The Portland daily press., 1897-01-04
CAUSE OF FIRE UNKNOWN.
A Blaze in a House on Waterville Street
Last Evening Did Slight Damage.

At about O'Clock Saturday evening
an alarm WAS rung in from box "a for a
small fire in q house on Waterville
street. This building was occupied in
the upper teneIn ept by John Moran
and in the lower part by Mrs. Patrick
Hessian. The ire occurred IN the bed
room off the dining room, in the upper
tenement, and was discovered by Mrs.
Moran. When Mrs. Moran opened the
door of the bed room she found bureau
all ablaze. The cry sof fire was raised,
and John Hader in the grocery store
across the way, pulled in the alarm.
The fire was extingiushed with the use
of only little water. and the damage
to the house was very small. Twenty
five dollars will probably cover the en-
tire damage to the house.
The A,ss to the Moran family will
amount to considerable as quite lot OF
clothing and furniture was burned or
damaged. The loss in Mrs. Hessians
part of the house will be small.
The cause of the fire is unknown. Mrs.
Moran had visited the bed room where
the fire originated only few minutes
before the blaze was discovered and then
everything was all right. There might
have been some matches in the bureau
which were ignited in some way. but to
the occupants Of the house the cause Of
the fire Is a mystery.
Did the fire bug who has been rsspons-
ible for the starting of ten or more fires
in Portland during the past few weeks
attempt to set fire to another house on
Waterville street. Saturday EVENING"
This is what a great many people were,
asking Saturday night and with some
reason, for within week some one tried
to set fire to the house of John Gum, at
70 Waterville street and nearly succeed
ed. The blaze ia the house of Mrs.
Moran at Waterville street, Saturday
night, was a very mysterious one. 1t
started in a bureau drawer in the bad
room while the family were at supper.
No one had been into this room during
the evening except Mrs. Moran, and she
was sure that she had not gone near the
bureau and that there were no matches
in or about this piece of furniture.
The neighpors were firmly convinced
Saturday night that this WAS anothur at
tempt on the part of some Fl end to start
big fire. and the residents on Water
vile street are wondering whose house
will be next visited.
One night last week three young ladies
were alone in Mr.. Gums house. Dur
ing the night they henrd some one NOV
ing about in tho hall and were so badly
frightened that they did not dare to call
out or even look about to see who was
in the house. In the morning, however.
the back door of the house was found
open and in the front hall and in the
attic were found several pieces Of charred
paper which had evidently been placed
against the wood work and igni5ed. 1t
was undou btedly an attempt to fire the
house.
About O'Clock on the morning of
the day after this attempt to fire Mr..
Gunn's house, a milkman, who has GUS
toners on Waterville street, drove up in
front CT house on this street, and leav
| ing a young Ind who helps him in the
morning, went into house to deliver %
can of milk. While he was gone o tall
man carrying what seem ed to be lunch
boz, came down the street. and seeing
the boy in the milk wagon walked up to
him and asked: "Where can go in?"
The tall mans manner was so peculiar
and his question SO strange that the boy
| was little frightened.
When the milkman came out of a
house near by the tall man seeing him
hurried away. The milk man got good
look at the man and noticed his pecu-
liar actions, but did not know him and
never saw him before. Both the boy and
| the milkman bellows that this tall man
with the lunch box might have been the
fellow who tried to set fire to Mr..
| Gunn's house and was no other than