The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1898-12-08
Clothing House Of Rogers, Peet
& Co., New York, a Roar
ing Furnace.
NOTHING REMAINS BUT The WALLS.
United States Life Insurance Co. and
Home Life Insurance Co.'s Build.
ings We're Badly Damaged.
The Losses Are: Rogers, Peet q Co. Build.
Ing, 935O,OOO; Home Life Insurance
Co., S5OO,OOO; Postal Telegraph
Building, 100000.

New YORK, Dec. 5-Fire broke out
in the basement of the building occu-
pied by Rogers, Peet & Co., clothiers,
about $3.50 o'clock. The policemen
standing within half block of Warren
street heard loud explosion and mo-
ment later saw a thin line of smoke
curling up from the side of the Rogers,
Peet & Co. building. At trat time the
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.'s
basement was roaring furnace with
great flames bursting through the
floors above and rushing fiercely to the
roof. Within ten minutes five alarms
had been sent in, bringing engine
after engine to the scene.
BY 10 o'clock SO rapidly and fiercely
did the flames make progress that
there was nothing but the shell of the
Rogers-Peet building left with noun.
tains of flames roaring hundred
feet in the air and encircling the ad.
joining structure, the Home Life In.
surance Co. building. In the binding
rain the fireman worked, stretching
the black and slippery lines of hose
through the building, fighting the
flames from every side. Soon great
wave of fire swept across Warren
street and caught the United States
Life In surance Co. building at the west
corner of Broadway, numbering 259
and 261. The woodwork on dozen
windows was afire in a moment, and
from that time on several streams were
played on this building to save it from
destruction. When the Warren street
wall of the Rogers-Peet building fell at
1880 o'clock, dozen tiremen were di-
rectly beneath. Several of the men
were struck by bricks; but none was
more than slightly injured. Acting
Chief Perle fell, but was dragged to
safety by some of his men.
Just before II o'clock the Home Life
Insurance Co.'S building, 16 stories
high, at 255 and 257 Broadway, caught
fire. The fremen already had their
lines in this building up to the seventh
floor. They were greatly handicapped
by the many stories Flames had eat
en- their way through the side wall in
many places, and the huge white
structure burned fiercely. The ele-
vators made trips up and down until
the men running the cages were
compelled to fee for their lives and in
this way many of the effects of the Of
fees were saved. The three top floors
were on fire almost simultaneously
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 of the postal building
and everybody at work in the structure
had been ordered out of this building
long before.
At 11:15 the postal building of IA
stories caught fire. Chief Bonner, who
had charge of the firemen, took the ell
| evator and went to the roof to give
personal directions. At this time
there were few operators who had ig-
nored the orders of the fire chief, two
or three clerks and few boys at
work in the building in the sti-
| fling smoke, and messages were
sent until the flames came and all were
forced to rush for their lives. The un-
sent messages were left at the tele-
graph keys.
The Postal Telegraph Co. officials
said that all their wires had been
burned out and that they had no con-
nections from their building.
At o'clock Monday morning the fire
was still burning fercely in front and,
although not observable by the thou
sands of spectators, was burning still
more fercely and extending lower
down in the rear.
An insurance man roughly estimated
the losses at about as follows:
Rogers, Peet & Co., building and
stock and losses to other tenants in the
building, $3.50, 1000.
| Home Life Insurance Co., building
and losses to other tenants, $500,O0
Postal Telegraph Co., building and
losses to other tenants, $4,000
Losses to surrounding buildings,
$50, 900.
Chief Bonner thought that this esti-
mate, on the basis of a million dollars
loss, was about as near correct as 1t
was possible to make.
At $50 o'clock Fire Chief Bonner
went home saying that the fire would
burn itself out in short time. and
that it could not spread, and was prac