The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1898-12-07
asKY scRApERs" IN FLAMEs.
Two LOfty Buildings I'm the Heart of
New York City Are Burned, Entail-
ing a Loss of eI.OOO,OOO.

O~'eFNs .shO ~
Two LOfty Buildings I'm the Heart Of
New York City Are Burned, Entail"
ing Loss of 100000.
New York, Dec. SIN a binding
rain storm last night the massive
block of buildings on Broadway, Nos.
253 to 259 and included between Muir
ray and Warren streets, was almost
destroyed by fire. Within three hours
more than $1,OOO,0OO worth of proper
ty was destroyed.
The fire started in the basement OF
the building occupied by Rogers, Peet
& Co., clothiers, about $3.50 o'clock.
Two policemen standing near Warren
street heard loud explosion and
moment later saw thin line Of.
smoke curling up from the side of the
Rogers, Peet & Co. building. At that
time rain was falling in torrents and
the wind blew gale. An alarm was
sent in, but before the first engine
turned into Broadway the Rogers,
Peet & Co. basement was roaring
furnace, with great flames bursting
through the floors above and rushing
fiercely to the roof. Within ten min
utes five alarms had been sent in,
bringing engine after engine to the
scene. By 10 o'clock so rapidly did
the flames progress that there was
nothing but the she'll of the Rogers,
Peet & Co. building left, with noun.
tains of flame roaring 100 feet in the
air and encircling the adjoining
structure, the Home Life building.
In the binding rain the firemen
worked, stretching the slippery lines
of hose through the building, fighting
the flames from every side. Soon O
great wave of fire swept across War
ren street and caught the United
States Life Insurance Co.'s building
at the northwest corner of Broadway.
The woodwork on a dozen windows
was afire in moment and from that
time on several streams were played
on this building. When the Warren
street wall of the Rogers, Peet & Co.
building fell a dozen firemen were d.
rectly beneath. Several of the men
were struck by bricks, but none were
more than slightly injured.
Just before IL o'clock the Home
Life Insurance Co.'s building, 16 stor-
les high, at 255 and 257 Broadway,
caught fire. The firemen already had
their lines in this building up to the
seventh floor. They were greatly
handicapped by the many stories.
Flames had eaten their way through
the side wall in many places and the
huge white structure burned fiercely.
The elevators made trips up and
down until the men running the cages
were compelled to flee for their lives
and in this way many of the effects
in the offices were saved. The three
top floors were on fire almost stimuli
taneously from the beginning. The
smoke was dense. Flames shot high
above the roof and over the massive
brown stone Postal building on the
corner below. All the operators in
the Postal building and everybody at
work in the structure had been order
ed out of this building long before.
TIL interior of the Home Life build
ing was by this time furnace. From
the windows of the six or eight upper
stories the flames were pouring in
masses. In the rear nine stories were
afire and the fire department, so far
as this portion of the building was
concerned, was powerless. AT 11:1
the Postal building of IA stories
caught fire. Chief Bonner, who had
charge of the firemen, took the ele-
vator and went to the roof to give
directions. At this time there were a
few operators, two or three clerks
and few boys at work in the build
ing in the sitting smoke and mes
sages were sent until the flames came
and all were forced to rush out.
The estimate of the losses by Chief
Bonner soon after midnight was ST.
100000, with probability Of still
| further loss should the fire continue
to make rapid progress. At o'clock
it was still burning in front and was
burning still more fiercely and ex-
tending lower down in the rear.
The fire started from three explo-
sions. What caused the explosions NO
one knows. The firemen could not
find out. They thought gas had es-
capped in some manner in the base