meantime had spread
from the Hazeltine building to the
four-story marble building Of the Bap-
tist Publication society and this, too,
was soon mass of flames Like
the Hazeltine building, it extends
$50 feet back from Chestnut to
Sansome street. The Lafayette hotel
has only been recently reopened
after having been altered and
refurnished at cost of $500, 900 The
fremen directed the most of their at
tention towards saving this building.
1t was on fire at least half hundred
times, but the department did spien-
didly efficient work and confined the
flames to the rooms on the eighth and
ninth floors, facing the fire. The party
wall of the Hazeltine building, tower.
ing three stories above the dry goods
store of Homer, LIE Boutelier s.
Co fell in upon the latter place and
crashed through skylight in the CEN
ter of the store into the cellar. The
fremen, however, poured great vol.
ume of water upon the smoking mass
Of bricks and saved the store from de-
struction. 1t was not until the Hazel.
tine building and Baptist building had
been entirely destroyed, and after five
hours hard work, that the fire was
subdued.
Eight or nine firemen were injured
by falling bricks, but none of them
was dangerously hurt Frank Hines,
of Pittsburgh, guest at the Lafayette
hotel, in descending the stairs, tripped
and fell, breaking his arm and several
ribs. These were the only casualties.