Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-11-25
FLAMES IN LONDON.
The Most Destructive Fire in Two
Hundred Years.
Great Blocks of Buildings Burned With
There Rich Contents of Dress and
Christmas GoOds-The Loss Esti-
mated by Millions of Pounds

ward of Aldersgate street. and between
| that thoroughfare and Red Cross
street, just after one o'clock yesterday
afternoon. The flames were famed
BY strong wind and were fed by
| highly infammable stocks of Christ
mas fancy goods and aimsy dress ma
terials of all descriptions, that filed
every floor of the six-story build
ings in the old street. Conse-
quently the confagration gained
Roadway 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 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 out the signal that the fire was
| under control.
At IL o'clock last night the fire was
still the scene of great excitement.
Fifty engines were playing upon the
ruins, wagons were hurrying up coal
and tons of water was pouring into
| the fiery debris.
Thousands of people tried to pene
trate the Gordon maintained by a thou
sand policemen, reinforcements for
whom were hurried up when, soon
| after six o'clock an increase in the out
break led Commander Wells to make
a requisition for more engines upon
the outlying stations.
The scene must occupy the fire
brigade for several days, especially in
view of the grave danger of the col
lapse of shells of buildings which fall
now and again with loud report.
The historic church of st. Giles has
been much damaged, the principal
damage being to the roof, the old
windows, the baptismal font and Mil
toms statue.
Hamsen street was the scene of the
outbreak of the fire which was due to
an explosion in connection with a gas
engine on the premises of Walter
Brown & Co., mantel manufacturers
at No. 80 on that thoroughfare. Their
third story was crowded with girls
when the fire broke out, and it was in
stantIy the scene of a semi-panic, the
frightened operatives rushing to the
roof of the building and thence cross
ing to other buildings and SO effecting
their escape while the flames were
pouring out of the basement.
In less than a quarter of an hour the
flames had enveloped the adjoining
warehouse and thence they leaped
across the street to an enormous paper
warehouse, which was fully alight in
less than ten minutes.
By this time it was evident to the
fremen that they were face to face
with a great disaster and a general
alarm was sent out. Then, from all
the fire stations, even those quite five
miles from the scene of the disaster,
engines were hurried to the spot and
the police gathered about the neigh
borhood in great force. This display
of strength On the part of the police
was required, as the crowd, swelling
in size every moment, soon amounted
to tens of thousands of people, and the
fremen required every possible free
dom of action, as their fight was one
of the greatest difficulty, owing to the
narrowness of the old, crooked streets
which are the feature of that part of
London, combined with the height of
the warehouses, which cut off the fire.
men from all fair chance of combining
the outbreak.
The excitement among the onlook-
ers, who crowded every possible point
of view, was very great, as may be
judged from the fact that firemen had
to be repeatedly rescued by their COM
rades by the aid of fire escapes from
buildings which had caught fire after
the firemen had mounted their roofs
to fight the flames in adjoining struc-
lures.
The rescue of operatives by the fire.
men; the hurrying 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-
ployes who were attempting to carry
to places of safety costly merchandise
or other valuables, added to the confu-
sion.
The heat was so intense that several
fremen were obliged to direct their
operations under showers of water
poured upon them. But, in spite of
the exertions of the fremen the fire
crept on very steadily until Nicholl
Square, which is situated at the far
end of Hamsell street, was reached.
At little after two o'clock a dozen
hose pipes, each with a 12-foot spread.
poured water into the blaze from an
opposite roof, from the street below,
and from the burning premises them
selves, but it did not SEEN to have any
effect The water rushed out of the
windows, and from the ground floor
like q waterfall, while the flames
lesped higher and higher, and as the
floors fell In the place still blazed, a
gigantic display of FIRE and smoke, till
the building was completely Quilted
and the walls kee1ed over.
The confusion in the streets i'm
creased as the fire spread. Suddenly
there was an explosion of gas meters,
sounding like the reports of field guns,
followed by momentary hush. After
that the wild rushing here and there
was resumed with increased energy,
Men risked their lives in desperate eff
forts to save day books. ledgers,