The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-10-03
A MIDNIGHT ALARM.
Fire on Commercial Street This
Morning.
LOVEITTS FISH HOUSE BURNED
TO THE PIER.

TO THE PIER.
Hundreds of Dollars Worth of Fish De-
stroyed and One Horse Burned to Death
The Loss Over $500, Partially In
sured-Under Good Headway Before
Alarm Was Given.
| A fire last night at IL. 15 CLOCK com
pletely destroyed the large fish house of
John Loveitt & %. at the end OF Com
mercial wharf and for time threatened
to devastate the entire wharf if not the
property on the adjoining wharves. 1t
was the hottest fire the Portland fire de-
parrment has had to face for ma ny
months and the loss on the building and
contents will amount to about IS, 500.
A valuable horse belonging to the firm
was also suffooated In the fire.
1t was quarter past 12 O'Clock when
the alarm was rung in from box 45. H.
+. McDonough, the watohman of the
Cumberland bank was walking up Mid
die street and had just reached the head
of Market street whom he saw the blaze
in the direction of the water front. A
fresh north east wind was blowing and
this aided the fremen in preventing
severe loss of wharf property.
AS Mr.. McDonough nearsd the
wharf the fire began to gain head way
and by the time he reached Commercial
street 1T was blazing feriouusly and every
moment growing fiercer. Mr. McDon-
ough stopped long enough on CONNER
cial street to pull in an alarm from box
43 and continued on his way down the
wharf. The fishing schooner Eunice lay
at the wharf and it's crew Awakened by
the bright light of the fire were milling
out onto the wharf as Mr.. McDonough
Game down the pier on the run. In the
rear of the b uilding on the side nearest
the harbor was the stable in which q
pair Of horses were kept. MoDonouRh
and the fishermen aided by several other
men who had by this time arrived on
the spot made heroic attempt to get in
to the sta BILE but without success as the
door was strongly locked and bolted
Being unable to force the door of the
stable open MoDonough ran back to the
end OF the wharf to obtain help to force
open the stable door. The department.
made the quickest hitch In it's history,
and the Chemical engine was out Of the
house inside of two minutes after the
alarm was sounded. On the arrival Of
this apparatus at the wharf it seemed at
first glance as if ths entire wharf and
many of the vessels lying at the pier were
doomed. But the wind, while it was
blowing strongly was from just the right
direction to carry the sparks and flames
out into the harbor, though had 1t been
blowing from any other direction it
would have given the fire men hard
fight to save the adjoining property. The
fire evidently started in small room in
the northeast cornor Of the building
which was used as a dressing room by
the employees of the fish house. and as
the building was filed with dry boxes
and fish th . flames quickly spread from
one end of the building to the other.
Tho building was about three hundred
feet long and one story in height built
of wood and was as dry as tindes box.
BY the time the water was turned on to-
the flames 1t seemed as if the building
was afire from one end to the other.
Officers Pillsbury and Thompson and
several other policemen and citizens ar
rived at the fire shortly after it was dis
oovoled and at once began the work to
save the horses in the harbo< end OF the
A-i
found and the stable door smashed open.
The smoke and flames driven before the
strong wind made the end of the wharf,
most dangerous spot for the men to
work in, but they stuck to their posts
and managed after good deal of chop
ping to force open the stable door. One
of the horses handsome black animal,
was stamping away at great rate and
making frantic endeavors to get out Of
the stable. He was led through the
smoke and flames out of the building
and taken to a safe place. The other
horse, the most valuable of the pair, was
suffocated when reached and perished in
the flames.
On the easterly side of the burning
building and with only a narrow drive
| way separating it from Loveitt & Go. q
| fish house, stands the big fish house of j.
W. Trefethen & Co. 1t seemed as If this
building would be destroyed despits all
efforts Of the dre department. but the
wind aided the fremen In their work
aud the building was uninjured. Tho fire
/ boat got around into the dock between
Commercial and Long wharf, about ten
| minutes after the alarm was rung in and
got its big monitor nozzle at work on the
| fire with great effect The tide was ex-
tremely low and the fire boat did not get
to work as quickly as it might have done
had it not been handicapped by the low
| tide. The big stream from the fire boat
did great execution and seemsd to abso-
lutely tear its way through the sides Of
the building and the roof. Three engines
were located at the hydrant at the corner
| of Moulton and Commercial streets and