The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-11-23
A FEARFUL CONFEDERATION
LONDON VISITED BY WORST FIRE
SINCE THE ONE OF 1666
One Hundred and Fifty arehous Des-
~troyed-One Hundred Fire Engines I'm
able to Check the Spread of the Flames
for Several Hours-The Loss at
Five Million Pounds Sterling Historic
st. Giles Church Barely Saved

for Several Hours-The Loss Estimated at
Five Million Pounds Sterling Historic
st. Giles Church Barely Saved
London, November 20.-One Of the
most disastrous fires in London's his
tory since the great fire of 1866 broke
out in a large block OF buildings lying
eastward of Aldergate street and be-
tween that thoroughfare and Redcross
street, just after 1 o'clock last after
noon. The flames were tanned by a
strong wind and were fed by highly
infammabIe stocks Of Christmas fancy
goods and himsy dress materials of all
descriptions, that filled every floor &c
the six story building III the old street.
Consequently .ne con1agration gained
he-G"ay with surprising rapidity, and
was soon far beyond the possibility of
being checked by the few engines which
were early on the spot. For four hours
and a half the flames had their own
way and it was only after more than
a hundred engines had worked an hour
thai the chief Of the fire b~rigades re-
ceived the signal hat the fire was I'M
der control.
At II o'clock tonight the fire is still
the scene Of great excitement. Fifty
engines are playing upon the ruins,
WagCnS are hurrying up coal and tons
of water are pouring into the debris.
The scene must occupy the fire BIZ
gade for several days, especially IN
view Of the grave danger Of the col
lapse Of shells of buildings which fail
now and again with 4 loud report.
The latest accounts Indicate that
nearly $50 large warehouses have
been destroyed, while the loss will pre-
badly exceed" $4,000 900. The historic
church of ST. Giles has been lady dam
aged, the principal damage being to
the roof, the old windows, the Bapti.;-
NAL font and Millions Statue.
Hamlen street was the scene of the
outbreak of the fire wnlch wa started
by an explosion in connection with a
gas engine IN the premises OF Waiter
Brown & Co., mantel manufacturers at
No. 80 on the thOroughfare. Their
factory was crowded with girls when
the fire broke out. The frightened
operatives rushed to the roof of the
building, thence crossing to other build
ings and SO effecting their escape while
the flames were pouring out Of the
basement. In less han a quarter Of an
hour the flames had enveloped the adj
joining warehouse, n thence they
3eaped across the street to an enormous
paper warehouse which was fully aliSht
in less than ten minutes.
By this time, it was evident to the
firemen that they were face to face with
a great disaster and a general alarm
was sent out. Policemen also gather
ed about the neighborhood in. great
numbers. This display Of strength on
the part of the police was required, as
the crowd, swelling in size every mo-
ment, soon amounted to tens Of thou
sands of people and the firemen requir-
ed every possible freedom of action, as
their fight was one Of the greatest diff
Guilty, owing to the narrowness of the
old crooked streets which are the fea-
ture Of thai part of London, combined
with the height of the warehouses
which cut off the firemen from all fair
chance of combining the outbreak. The
excitement among the On-lOOkerS who
crowded every possible point of view,
was very great, as may be judged from
the fact that firemen had to be repeat
eddy rescued by their comrades, by the
aid of the fire escapes, from buildings
which had caught fire after the fire
men had mounted to their roofs to fight
the flames in adjoining buildings.
The rescue of operatives by the fire.
men; the h%urrying of hosts of clerks
who were trying to save books and
valuable papers from the fire, and the
rushing here and there of many en-
ployees who were attempting to carry
to places of safety costly merchandise
or other valuables, added to the cOnfu-
sion. Then again the heat was so in
tense hat several firemen were obliged
to direct their operations under showers
of water poured upo them.
But in spite of the exertions Of the
firemen, the fire crept or very steadily
until Nicholl square, which is situated
- - ro, I'D 80 IIo~,ro11 -frna yroc
reached.
AT a little after 2 o'clock a dozen hose
pipes, each with a twelve foot spread
pouring water into the blaze from an
opposite roof, from the street below and
from the burning premises themselves
did not seem to have any effect. The
water rushed out of the windows and
from the ground floor like a water fall
while the flames leaped higher and
higher and as the floors fell in the
place still blazed-a gigantic display of
fire n smOke-till the building was
completely Quilted and the walls knock
ed over.
The confusion in the streets increased
as the fire spread. 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 re-
sumed with increasing energy. Men
risked their lives in desperate efforts
to save dayboOks, ledgers, feathers,
jewelry, valuable chinaware, etc. One
man actually risked his life to fetch his
hat and cane, 200 feet of stone work
and glass falling at his heels as he
emerged from the building.
Several firemen We're almos buried
in burning ruins, as front after front
of the flaming warehouses fell in, hurl-
ing tons of brick and masonry into the
streets, bursting and cutting the fire
hose in all directions, while tons Of
fiery matter were falling in every direc-
ton, making it impC, IDLE to ~foresee
where the conf1agratioh would stop. as
roof after roof caught fire and window
frames all about the scene began to
smoke. AS the afternoon wore on, the
dense crowd were still further enlarg-
ed, until it was estimate that many