The Portland daily press., 1897-11-20
UNDER CONTROL.
The Great London Fire
Checked.
PROPERTY LOSS is THREE
MILLION POUNDS.
Most Disastrous Fire City Has
Known In Years.
OVER 1900 PEOPLE THROWN OUT
OF EMPLOYMENT.

Explosion of a Gas Engine Started the
Trouble and Flames Spread With In
| conceivable Rapidity-Fifty Warehouses
and Dozen or More Minor Structures
Left in Ruins Covering Two Acres of
| Ground.
disastrous fires in London's history, since
| the great fire of 1856, broke out in large
block of buildings lying eastward of
Adlers Gate street, and between that tho
roughfare and Red Cross street, just after
l O'Clock this afternoon. The flames
were famed by strong wind and were
fed by highly iniammable stocks of fam
cy goods and fiimsy dress materials of all
descriptions, that crowded every floor of
the six story buildings in the old streets,
in view of the coming Christmas trade.
| Consequently, the confagration gained
headway with surprising rapidity and
was soon far beyond any possibility of
being checked by the few engines that
were early on the spot. For four hours
and half, the flames had their own
way and it was only after more than 100
engines had worked an hour that the
chief Of the fire brigade sent ont the
signal that the fire was under control
This was at 5.45 10. When the good
news became generally known nearly so
warehouses and dozen or so minor
| structures had either vanished or re-
manned only in blackened walls, a chaos
of fallen giraers and smoking piles of
4 bricks and stone
| The eonfiagration was caused by the
explosion of a gas engine on the premises
of Walter Brown & Co., mantel manu-
facturers, No. 80 Hamsel street. Their
large factory was crowded with girls
when the fire broke out and it was in
stantly the scene of a semi-panic. The
frightened operatives, with many screams,
rushed to the roof of the building and
thence crossed to other buildings and
effected their escape. In less than quar-
ter of an hour the flames had enveloped
the adjoining warehouses and thence
across the street to an enormous paper
warehouse which was fully alight in less
than ten minutes. By this Tins it was
evident to the fremen that they were
| face to face with great disaster and
general alarm was sent out. Then from
all the fire stations engines were hurried
| to the spot and the police gathered about
the neighborhooi in great force. This
display of strength on the part of the po-
lice was required as the crowd, swelling
in size every moment, soon amounted to
tens of thousands OF people and the fire
men required every possible freedom of
action, as their fight was one of the
greatest difficulty owing to the narrow
ness of the DID, crooked streets. The ex-
citement among the on-lookers who
crowded every possible point of view, was
very great, as may be judged from the
fact that fremen had to be repeatedly
rescued by their comrades from buildings
which had caught fire after the firemen
had mounted to the roofs.
| The rescue of operatives by the firemen,
and the hurrying of hosts of clerks who
were trying to save books and valuable
papers from the fire, added to the confu-
sion.
| The roar of flames was so intense and
the heat SO terrific that several tiremen
were Obliged to work under showers
of water slowly poured over them.
| In spite of the exertiOns of the tiremen,
the fire crept on very steadily untilNicho-
| las square, which is situated at the far
end OF Hamsell street, was reached.
| At little after 2 o'clock dozen hose
| pipes with 12-foot spread, poured into
the blaze from IN opposite roof from the
street below and from the burning prem
ises themselves, but it did not Heem TO
have any effect. The confusion in the
streets increased as the fire spread, the
shrieking of whistles and TIE throbbing
of the engines increased, and building
after building became ignited.
| Suddenly there was an explosion of gas
| meters, sounding like the reports OF field
guns, followed by a momentary hush.
| After that the wild rushing here and
| there was resumed with increased energy.
Men risked their lives in desperate efforts
| jewelry, valuable chinaware, etc. One
man actually hazardsd his life to fetch
his hat and cane, 200 feet Of stonework
and glass falling at his heels as he
emerged from the building
| Several firemen were almost buried IN
| burning ruins, as front after fronu OF the
| flaming warehouses fell in, hnrllng tons
of bricks and masonry into the streets,
| bursting and cutting the fire hose in all
directions, while tons of fiery matter,
resembling huge sparks or meteors, were
| falling in every direction, making 1t inn
possible to foresee where the con6agra-
ton would stop.
AS the afternoon wore on the dense