The Portland daily press., 1896-12-23
WHOSE HALLWAY NEXT !?
Portland at the Mercy Of a Fire
Fiend.
EIGHT ATTEMPTS TO FIRE BUILD
INGS WITHIN A WEEK.

Three of Them Were Discovered Yester-
day Morning-Fires All Set Same way
and Perpetrator Leaves No CIue-Good
Work of Fire Department. Alone Has
Prevented Disastrous CONGREGATIONS.
Portland seems to be at the mercy OF a
fire bug OF the worst type. Eight at
tempts have so far been made to start
fires Ia the hall or entry ways OF the bus
mess blocks on Congress, Federal and
Middle streets, and only timely disoov-
cry, the prompt and efficient work OF the
fire department., and in one or two cases
the bungling work of the fend himself,
has prevented the buildings being de-
stroyed and also a serious loss of life.
This fra bug has been at work for
about a week, and almost every job that
he has attempted has been at about the
same time in the morning and the nres
have all been started In abouu the same
way. Perhaps 1t ia not generally known
that two out of every three stairwnys IN
the business section of the CITY are I'M
locked all the time, and In all seasons OF
the year. but suoh is the fact, and In
the Sc hall ways the tire bug has an excel
lent opportunity of doing his work. In
the early morning, between and
O'Clock the fires have nearly all been set,
and at this hour when very few people
are moving about the business parts OF
the city, and when the police on the
streets are reduced to one half tho force
on duty through the night, the ire DuR
runs few chances Of being discovered IN
| all cases, as has been said, the fires have
been started in the hall ways or In room
| which are left unfaRtened and open out
of them. The person who Is doing onle
fepdish work, whoever he is, does not
carry any discriminating evidence Oh his
persoE unless it be few matches. ne
uses in starting his fires only such IN
| f1amable material as he can find in the
buildings where his attempts ars made.
In every hall way, even OF the best pulid-
| iDes there are barrels OF waste paper.
closets filed with old lumber of all sorts
and plenty of culch kicking anout In odd
corners which may be utilized to kindle
| fires with, In only one Or two instan'
ces has the fiend been known to use
kerosene or any other substance in this
line. In Ripes's building on Monday
morning, where two fires were discovered,
the one in the water closet was started
by utilizing a can of devilled ham from
which half the contents had been re
moved. This can was evidently found or
| the floor below the one on which the
fres occurred, where it had probably
been thrown by some one, and when
| iRnited, the develled ham made hot
blaze.
Recently. too, several false alarms have
| 10 thnnotf m hat
been the work of the fire bug, who il
evidently what is commonly known al
! a "fire CRANK whose one pleasure II
living seems to be i'll calling out the de
partment and In participating in thu
attending excitement.
WHERE THE FIRES HAVE &C.
CURED.
The first work of the man, whom thu
authorities believe has been setting thos'
frss, was on Tuesday, December ID q
g. 80 O'Clock, when false alarm wa
lrung In from Box 4B, at she corner o
Market and Commercial streets. MoTri
Conley, who was near by when the boz
WAS pulled, said he saw quite tall man
wearing gray coat, running up Msrke
street. Con1ey couldn't give very goot
description of this man.
| On Thursday, December IS, IRE wa
discovered shortly before o'clock in tn
morning In the hall way at 1911 Middl
street, by man named Nelson. Al
alarm was rung in from Box A, and at
ter stubborn fight the blaze was ex
tinguished. The building WAS owned bJ
Mary II. J. Clapp, and the LOGS on it wa
} S4O0. L. D. Austin, the clothier, me
with q heavy loss from water. The df
was undoubtedly of incendiary origin.
On Thursday noon, Charles Sherry.
har Der, smelled smoke on the secon'
! floor of the large brick building a
453 Ia Congress street, and OIL invest1ga
ton ii was found the entire entry We
ablaze. An alarm was pulled In iron
: Box s. This fire was set in closet whicl
hndr' It been opened for months.
: On SATURDAY., December 20, Mr.. Ro
dick, barber, who occupied a shop owe
Meferling's restaurant, at 506 LIZ Con
eress street, discovered fierce fire burn
Ing in closet at the head Of the stairs
Several rolls Of wall paper had been de
Iliberately set on fire. The fire WAS ext1n
guished by MIR. Rodick without loss.
J At o'clock Sunday afternoon D. u
Dyer, discovered a fire in the hall wa
of the building in which the Salvation
Army barracks is located. The blaz
was extinguished by Mr.. Dyer with pal
of water in the nick Of time.
A short time before this latter fire an
for the evident purpose of firing GU
the department SO that the fire in tn
Federal street building might get goo
afart before the fIepartment could get tx