The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-06-15

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Method of Operation and What
Can Be Done to Make His Attempts
More Dificult-Fire in Harrington
Block Yesterday and Another in the
Residential District.
Portland seems in for another reign of
terror with the fire bug. Since last JAN
uary there have been periodical incendi-
airy fires, and although none of them have
been very large and have been discovered
in time to prevent serious loss, it has
been only good luck and an efficient fire
a great confagration.
Within a week attempts have been
made by the firebug to start fires in four
large business blocks, and in many re-
spects all of these fires have been very
much alike. All of them were set in
closets or in small rooms opening out
of hall ways. They were all started dur
ing the busiest hours of the day when
the streets were filed with people and
during the time when the buildings them
selves were occupied and people were
passing in and out of their doors. In
each case waste paper found in the
closets were used in starting the fires
and in at least two buildings the incen-
diary was obliged to use false keys to
open closets which were locked. The
fire bugs safety lies in his very boldness.
So far not even the faintest clew has
been obtained by the police as to his iden-
tity, and his object in setting these fires
is also mystery.
Janitor o. T. Hodgdon Of the Earring
ton block on Congress street, goes to din
ner every day between 1 and O'Clock.
The building, which he is in charge of
is one of the finest on Congress street
and it's lower floors are all occupied by
stores of various kinds and several offices
and small concerns on the upper floors.
This is the building once occupied by
the Odd Fellows and is now the home of
several secret orders and societies. The
Y. NJ. G. A. occupies part of the second
floor, and all day long there is a regular
stream of men and boys going up and
coming down the main stairways of the
building.
Whoever the fire bug may be, he evil
IDENTIFY knew that the janitor's dinner
hour was between 1 and 2 O'Clock, and
this was the time he took to put his
nefarious plan into execution.
Fortunately Janitor Hodgdon got back
to the block from dinner yesterday short
ly before o'clock. When he had walked
up on to the second floor of the building
he heard a cracking noise and rushing
up ON to the fourth floor he found the
toilet room near the old Encampment
hall of the Odd Fellows in flames. The
janitor at once sent still alarm to the
chemical engine, and later general
alarm was sounded from box 5.
When the chemical people rrived on
the scene, they found dense smoke all
through the fourth story. The woodwork
in the toilet room was abIaze from top
to bottom and the fire was fast gaining
Roadway. Two pony extinguishers soon
deadened the flames and then stream
from the chemical finished the task of
putting out the fire. A line of hose was
taken up stairs by No. 5, but no water
was put on the fire. 1t was necessary to
chop through the second floor of the
toilet room down into the hall beneath,
and also to tear the laths and plastering
from the wall of the room. This made
good deal of dirt and ruined the car
pets in the hallway SO that the loss will
not be far from $500, which is fully COW
cred by insurance. There was no damage
to the property Of the various orders
which occupy the hall.
The fire was undoubtedly the work of
the flrebug. The door of the toilet room
is kept locked, but it had been opened
with a false key. In one corner was
found pile of paper, partly burned,
which had been used to start the fire.
1t is the same old -story-no clew to the
william because people were constantly
going up and down stairs, and no particu-
lar person was noticed by anybody.
Despite the greatest watchfulness on
the part of the police and aided by the
extreme care of property owners, it is
doubtful if the fire bug can be caught,
Ii uO pun oQOo il1o pECScuU lttCUlCS, uulcSS
some one is fortunate enough to catch
him right in the act of setting fire.
When he commenced his operations in
January last he pursued the same method
of starting his fires and kept them up
until the whole town was in fever of
excitement. Then when things had SUBJ
sided a little he. began again in the same
old way, and it is extremely doubtful if
Portland has seen the last of him even
now.
In one way citizens can do much to
prevent a re. occurrence of these incen-
diary fires. All hall doors should be
carefully locked and some sort of fasten-
ing should be used that would be diff
cult to unfasten with a false key. The
old scrap and waste paper and all in
fiamable substances should be carefully
from all closets and hail ways,
and if this is done the chances of the fire
bugs successfully operating would be
lessened.
FIRE BUG MAY BE RESPONSIBLE