Shiner gazette. [volume] (Shiner, Tex.) 1893-current, 1897-11-24

london, November 20.--One of the
most disastrous fires in London's his
tory since the great fire of 1866 broke
ont in a large block of buildings lying
eastward Of AlderSgate street and be-
tween That thoroughfare and Red Cross
street, Just after o'clock yesterday
afternoon. The flames were famed by
u strong wind and We're fed by highly
inhammable stocks of Christmas fancy
goods and fiimsy dress materials of all
descrif tiOns that filed every floor of
the siX-story buildings in the cid street.
Consequently the conhagraton gained
headwdy with surprising rapldlty and
was soon far beyond the possibility of
being checked by the few engines
which We're early on the spot
for Four hours and half the flames
ven way and it was only
after more than q hundred engines had
worked an hour that the chief of the
fire brigade sent out the signal that
Ike fire was under control.
At il o'clock the fire is still the
scene of great excitement. Fifty en-
gineS are playing upon the ruins, wag-
ons are hurrying up coal and tens of
waited are pouring into the fiery deb
Ts Thousands of people are trying to
penetrate the Gordon maintained by
a thousand policemen. achievements
for whom We're hurried up when soon
after 6 o'clock, an increase in the out
break led Commander Wells to make
reQniStiOn for more engines from the
outlying stations. The scene must oc-
cupy the fire brigade for several hours,
especially in view of the grave danger
of the collapse of shells of buildings,
which fall now and again with "A loud
report.
The latest accounts indicate that
nearly 100 warehouses have been des-
troyed, while the loss will probably
eAceen f3,00O,0O0.
The historic church of st. ellis has
been much damaged, the principal
damage being to the roof and windows
the baptismal fout and Millions statue.
Hamsell street was the scene of the
breaking out of the fire. which was
due 10 an explosion in connection with
a gas engine on the premises of Wal
ter Brown & Co., mantel manufactur-
ers, at No. 80 on that thoroughffare.
In less than a quarter of an hour
the flames enveloped the adjoining
warehouses and thence they leaped
across the street. to an enormous paper
warehouse, which was fully allght in
less than ten minutes. BY this time
II was evident to the firemen that they
Were face to face with n great disas-
ter, and general alarm was sent out
Then from all the fire stands, even
those quite five miles from the scene
of the disaster, engines were hurried
10 the spot and the police gathered
about The nelghborhood in great force.
This display of strength on the part of
dhe police was required, as the crowd,
swelling every moment soon amounted
TO tens Of thousands of people, and
tile firemen every possible freedom of
action, as their fight was one of the
greatest difficulty, owing to the mar
rowness of the old, crooked streets,
which are the Feature of that part of
London, combined with the height of
warehouses, which cut off the firemen
from all fair chance of combining the
outbreak.
The excitement among the onlookers,
who crowded every possible point of
view, was very great as may be judg-
ed from the fact that firemen had to
be repeatedly recued by their comrades
by the aid Of fire escapes from build
ings which had caught fire after the
tiremen had mounted to the roofs to
fight the flames in adjoining houses.