The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-12-05

| was HCilA buFninS at O'CLOCK BuJ ChleA
Thought He Had 1t Under Control
| Caugh, in Rogers, Peet & Co.'s Build-
| ing Which Was Observation-Disclosures
story Home Life Insurance Building
Partially Burned.
| New York, December 5--A fire started
| in the basement of the building occupied
| by Rogers, Peet q Co., about g. so O'Clock
last night. Two policemen standing
within half block of Warren street,
heard the sound Of loud explosion, and
a moment later saw a thin line of smoke
curling up from along the side of that
| building. At that time the rain was fall
| ing in torrents and the wind blew a gale.
An alarm was sent in at once, but before
the first engine turned into Broadway,
the Rogers-Peet basement was roarin
furnace with great flames bursting
through the floors above and rushing
fercelv to the roof. Within ten minutes
! i've alarms had been sent in, bringing
engine after engine to the scene. BY 10
O'Clock there was nothing but the shell
of the Rogers. Peet buildings left with
mountains of fame roaxing hundred
feet in the air and enciroling the adjoin-
| ing structure, the Home Life Insurance
company building. Soon great wave
Of fire swept across Warren street and
caught the United States Life insurance
co1npany's building at the northwest cor
ner of Broadway. The woodwork on a
dozen windows was afire in moment.
Several streams were played on this
building to save it from destruction,
! When the Warren street wall of the
Rogers Peet building fell at 1890 O'CLOCK
dozen tiremen were directly beneath the
wall.
Several of the men were struck by
| bricks, but none was more than slightly
| injured. Acting Chief Pearle fell, but
was dragged to safety by some of his men.
| Just before II O'Clock the Home Life
| insurance company l6-story building
caught fire. The fremen already had
their lines in this building up to the sew
enth floor. The flames had eaten their
| way through the side wall in many places
and the large white structure burned
| iercely. The elevator made trips up and
down until the men running them we're
compelled to flee for their lives and in
| this way many of the effects of the Off
l
4 on fire almost simultaneously from the
| beginning. Flames shot high above the
roof and over the massive brownstone
4 Postal building on the corner below.
I All the operators of the Postal building
and everybody working in the structure
4 mad been ordered out of this building
long before Desperate efforts were being
! MADE to save it, Within the Home Life
Insurance company building was by this
| time furnace, flames pouring in masses
| from the windows of six or eight upper
| stories. Behind nine stories were afire,
| and the fire department, SO far as this
portion of the building was concerned.
was absolutely powerless.
| At Ills the Postal Telegraph compa-
ny's building of IA stories oaught Oh ief
| Bonner, who had charge OF che lire IN
| person, went o the roof to give personal
direction At this time there were few
operators, who had ignored the orders OF
| the fire chief, two or three clerks and a
few bows in the building in the sitting
| SMOKE and messages were sent until the
| flames came in and all were forced to
rush for their lives. The unsent messages
were left at the telegraph keys.
Only a few gangs were with the IRE
chief on the top of the Postal building
Notwithstanding all their efforts. at
O'Clock three floors of this building had
been partly destroyed. The fire was then
working it's way dOwnWards Chief Bon
ner thou2ht, however, that he had it un-
der control. He did not expect it to get
much below this.
New York, December Sat 2 o'clock
the fire was still raging t1ercely. An in
surance man roughly estimated the loss
about as follows:
Rogers, Peet & Co. building and stock
and sses to other tenants in the build
ing, $35C, ,000
Home life Insurance company, build
ing and losses to other tenants, $500, 00O
Postal Telegraph company, building
and losses to other tenants, 100000
Losses to surrounding buildings, $780,
OO0
The Home Life insurance company was
occupied by that company and large
number of prominent business men,
Every effort was made to save the VaIu
able papers but many of these were lost.
The officers of the Rapid Transit COM
mission were on the 9th floor Of the build
ing and it is believed that all the plans
and schemes of work with which the
commission has been working these many
years have been destroyed. In the postal
building as well there were many serious
losses of private nature.