New-York tribune., 1896-04-03
p1ANT DOCKS BLAZING.
=, ,,sAsrRoUs FIRE SWEEPS THROUGH
BRUNSWICK, GA.

MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF PROPERTY
,-srRoyEp. ONE LIFE LOST. AND SEVERAL
nroptE 1NJUaED-THE FLAMES NOT EX-
r,xcr,1sHED AT LATEST ACCOUNTS.
s.uunnah Ca April "A dispatch from
o.ursvick. Ga. says that the Plant faliway
--,,sn docks and warehouses are burning. Inc
-. started at II o'clock and is still burning IN
s,sb gale Of wind. 1t has destroyed fully sooo'-
AZ, worth Of property cost one human hle'
..,sad one man to be mashed and crippled ana
-,.,rated four men, who are suffering IN
I.,,ous stages The dead man Is night watch
-,r named Smith. who died from apoplexy due
.v,,tement The injured man, whose name Is
.srown lost a hand. The men prostrated are
negroes
.-,v cotton sheds, freight warehouses, tracks,
..-+ NJ the freight in the warehouses, etc. all
s.,onging 10 the Plant system. and comprising
s.r local terminal freight facilities; number or
...,obt cars and between 10000 and 10000 cross
... the property OF y. Emanuel and James h.
p,oodhead: the Plant system docks; 25OoO bar
-, q, rosin; 1000 barrels of spirits OF turpen-
No.. all the wharf engines; wholesale grocery
sr,ane. grocery stock and warehouse buildings
:, ,hs Downing Company; Segues's fishhouse
.,a many other buildings.
40 this hour II is impossible to gain any
.,,,v like an accurate statement OF the losses,
So, the estimates place the Flant system at
INN. Downing. 1925. 900: Briesenick and occu-
ant. EGO 900: Lott $4,000, and Newman. $4,000
wessrs Downing and Lott are about covered by
,,rsnce. Mr.. Newman has $1,000 insurance.
HOW THE BLAZE STARTED.
tn, ~
.moke from the bay caused crowds to hurry taat
xay. The fire then burning inside ware
,ouse OF the Plant system dock. and had caught
,rm a pilc-driver engine. a train OF freigh'
.,n on the dock tracks prevented easy access
and the fire was hard to get at. While the hSe
v.s being fought under these difficulties. extra
,orcts OF laborers were piling cotton into the
British steamship Humbert. lying alongside anu
when all the cotton in she pulled oil. The
Norwegian bark Ascalon was also pulled on IN
safety The fire by this time had burned
through the line Of freight-cars and into the main
warehouses where hundreds Of citizens were
assisting the employees in getting out goods.
From there the flames swept under the roof
a, the cotton-sheds The wind was blowing
fercely, and the fremen endeavored to keep a
vail n, water between them and Downing's
navalSt0reS DOCKS, out WilHoul dNA" ~ =
o'clock the rosin had caught. and the fierce heat
and dense black smoke drove the people away
Every available man was employed throwing
naval stores into the bay. and the water was
eoon filled with a mass Of blazing barrels
The flames swept across Downings docks and
warehouses, catching the large brick supply
building and destroying it. The heat from the
fire still raging In the yards ignted the brick
block opposite. and 1t went gradually through
taking the Ocean Hotel with it. and branching
of up Monk-st. 70 the Hoyt Hardware Com
pany and nearby buildings.
Up TO this hour the maddest excitement had
characterized the actions Of many people. and
runors OF fatal and other accidents were adding
10 the excitement Business had long since been
suspended, and the entire population was view
Ing the flames and assisting the fremen. When
Hoyt's building caught. 1t was expected that the
entire business portion Of Brunswick was going,
and merchants began moving their stocks TO the
outskirts of the city
Pandemonium reigned, drays and other vehi-
cles were driven at breakneck speed up and down
the streets 10 store doors. and flying clouds Of
sparks sent property-owners home to guard their
buildings Every available man was employed
TO watch for fires and garden hose and ladders
were placed in readiness. Two or three dwellings
caught, and also the Courthouse. but they were
saved by volunteers.
THE WATER SUPPLY GIVES OUT
When wholesale destruction seemed inevitable
Waycross Savannah and Jacksonville were
asked for aid. and cheering answers were re-
ceived. Chief Grain and his men did good work
and the water supply held out well. but the
water was finally exhausted before the neigh
boring fremen arrived special trains. rem
dering their presence practically useless. With
the wholesale emptyng Of stores and squares
came the necessity for protection. and the
Brunswick Rifemen came out for guards At
O'clock the riot alarm was sounded, and both
the Rihemen and Naval Reserves came out at
double-quick and will do guard duty during
the night
The fire interfered with the gas and electric
light works and no lights are burning tonight,
while the dense smoke keeps brunswick In
Total darkness