The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-12-21
FIRE CAUSES A PANIC.
Flames on Barrow Street Drive
seantily Clad People Out
Into the Cold.

A fire which threatened to destroy the
collection Of frame houses and sheds
which stand on the northeast corner Of
Wayne and Barrow streets broke out last
night at half-past eleven o'clock in the
saloon Of Patrick J. Kern, at No. SIS
Barrow street.
Kern's place adjoins Woods Hall on one
side and is connected on the other by a
succession Of frame sheds which have
been converted into stores. and which
extend and practically connect with the
house OF J. keany at Wayne and Barrow
streets. Thu little stores extend into the
rear of houses fronting on Wayne street.
the owners of which have long been ex-
pecting a fire to break out and sweep
HE corner.
The building occupied by Kern is a two-
story frame. The second floor was occu-
pied by a Polish family, the front room
being gwen UP to-. a Republican club.
Kern's store is heated by a large stove
and as near as can be learned the fire
was caused by the stove becoming over
heated. The flames spread rapidly and
shooting through an extension set fire to
the sheds in the rear. Before the firemen
arrived the whole collection Of frame
houses seemed to be on fire. So solidly
built up is the corner that hose had to
be stretched through passage ways from
Wayne street and Railroad avenu before
a stream could be turned IN the burning
build ngs- Occupants Of all the houses in
the ne~ighborhood became terrified when
the discovery was made that Woods Hall
was on fire.
p. H. O'Neill who lives in a three-stery
briclN house in Wayne street next to Mr.,
Keany, became alarmed when he noticed
that flames We're creeping toward his
house. With the assistance of iremen
he began to remove the most valuable OF
his effects. Mr.. Keany, who keeps a
ho1ar clnn IN the p~arind A0ar of he
house and occupies the second floor, also
became alarmed when the heat began to
crack the window panes in the rear of
mis- building.
A family occupying the top floor of the
house sought safety in the street shortly
after the fire broke out. The woman.
seantily attired, rushed into the street in
ger bare feet, carrying a baby in her
arms. She was taken care OF by neigh
bors.
For half an hour it looked as though
every building on the corner would be
1sstroyed. Streams of water Were thrown
ever the burning buildings, but practically
no Roadway was made by the fremen
until they had succeeded in getting fours
Dig streams in the rear of the buildings.
WOODS Hall was first protected and soak
ed with water until no more danger from
that source was possible. Attention was
snen devoted to combining the flames to
the building occupied BY Kern. The fire.
men worked nobly and took big risks in
climbing over burning sheds in order to
turn effective streams on the building.
An hours hard work resulted in the
flames being got under control. Kern,s
place was completely Quilted and his stock
and fixtures destroyed. He carried only
a small amount of insurance. The build
ing was owned by Henry Woitke. Of
Hudson and Essex streets.
A Chfnanlan who occupied a little store
next to Kern was burned out and about
fifty packages of laundry went m in
smoke. A Hebrew r-hn aarGr,o+a5 = eLoa