The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-05-15

Two million dollars worth of property
was destroyed in Providence last night
in the thriving commercial and shipping
section at the South End. And today
that portion of the city looks as desolste
an it did in the latter part of the
nineteenth century, only in the place OF
barren hills and sewage smeared beaches
there are chaotic masses o. crumbled
masonry and blackened timbers. On the
spot where our ancestors formerly ate
CLANS served by the late Colonel Atwell
are the ruins of the immense warehouse
structure of the Providence and Havana
Freight line. This Is the first structure
of any considerable size which XRs put
up In the commercial section and when
IL was built in 1908 IL was called Fields
Point folly and the conservatives pre-
dicted that within two years 1t would be
turned into clam house with dance
halls and shooting galleries in the upper
stories
The fire is supposed to have originated
In one OF the repair shops OF the Havana
line from a defective forge. The third
story of this building was used for the
storage of cordage and il was not until
the flames had reached this floor that the
fire was discovered by patrolman Near
thur Of the 18th police precinct.
He sent in an alarm from box 913 at the
-eerner Of Harbor place and Commercial
street which called out all Of the appara-
tus in the eleventh fire district, consisting
of hose companies q, 2, ~. and 81; en-
gines IL. 13, and 3; ladder trucks4 10, IL
and 8; chem icals 8, and s; the district
water tower and fire boat number 3 from
its anchorage at the foot of India street
across the harbor.
Al. Nj - 81 a..
within three minutes after the alarm
came In. Notwithstanding the fact that
his horseless fire carriage met with an
accident on the way. lie saw that the
department had bad fight on its hands
and ordered a second and third alarm 10
quick succession.
BY this time, in spite OF the efforts OF
the first companies TO arrive the fismes
had mado light work of the immense
piles of tar covered rope, the roof OF the
combination repair. shop and store house
had fallen In with volcanic effect and the
fire had licked its way through the win
dow easements of the adjoining building,
long fve-story commission house, stack
ed from the ground to the roof with
baled cotton owned by dozen or more
local commission merchants.
With such q bonfire as the cotton made
right in the heart of the warehouse dis
trict the loss of millions seemed inev-
liable, and with the destruction OF the
buildings practically a foregone conclu-
sion every effort was made TO remove the
contents. Everyavailahle low gear andtrnck
was brought into service, long trains OF
fiat cars were run down on the spur tracks
OF the Ponnegansett Raiiroed Company
TO the wbarves and hastily loaded elec-
trio freight cars OF the local lines were
making five-minute trips from the en-
frances of the doomed buildings to a
point OF safety. With all of these quick
facilities for transferring goods, orer-
ated by rapidly organized gang OF two
or three hundred stevedores, over a mil
lion dollers worth OF merchandise was
gotten out of the danger limits and
stacked up in the Seventeenth Ward Park
and along the south end boulevard.
At the same time the work of rescue
was rapidly progressing on the river.
Tugs from the docks of the several tow
boat companies were on haad hauling the
sailing vessels out into the stream, and
the big steam ships lost no time in back
ing of to point OF safety, although the
deck works OF the Tockw often. the lar
gest ship on the Providence and Liver
pool line, were badly scorched before she
could get under way.
There was stiff south breeze which
rapidly developed into half-gale and